Essay on Rushdie's Uncertainty of Identity

Introduction

The short story publication, East, West (1994) by Rushdie is a revelation of the inspirations of personal connections that the author has as far as the subject matter, identity, is concerned. The author puts himself in the context of the story such that it encompasses all the other migrants, whose experiences are made part of the author through the stylistic device that he chooses to convey his message on matters identity. Rushdie idea of identity as depicted in the short story collection is an intriguing contrast of the possibility of the space between the East and the West being either a physical position in the metaphorical aspect or simply a state of being. Rushdie's presentation is a demonstration of the connection between the East and the West through the people that live in the two regions, who either live in the resultant hybrid space or act as an embodiment of the hybrid space. As a result, there is a less abrupt division of the two worlds as presented by Rushdie, which implies uncertainty in the identity in the perspective of the author (Rushdie, 2012). The people bridge the two worlds hence there exists a physical space but not a real barrier that disconnects the two worlds. In essence, the people act as a connection implying similarity as opposed to the differences.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The Uncertainty of National and Cultural Identity

The complications in the aspect of separation, or more particularly fragmentation, is a central idea that is common in Rushdie's literary works as it not only evident in East, West but also in his earlier novel Midnight's Children published in 1981. Perhaps the most widely known, and probably the most praised work, Midnight's Children is a presentation of the formation as well as the fragmentation of India as a new nation state that is independent. In his perspective of identity in East, West, Rushdie puts forward a world that is dichotomized into East and West having individuals whose lives cut across the separation, such as the elderly Mary, who stays in England but has a yearning so strong for India to the extent that she begins to experience heart failure. Also, the remarkable duo, Chekov, and Zulu change their lives into the continuous episode of Star Trek even though they have never watched the show. In as much as East, West emphasizes the fragmentation from a transnational point of view, Rushdie employs the Midnight's Children in the examination of the internal fractures that are evident in India.

Additionally, the widely diverse collection of individuals within the country struggle to define themselves and how they relate to the nation which is all of a sudden and acceptably their own. The author interweaves his life story in the novel with significant events in the post-independence history of India, as well as the states' reorganization of linguistic together with Pakistan's quest for independence, to highlight the meaning of nationhood. Similar to East, West, Rushdie rejects the simplicity of a world divided along the antagonizing spheres of East and West and points out that the definition of a nation goes far beyond the borders. In the two texts, the author exhibits fluidity and uncertainty of both national as well as cultural identity. Rushdie makes the status of culture complicated in a postcolonial setting as he plays with Oriental stereotypes and manipulates Western classics in the stories that portray individuals, most of whom undertake migratory journeys that are questionable regarding the relationships between home and identity, as well as the loss that results from the journeys.

That which is lost in East, West appears to be gained in Midnight's Children since the setting of the story centers on the experience of the newfound independence in India after the withdrawal of English colonial regime from the country (Rushdie, 2010). However, in the same way, that East, West focuses on the struggles of the loss of cultural identity, Midnight's Children shows that creating a national identity is a huge challenge as well. The texts alternate in contents such that as one woefully abandons homes and freedoms, the other triumphantly obtains the same. Nonetheless, both literary works disclose the uncertainty that surrounds the fallout of colonial as well as postcolonial relationships. The fallout becomes confrontational in the two texts and is particularly pertinent to "The Free Radio" in East, West, and a story that was set at the same duration of the historical event (Rushdie, 2012), and ensembles the climax as evident in Midnight's Children. Protagonists in both stories, Ramani in "The Free Radio" as well as Saleem, a narrator as well as a hero in the Midnight's Children, come to a head with a formidable antagonist in the government of India and Indira Gandhi at the time of the Indian Emergency.

In both texts, radios take a center stage because Ramani is in dire need of his transistor radio to the extent that he mimics All India Radio's broadcasts. On the other hand, Saleem who has had telepathic abilities from his birth assumes the role of a transistor himself. Taking into account the interests of the stories in identity as well as the relationship between East and West, the radios have acted as symbols of agents that are vital in the development of national identity. Therefore they broadcast information for public consumption. However, the government has control on the type of information that is relayed to the consumers. In the nation's attempt to recover the effects of the Western powers, the radio becomes a perpetually significant device, a technology used to coerce and revolutionize the state that has come in handy in many texts apart from those by Rushdie, in several historical conflicts between the East and the West, the colonized and the colonizer. In some manner, it all comes back to the people, separated by the conceptions of the East and the West but having within them numerous allusions as well as references.

Conclusion

East, West points out to a popular phrase which relates to the textual content. "East, West, Home's Best" is a saying that may have been particularly inspirational in the title of the book, since it has a lot of meanings in it. Among its several interpretations, there are the nineteenth century as well as the twentieth-century versions. The former, an imperialistic view expression is, "whether one travels to the east or the west, home (in this case England) is the best, while the latter, a post-colonial, culturally pluralistic view says, "whether one lives in the east or the west, their home is the best place one can be. From the perspective of Rushdie concerning both national and cultural identity, he would not agree with either of the interpretations. His description of the phrase from the collection of short stories compares it to "there's no place like home," an aphorism in a film that Rushdie has extensively analyzed and included in East, West collection as inspiration. Although East, West is likely a manifestation of the power of cultural pluralism, the concept that home is "the best place to be" opposes the views of Rushdie concerning migration as well as exploration. The discussions of both texts on national and cultural identity are clear that both nation and culture are not fixed entities rather the stories disclose the uncertainty and significance of the two aspects. As a result, it is likely that Rushdie finds the relevance of migration as it encompasses both acceptance and appreciation of the uncertainty of identity together with the continuous evolution of national and cultural interactions.

References

Rushdie, S. (2010). Midnight's children. Random House.

Rushdie, S. (2012). East, west. Random House.