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

Seminar paper from the year 2000 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2+ (B), University of Duisburg-Essen (Institute for Foreign Language Philology), course: HS The Satanic Verses, language: English, abstract: 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 Indianborn 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. [...]