CLASS CONFLICT IN MOTH SMOKE: AN ANALYSIS OF MOHSIN HAMID’S USE OF CHARACTERIZATION

Apparently, the novel, ʹMoth Smokeʹ narrates the unfolding of he life of a Pakistani youth. In addition to an interesting story, there are strong implications of the novel. If read critically, the novel exposes the social disparity in Pakistani urban society and comments on the unequal distribution of wealth as a means of shaping the lives of people belonging to different strata of society. Through my research, I have uncovered the social aspect and laid it bare for the reader. The subtle indications of the social aspect, present in the novel, have been picked up in this research article and discussed in detail and with clarity, compelling the reader to take the novel not only as a time-pass story but as a social commentary that has been achieved through Hamidʹs profound art of characterization. The behaviour of characters belonging to different classes, their position in society, their attitude towards people belonging to a different class, their life style and way of thinking are the aspects I have concentrated on in my research article. For this purpose I have critically analyzed each character, as representative of his class, in light of the above mentioned aspects. In this way, the social commentary through characterization in Mohsin Hamidʹs “Moth Smoke” has been exposed through this research.