This paper is about Salman Rushdie and two of his major works. The approach to work on "The Satanic Verses" and his latest publication "Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights" (2015) tries to (critically) reflect Rushdie's development as a writer within the time span of almost three decades.
Twenty-seven years for a writer and his community might be an eternity since the world has tremendously changed since then. Rushdie himself, however, in both novels sticks to major themes of his interest. Among them are the parameters used here. Identity, metamorphosis and (religious) fanaticism can be found in both novels and it is the focus on these three which will be central here.
To do so not only helps to reflect major literary topics Rushdie is concerned about it also shows the development these matters have taken within Rushdie' s literary work and the world it reflects. In is exactly the historical framework which Rushdie uses which helps to understand his literary attempt because he said in an interview with the German magazine "Stern" in 2015 that he understands himself as an author who lives in a certain period of time and who therefore has to write about it. The dualistic concept that links the narrative in both novels analysed here must also be seen in this historical framework. Rushdie sees modern man in a globalized world as homeless, hybrid, bound to metamorphosis, caught between the rational and the irrational yet open for positive options which he can choose provided he uses his freedom. So identity, metamorphosis, religion and fundamentalism are closely connected to personal freedom and it will thus be interesting to see how Rushdie's ideas have been worked into both novels.
The structure of this book is therefore as follows: A first part will consist in some sort of background information on Rushdie and his position in contemporary English literature. A second major part will consist in a short introduction of the postcolonial setting. This helps to place Rushdie's work in a literary background. A next step lies in a closer analysis of chosen parameters such as the use of the hybrid Islamic spirituality, transcendence, identity formation, failure and powerlessness. The next important step lies in a close interpretation of both works. This will be followed by an outlook.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Abstract.
- Preface....
- Salman anRushdie's position as a post-colonial writer.
- The postcolonial novel after 9/11
- Islam and Islamic Fundamentalism in Contemporary English literature......
- Forms: Narratological Categories for the Analysis of the Genre
- Preface
- Islamic Spirituality and Transcendence.......
- Identity Formation as one Central Problem of Islamic Writing .....
- Identity as a Religious Matter: The Quest for the Meaning of Life
- Failure.
- Powerlessness
- The Question for a Meaning of Life .
- Hybrid Description and Hybrid Identity under the Focus of Islam and Islamic Fundamentalism..
- Alternative Cultural Memory and Hybrid Existence:
Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses (1988).
- Preface.
- Cultural Memory and Hybrid Existence..
- Religion and Blasphemy in The Satanic Verses.
- Conclusion
- Identity, Metamorphosis and Hybrid Existence: Salman Rushdie's Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-eight Nights .
- Preface
- The use of the hybrid.
- The use of globalization
- Identity, Metamorphosis and Hybrid Existence
- The specific use of stylistic means in Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-eight- Nights (2015)......
- Conclusion
- Outlook..
- Epilogue
- Bibliography.....
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This book explores the works of Salman Rushdie, focusing on two of his major novels, The Satanic Verses (1988) and Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights (2015). The analysis aims to critically reflect on Rushdie's development as a writer over a span of nearly three decades, considering the significant changes the world has undergone during that time.
- Identity
- Metamorphosis
- Religious Fanaticism
- The Postcolonial Novel
- Islam and Islamic Fundamentalism
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The book begins with an abstract, providing a brief overview of Rushdie's literary contributions and the themes explored in the study. It then examines Rushdie's position as a post-colonial writer and the development of the postcolonial novel after 9/11. The next chapter focuses on Islam and Islamic fundamentalism in contemporary English literature, followed by a discussion of narratological categories for the analysis of the genre, including Islamic spirituality and transcendence, identity formation, the quest for meaning, failure, powerlessness, and the hybrid nature of identity in Islamic writing.
The analysis then delves into The Satanic Verses, exploring themes of cultural memory, hybrid existence, religion, and blasphemy. Finally, the book examines Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights, examining its use of the hybrid, globalization, identity, metamorphosis, and stylistic means.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
Key themes and concepts explored in this book include identity, metamorphosis, religious fanaticism, Islam, Islamic fundamentalism, postcolonial literature, hybridity, globalization, and cultural memory. The analysis also draws on the works of Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses, and Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights.
- Citar trabajo
- Dr. Matthias Dickert (Autor), 2016, Questions of Identity, Metamorphosis, Religious Fanaticism and Islam in Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses" (1988) and "Two Years, Eight Months, Twenty-eight Nights" (2015), Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/322617
