How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph.Page)
Quote #10
"You know I was kidding, right?"
"About what?
"About wanting the U.S. to invade our country."
Alan didn't know what to say. Yousef was still grinning. (XVIII.123.126.275)
The term "gaslighting" describes a deceptive use of language to manipulate a victim's sense of reality—like when you baldly state something, then turn around and tell the world that you've never said that before or didn't mean it.
Yousef is engaging in a mild form of gaslighting here when he tells Alan that he was only joking about his desire for a U.S. invasion. It makes Alan uncertain and uncomfortable (did Yousef just ask him to be part of a revolution?). But again, language can be really slippery and uncertain in this context, when English is a second language and two men are baring their souls.