Rushdie, Salman - Style and analysis of ''The Satanic Verses''.

Una nuova visione della vita

He represents a new way of approaching life and writing=he wanted to say his experiences of life. He did not care about changing society, he just wanted to represent it as it was:‘’Books don’t change the world but change the individual: if you love a book, then the vision of the writer become a little part of your vision=that is something magic’’

His works belong to the post-colonial literature.

Identità doppia e multiculturalismo

Rushdie was born in Bombay and when he was 13 he was sent to England to study: he grew up there (went to Cambridge University and got a degree in history.

Double identity: Indian identity and English identity. It was a problem for him because he was considered to be different when he was in England--> has experienced racism because of these two identities. He embodied both identities, trying to create a new one

In his writing there is this search for a new identity: hybrid identity-->something that is multicultural: deals with different cultures/histories.

—>India was colonised by the British, and that even its independence was not that easy (lots of problems in India).

La controversia de "The Satanic Verses"

Sentence to death: his fourth novel ‘’ The Satanic Verses’’ (1988) --> became very popular.

it seems the censorship that started because of that novel led to death sentence, which is not acceptable for democracy---> violation of the right of freedom of speech.

Since being Indian is very important for him and all his work is a sort of mixture between western and Indian culture=there is always a reference to his Indian background.

In this novel he dealt with religion=but this meant to be sentenced to death-->first of all were banned in Iran (in particular) and then declared fatwa: Muslim sentence to death due to the offence against religion.

in this novel Rushdie dealt with possible explanation of the Quran=but it was seen as a sort of blasphemy.

Ruhollah Khomeyni (Iranian political and religious leader) because of this publication the relationship between Britain and Iran was in tension. =Rushdie had to have bodyguards for ten years and live a life under control/ threat/persecuted=but at the end he just wanted to use his religion (Muslim) in his novels.

L'importanza della scrittura e della comprensione

This is an event that makes us understand how important books are and even more the way you write them--> Larkin ‘’in order to be understood you have to share the same frame’’: Rushdie was understood by the British and Western countries (he was awarded for this novel), but since the frame of Iranian readers was completely different from his own, had problems--->Rushdie embodied different cultures=grew up and studied in England, but did not rejected his origins.

Just few writers supported him: some disagreed with him, did not support this position--> he felt alone (in the 90s).

Now the sentenced to death (The Fatwa) has been withdrawn and could went on writing. He was even knighted by queen Elizabeth in 2007.