Abstract
This thesis looks at the literary representation of the international student in two different novels to uncover the true nature of the US’s “hospitality” from the Cold War Era until now. To demonstrate this, I use Derrida’s framework of hospitality, close readings of Susan Choi’s novel The Foreign Student and Moshin Hamid’s novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist, and I rely on previously published research on how the US has used international student over the years. I use Susan Choi’s novel as an illustration of the US’s use of international student to spread American Imperialism to third world countries. I use Moshin Hamid’s novel to illustrate how international student are only esteemed in terms of their economic value to the country. Finally, I share my own experience in a non-fictional creative essay. Choi’s protagonist, Hamid’s protagonist and I share some similarities amongst which the fact of all being international students who stayed in the US during a crisis, namely during the Cold War and after the Korean War, after the 9/11 attacks and during Covid-19. Additionally, all three of us have experienced the US’s “benevolent hospitality” narrative and we all became disillusioned with it.