Tea Symbol Analysis

Changez leads the Stranger to a cafe for a cup of Lahore's famous tea, though the Stranger initially seems so paranoid about being poisoned (or at least Changez perceives it that way) that Changez switches their cups after the tea is poured. Later, when their waiter brings them green tea, the Stranger accepts it more readily. In The Reluctant Fundamentalist, the process of learning to trust another person always hinges upon the exchange of some cultural item: a cup of tea, a book, even a line from the movie Top Gun. At the same time, there is an implication in the novel that Changez taking the Stranger to tea is a kind of charade, an effort to lead the Stranger into a kind of trap in which Changez, the waiter, and others will ambush the Stranger after their interaction. It is not at all definitive that this is the case; it is left an open possibility by the novel’s cliffhanger ending. The question becomes, then, can cultural exchanges like Changez's teatime with the Stranger build genuine trust between two different people, or will they always be unsuccessful?