How does the novel characterize America's post-9/11 political, social, and cultural atmosphere?

deals with the rise in

xenophobia in the United States after 9/11, particularly in regard to Muslims and
Middle
Easterners in general. The , Changez, goes from trying to assimilate
to American culture while
studying and working in the United States to
embracing his former heritage once he deems
American culture too shallow and
prejudiced.

Changez finds himself
condescended to a lot
while abroad. The Americans assume all of his people are backward and

violent, easy prey to fundamentalist terrorists. Without saying it openly, the Americans
assume
they are more civilized than the Middle Easterners. They only accept
Changez so long as he
adheres to American dress and manners, which he does
for a long time, even though it makes him
feel as though he is betraying his
homeland and heritage.

The tension between
the two
cultures culminates in the scene where Changez sees coverage of the 9/11 attacks on
the
news. Much to his surprise, he smilesnot because he is a fundamentalist
or because he approves
of the murder of hundreds of innocents, but because
for once, the Americans will know what it is
to be vulnerable, much as his
people and those in their neighboring countries often
feel.

Soon, Changez feels the xenophobic sentiments burst into full bloom

within the United States. He encounters prejudice at an airport and at work. Someone
even refers
to him as a "fucking Arab." In the end, he returns to Pakistan,
but because of
politically controversial statements he made regarding the
United States, he feels like he lives
with a target on his back. The novel
even ends on an ambiguous note, with the reader left
questioning whether or
not Changez has been killed by an American
assassin.