Translation as a central topic in
Salman Rushdie′s novel the Satanic Verses

by

Eric Mühle

Table of contents

Preface

1. Gibreel Farishta and Saladin Chamcha. An introduction to the topic of translation in "The Satanic verses"  1

2. Saladin Chamcha′s way to conquer Britain : An attempt to achieve complete assimilation 3

3. John Maslama : A true believer  11

4. The Imaam : An exile captured in the prison of a foreign country 13

5. Hind Sufyan : A story of success, but with many obstacles  15

6. Mishal and Anahita Sufyan : No immigrants at all  18

7. Conclusion  21

8. List of works  23

Preface

In this paper I would like to focus on the aspect of people being translated from one culture into another within Salman Rushdie′s novel "The Satanic Verses". At the example of various immigrants which are subject to the novel I try to point out the problems these people have when coming to a foreign country. Different types of immigrants are described with their own peculiar characteristics and their way of coping with the new situation. Finally it shall become clear that there are at least three types of immigrants which differ completely from each other in their way of coping with their situation in a "foreign" country. Furthermore the question shall be answered, whether complete assimilation to a foreign culture is possible or not. In the first chapter the two protagonists of the Satanic Verses, Saladin Chamcha and Gibreel Farishta are introduced, illustrating how much both characters are subject to the aspect of translation. Then, in the following chapters I am going to introduce three types of immigrants which are characteristic of people coming to a foreign country, critically judging the way in which they try to cope with their personal situation. For this purpose the Indian-born people Saladin Chamcha, John Maslama, Hind Sufyan, the Imam and Mishal and Anahita Sufyan are introduced. The paper concludes in chapter 7 with a summary of the most important points of discussion.

In addition it should be mentioned that this homework is different from the usual literary-based papers of students studying English literature. Here, the emphasis is put on a close reading of the Satanic Verses instead of a deeper analysis of secondary literature. Thus, I only refer to one source of information in the list of works cited which helped me to understand various aspects of Indian religion und society.

1. Gibreel Farishta and Saladin Chamcha. An introduction to the topic of translation in “The Satanic verses“

At the beginning of his novel, author Salman Rushdie introduces his two main characters, Gibreel Farishta and Saladin Chamcha. Gibreel Farishta, born Ismail Najmuddin is an Indian film star, specialised in playing Hindu gods, though he himself is a Moslem, takes the form of the archangel Gibreel later in the novel. His friend and enemy at the same time Saladin Chamcha¹, born Salahuddin Chamchawalla is a voice impersonator and - through a slow mutation - is turned into a goat-like devilish creature later in the story.

On the first few pages we find ourselves in the middle of an airplane crash in which we encounter our two protagonists falling from the sky. The central and reoccurring phrase throughout the whole novel “To be born again first you have to die” (first mentioned on page 3) is very interesting for our consideration of translation. This sentence clearly expresses that when a person tries to change from one culture into another it is necessary to abandon one′s former life completely (to die). Being born again means leading a new and wholly independent life within the new (here British) culture. Both, Saladin as well as Gibreel can be considered as such “converts” who try to leave their former Indian values and roots behind, exchanging them for new British values, though because of different reasons.

By the way, within this passage on page four the fate of many more migrants on board of this flight is mentioned in an interesting way. Here, the author expresses the humiliation immigrants have to suffer when they apply for a British visa.

“Also – for there had been more than a few migrants aboard, yes quite a quantity of wives who had been grilled by reasonable, doing-their-job officials about the length and distinguishing moles of their husbands’ genitalia, a sufficiency of children upon whose legitimacy the British Government had cast its ever-reasonable doubts……severed mother tongues, violated privacies, untranslatable jokes, extinguished futures, lost loves, the forgotten meaning of hollow, booming words, land, belonging, home.”(p. 4 below)

[...]

1 Also called “chum” and “spoono” (because “chamcha” is Hindi for “spoon”. A chamcha is a very humble and everday object. It is, in fact a spoon. The word is Urdu; and it alson has a second meaning. Colloquially a chamcha is a person who sucks up to a powerful people, a yes-man, a sycophant. The British Empire would not have lasted a week without such collaborators among its colonized peoples. You could say that the Raj grew fat by being spoon-fed.(Brian Paul: Notes on the satanic verses, List of principal characters, p.11)