The Submission

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2011

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Chapters 6-7Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 6 Summary

Looking over the information that has been gleaned concerning Mohammad Khan, Paul sees that his record is spotless. He attended the University of Virginia and Harvard, and has spent 10 years working at top-notch architecture firms, with credit for architectural projects that even Paul has heard of. Khan’s father, an engineer at Verizon, and his mother, a teacher at a junior college, immigrated to the United States in the 1960s, when immigration requirements were relaxed for Asian immigrants. Mo recently made a business trip to Afghanistan, but he has no links to terrorism. Paul decides to list the pros and cons of allowing his entry selection to stand. Though the pro side is heavy, Paul decides that Mohammed Khan should be declared unsuitable. He refers to the dictionary to reaffirm the meaning of “unsuitable,” “appropriate,” and “fitting,” and feels justified in his decision. Just as Paul has made his decision, the phone rings. The heritage of the winner has been leaked. He races to a newsstand for a copy of the New York Post, which features Alyssa Spier’s article. The story’s sensational headline is accompanied by a threatening photograph of a Muslim man in a balaclava.

As all this occurs, Mo, now back in America, walks by a Pakistani news vendor and spots the headline on the Post. Enthralled by the notion, he quickly becomes sure it is his design. He is so engrossed in the news that he walks into the street without looking. But rather than the winner’s face—his own face—the article shows a man wearing a balaclava to depict a terrorist, one with “executioner’s eyes.” Mo hangs it on his mirror. The next day he pastes his own picture over it.

Chapter 7 Summary

Chapter 7 introduces Sean, who assisted with the rescue efforts during 9/11. He’d desperately searched for his brother Patrick, a firefighter, in the hot rubble, to no avail. He did, however, save many lives. At his best during a crisis, Sean is no tribute to his family, not even when sober. He struggles with alcohol, and after the tragedy, he returned to drinking, working low-wage jobs. Over time he begins giving speeches at places like Rotary clubs across the country. But once he’s left of the memorial jury and his speaking gigs dry up, he’s once again a handyman who lives with his parents.

After the New York Post story breaks, Sean’s family launches a crusade against a Muslim’s design being used for the 9/11 memorial. Frank, Sean’s father, is backed by firefighters who fight the press as one and talk to anyone who will listen. He denies being Islamophobic, saying he is not afraid of the Muslims.

Alyssa Pier is the reporter who scooped the news that the winning 9/11 memorial design was submitted by a Muslim. Her own newspaper, The New York Daily News, had sat on the report, asking her to find a second source. In frustration, she took the story to a much less respected paper, the Post, which snapped it up. Alyssa’s reputation as a journalist might take a hit for publishing with the Post, but her recognition in the public eye skyrockets as she appears on television news programs to discuss the story.

The city mayor and state governor weigh in on the news. The mayor expresses the liberal sentiment that it shouldn’t matter whose project won, but after waiting for the polls to come out, the governor condemns the choice.

Paul arranges to meet Khan for an interview at a restaurant. Surprised that Khan looks so little like his submission photograph—he has long wavy hair and appears “funked up,” though his beard is neatly trimmed and his white shirt is crisp. Paul is immediately uncomfortable yet intrigued. Paul suggests offering the project to Emmanuel Roi, whose firm Khan works for, but Khan wants no part of it. Paul tries to establish what “kind” of Muslim Khan is, Sunni or Shia. He asks all sorts of personal questions—about his girlfriend, about his political leanings, about his thoughts. Paul urges Khan to understand that allowing him to go ahead with his memorial project would tear the country apart. Khan is not convinced.

When Paul returns home, he faces the daunting task of a meeting with his son Jacob, an independent filmmaker who in Paul’s eyes is a “ne’er do well.” The meeting is for Paul to bankroll Jacob’s latest film under the guise of getting together to catch up. In his mind, Paul compares himself with his younger son Samuel, a gay activist. After cursory exchanges, during which Jacob asks about the 9/11 memorial, Jacob asks for $400,000. Finally, Paul compares this son unfavorably to Mohammed Khan.

Chapters 6-7 Analysis

Chapter 6 sees Paul struggling with whether the memorial jury should go forward with Mo’s submission. Though there is absolutely nothing to suggest that Mohammad Khan is a terrorist, Paul can’t ignore the bad optics of a Muslim winning the contest. He takes the easy way out, choosing to declare Khan “unsuitable.” That he double-checks the definition of the word confirms that he’s aware of the injustice in this decision, but he lets the dictionary soothe his conscience.

However, Alyssa Spier takes control of the narrative by publishing a sensational article with an incendiary picture of a Muslim man, one that fits the stereotypical image of a terrorist. While this creates a public relations nightmare for Paul, it creates a crisis of identity for Mo. He knows he is the winner, but it’s not his picture in the article but a false representation that tries to characterize him as someone and something he is not. When he affixes his own photo over the one in the article, he is reaffirming his identity as a hard-working, law-abiding American.

That Mo embodies the American dream is further emphasized in Chapter 7, which implicitly compares three young men: Sean, Jacob, and Mo. Sean is seen by his family as a hard-drinking failure who works low-wage jobs and has no ambition, unlike his brother Patrick, a firefighter who died in the flames. Sean tries to raise himself up by getting on board with the “cause” to prevent the Muslim design from coming to fruition.

Jacob, Paul’s son, is also viewed by his family as a ne’er do well. He’s a low-budget independent filmmaker, and his parents, Paul and Edith, judge him based on the fact that they must give him money to fund his activity. They aren’t interested in whether he has talent or even the subject matter of his films. Clearly, money is their measure of success.

Mo is only briefly mentioned at the end of the chapter, when Paul negatively compares Jacob to him. Of the three young men, it is Mo who most fits the stereotype of the successful young American man. This supports the text’s argument that appearance—and by extension heritage—isn’t all there is to a person’s identity.