I think it's very interesting that Rushdie chose to write about a character who was torn between two different identities. Aziz lived in Germany for five years and then returned to India. He suddenly couldn't figure out who he was nor where he belonged. Since Rushdie was originally born in British India and has ties to both Britain (his nationality and where he attended college) and India (his homeland), he himself could be very similar to Aziz. British India was a difficult time for everyone living in India. One would grow up following every order that the British officers commanded, but also develop a bond with the British. I don't know much about the British rule of India, but I think it is a huge (if not the most important) influence in Rushdie's work.
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3 comments:
I agree that this adds a very interesting dimension to Aziz's character. To simultaneously detest and be part of something is a very sticky situation. On one hand the British rule keeps him from being wholly immersed in his Indian culture, but on the other hand British influence is part of who he is.
Since Aadam wasn't born in a traditional Indian city (bombay(Mumbai) is a huge British port city) he doesn't feel the same nationalistic spirit that the other characters do. He didnt go through the sepoy rebellion of 1857, the reign of queen victoria, or the hardships that Indians faced under imperialism. He doesn't represent the true India that he aspires to be. However I feel if he assimilates into the culture his past will connect him to the true India. The India that used its native language, the India that kept the culture, the true India that we know today.
It's also intresting that Saleem is half brittish biologically also. I feel like a lot of things repeat themselves contantly in this story: first Aziz with the prefforated sheet then his daughter convincing herself to fall in love with her husband in peices. Aziz had west/east identity conflict because of living in Germany, and it seems like Saleem probably has some sort of similar conflict due to his own western influence. I guess his blue eyes are kind of an example of westerness.
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