Theme

The main theme of the short story is the clash of cultures and civilizations. In this case, the clash is between the American culture and the Pakistani culture, a clash that is symbolized by the clash between Faisal and Nadeem Riaz.

Faisal represents the American way of being while Nadeem represents the old, religious, traditional Pakistani way. The conflict between the two takes place in the city of New York, a place where a variety of cultures combine and interact, thus creating a city of tolerance, agreement, and sympathy between races and religions.

New York (a symbol of America) has adopted Nadeem as well as it adopted thousands of other immigrants; it offered Nadeem a chance to work, to gain money in order to support his family. While o...