The Submission

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2011

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Character Analysis

Mohammed “Mo” Khan

Mohammed “Mo” Khan is Indian American by heritage. He works as an architect, and his design for the 9/11 memorial is questioned throughout the novel. Mo never struggles with his American identity. Like many second-generation immigrants, he is fully immersed in American culture, completely part of it in a way his parents never could be. When asked throughout the book what he “is,” he always states that he is an American. That said, he does struggle with his Muslim identity. We see this when he nominally celebrates Ramadan by fasting and when he watches the young men both in America and in Kabul pray. The fact that he never “owns” his Muslim identity completely indicates not necessarily that he is ashamed of it or worried he will lose the contest. Rather, it is one of the book’s strongest indications that Mo is indisputably American, and that there is a diverse range of backgrounds and heritages represented in the American people.

Claire Burwell

Claire Burwell is the second most important character in the book. She is a woman of extremes. Before Mo’s identity is known, she actively solicits others to take her side in support of his submission. Even after Mo’s identity is revealed, she strongly supports his project. She thinks it’s what her late husband Cal would do. However, due to lies, bad-faith news headlines, pressure from peers and other families, doubt begins to seep in. She wonders if her values are actually hers or if they were inherited from her husband and ex-boyfriend. Then, because Khan won’t answer her personal questions, she turns against him just as vehemently as she had supported him before. Her doubt lasts to the end of the book, when sees the Arabic verses written on the wall of the actual garden that Khan built for a rich Arab in South Asia. Though she can’t help but see the Arabic calligraphy as a taunt, she does recognize that her treatment of Khan, and the whole controversy, was unfair.

Asma

Even though Asma’s character is relegated to a subplot, she is a very important figure. Asma is a portrait of a South Asian Muslim woman that rejects Western stereotypes. She urges her husband to improve himself by getting a job in the Twin Towers. She gets a job herself, then quits her job when she decides her employer is unethical. She argues with a male storekeeper over a bag of rice with a hole in it. And when she has something to say publicly, no matter how large the venue or the sentiment of the crowd, she speaks. Asma largely acts as a foil to Claire. Where Claire wavers and falls into doubt, Asma sticks to her convictions, calling out injustice whenever she sees it.

Sean Gallagher

Sean Gallagher is the brother of a firefighter who died in the Twin Towers. Sean joined the rescue effort to try to save him. Sean is at his best when in a crisis, but when the crises are over, he returns to drinking and working low-wage jobs. His mother tries to disown him at the end when he drops out of the fight against the Garden.

Alyssa Spier

Alyssa Spier is the reporter who creates so much havoc in the story. She will do anything to advance her career, and in that way, she embodies the parasitic news outlets that stir hatred and bigotry by publishing baseless or inflammatory stories. First, she outs Mo as the designer of the memorial, thus causing public outrage. Then she tells Claire a lie about Mo that sets off Claire’s paranoia and doubt, inciting more conflict in the latter half of the book. She also plays a role in Asma’s death by printing her face on the cover of the tabloid exposé about Asma’s status as an illegal immigrant. Alyssa is so self-absorbed that she doesn’t even realize her responsibility in wounding the other characters. Later, she chases Mo, asking him inane questions. His repeated reply, “I am an American,” marks a clear refusal to play Alyssa’s game.