Salman Rushdie – Imaginary Homelands. Essays and criticism 1981-1991.
- Rushdie was born in Bombay. He was an outsider – he embodied the other all his
life. When he wrote the Satanic verses it was considered blaspheme against Islam.
He denied his roots, the social norms he grew up with.
- He had experiences migration, losing his country, language and culture.
- Rushdie suggest that immigrants need to change their way of thinking, their views
on reality and come to terms with another place. A migrant needs to find new ways
of defining his identity.
- The migrant subcomes to a metaphorical “metamorphosis”. He goes through a
profound, radical change that has a huge impact on his identity. On the one hand, he
does not “belong” anymore to his home country so what he has in mind as home
becomes detached from his home country. On the other hand, he does not belong
to his host country. He experiences racism and prejudice.
- His new identity puts him in a position of strength even though he has suffered
through a lot and has lost a lot during his transformation.
- Migrants can benefit from their diasporic identity as it provides them massive
opportunities, potentials and possibilities. They gain greater insight because they
can combine elements from both their home and host culture.
- The duality of Rushdie’s identity provides him a unique point of view and allows him
to tell a valuable story, even though he faces challenges.
- The notion of imaginary homelands is not precisely real, it can capture the essence
of reality.
- There is not one English language- there are Englishes, depending on how somebody
uses it. The adaptation to one language is metaphorical. The language that is used
must be appropriated, it needs to be adjusted to the needs of the people who use it.
The linguistic struggle to produce a piece of their own experience is the struggle with
the self as well as the struggle with the self as well as the struggle of the writer with
their identities.
- Rushdie’s works encompass a lot of images, details, voices, views, intentions, names
and ideas. His identity as a migrant contributes to the reinvigoration of both
language and the novel’s form.
- According to Rushdie, the authors who use English despite their ambiguity towards
it. This suggests that many times, colonial attitudes towards many things are
ambivalent. The attitudes are not always clearly defined and what they offer is
mediated by power.
- Rushdie was born in Bombay. He was an outsider – he embodied the other all his
life. When he wrote the Satanic verses it was considered blaspheme against Islam.
He denied his roots, the social norms he grew up with.
- He had experiences migration, losing his country, language and culture.
- Rushdie suggest that immigrants need to change their way of thinking, their views
on reality and come to terms with another place. A migrant needs to find new ways
of defining his identity.
- The migrant subcomes to a metaphorical “metamorphosis”. He goes through a
profound, radical change that has a huge impact on his identity. On the one hand, he
does not “belong” anymore to his home country so what he has in mind as home
becomes detached from his home country. On the other hand, he does not belong
to his host country. He experiences racism and prejudice.
- His new identity puts him in a position of strength even though he has suffered
through a lot and has lost a lot during his transformation.
- Migrants can benefit from their diasporic identity as it provides them massive
opportunities, potentials and possibilities. They gain greater insight because they
can combine elements from both their home and host culture.
- The duality of Rushdie’s identity provides him a unique point of view and allows him
to tell a valuable story, even though he faces challenges.
- The notion of imaginary homelands is not precisely real, it can capture the essence
of reality.
- There is not one English language- there are Englishes, depending on how somebody
uses it. The adaptation to one language is metaphorical. The language that is used
must be appropriated, it needs to be adjusted to the needs of the people who use it.
The linguistic struggle to produce a piece of their own experience is the struggle with
the self as well as the struggle with the self as well as the struggle of the writer with
their identities.
- Rushdie’s works encompass a lot of images, details, voices, views, intentions, names
and ideas. His identity as a migrant contributes to the reinvigoration of both
language and the novel’s form.
- According to Rushdie, the authors who use English despite their ambiguity towards
it. This suggests that many times, colonial attitudes towards many things are
ambivalent. The attitudes are not always clearly defined and what they offer is
mediated by power.
