Between Two Worlds

For a Muslim man who grew up in India, moved to England, and then went into hiding, Salman Rushdie has become an influential writer of the century (Liukkonen). His distinguishable experiences allround his life have shaped evocative plots in his works. Many of his stories demonstrate the hardships of obtaining societal approval, which was a long-term problem allround his life. He entertains both eastern and western cultures by interconnecting the two cultures in originative and stylish pieces of fiction that depict migration, cultural hybridization, and transnational identity.

Salman Rushdie was primary introduced to the eastern culture in his childhood. He was born on June 19, 1947, in Bombay, Maharashtra, India. His parents, Anis Ahmed and Negin Butt Rushdie, were of the liberal and prosperous middle-class (Ho). He was the only boy in the family and had three younger sisters. Rushdie was born into an Islamic family, but he was not brought up to have Islam as a indispensable focus in his life. Even even though Islam was not present in his childhood, he was still very fascinated in religion because it was important to the Indian culture (Ahmad 1318).

His themes of the western culture originated because Rushdie grew up in a secular environment. His classmates at the Cathedral School in Bombay (established by the Anglo-Scottish Educational Society), were very diverse, ranging from American to Japanese nationalities. From 1961 to 1964, Rushdie attended one of England’s finest boys’ schools, Rugby. Unfortunately, his inconsiderate peers called him demeaning names such as “wog,” “snotnose,” and “sniffer” (Ahmad 1319). Because Rushdie received remorseless cruelty and racism in his early school years, he was motivated to put them as subjects in his future works. After Rugby, he went to King’s College at Cambridge from 1964 to 1968 to finish his studies (Ahmad 1319).

After his education, Salman Rushdie stayed in England and started to assimilate into western culture. In 1976, he married Clarissa Luard, a proper English woman. They had a son named Zafar in 1980, but the marriage ended in divorce seven years later. The next year, Rushdie married Marianne Wiggins, an American novelist, but life was too stressful for the duration of Rushdie’s hiding, so the marriage did not last. Elizabeth West was his third wife in 1997, and they had a son named Milan. But in 2000, after four decades in London, Rushdie left Elizabeth and his two children and moved to New York, explicitly, to Padma Lakshmi, his fourth and current wife since 2004 (Ahmad 1322). His love relationships unquestionably had an affect on Rushdie as well as his works. Another theme in his stories is searching and obtaining love. Since Rushdie’s life engendered some ideas due to his complex encounters, he was competent to win steady fame.

Rushdie’s rise in his literary career was a gradual success. His initial fictional story, “Over the Rainbow,” was written at the age of ten. From 1969 to 1980, Rushdie was living off unstable jobs varying from acting to advertising, but in 1980 his luck changed with the publication of Midnight’s Children (Ahmad 1319). In 1981, it won the Booker McConnell Prize for fiction, the most esteemed award in England, and in 1993, it won the Booker of Bookers’, the prize given to the work believed to be the best Booker recipient of the former twenty-five years (Holcombe). Even altho Midnight’s Children brought Rushdie literary attention, it was the Satanic Verses that brought him world-wide fame (Ahmad 1320).

The Satanic Verses was a very disputable novel that had a great deal of opponents because it was found to disregard the beliefs of the Islamic culture. “The Satanic Verses (1988) became widely known and esteemed for the foes it made him” (Ahmad 1320). The fictional book outraged devout Muslims because of it is disrespectful references to the religion, Islam. Ayatollah Khomeini, a Muslim religious leader, issued a fatwa versus Rushdie in 1989. He and other extremists put forth millions of dollars to have Rushdie killed, and Rushdie was soon forced into hiding (“Salman Rushdie,” DISCovering Biography). After seven years Rushdie arose out of hiding and on September 25, 1998, the Iranian government lifted the fatwa, even altho sure fundamentalist groups claimed that the fatwa could not be lifted. Rushdie was reported to say that the lifting of the fatwa felt like “another step back into the light” (“(Ahmed) Salman Rushdie”). After long years in hiding for writing a fictional book that gave an unintentional offense, Rushdie started to live a normal life once again. This incident affected his works because it demonstrated matters of rejection in society. In his times of “light” and “darkness”, Rushdie continued to write when it comes to similar premises that are staged in some works.

In Salman Rushdie’s collection of short stories, East, West, Rushdie explores the lives of people of eastern ethnicity and the conflicts they confront in the western environs (Ho). The collection of stories is disunited into three sets: the East, the West, and the combining of both East and West. “Good Advice is Rarer than Rubies” deals with the happenings in the East, “At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers” deals with the happenings in the West, and “The Courter” deals with the cultural hybridization of both cultures (Ho). These stories are very similar in the characterization, symbolism, and theme.

“Good Advice is Rarer than Rubies” explores how persons are content with living in an eastern environment. Miss Rehana, a finelooking Indian girl, was on her way to get a permit to go to Great Britain when Muhammad Ali, an expert counsel giver, begs her to take his counsel for free. He tells her how she must carry on when getting the permit. Muhammad Ali then tries to support her by proposing that he may get a bogus passport for her. Disgusted, Miss Rehana walks out on Muhammad Ali and goes to get her permit. When she comes out smiling, Muhammad Ali assumes that she received the permit. She says to him that she necessitated to get the permit because she had an arranged marriage to an old man who lives in England. But then she continued by saying that she did not get the permit, because she did not follow his advice. Yet she is still happy because she did not want to go to England and get married to the old man.

“Good Advice is Rarer than Rubies” regards the small-town persons of India who have diverse characteristics. The main reputation is the young finelooking girl, Miss Rehana. This is not typical in Rushdie’s works because the protagonist of his stories is commonly a male figure (Ahmad 1323). “Miss Rehana’s eyes were big and black and bright sufficient not to need the help of antimony, and when the counsel expert Muhammad Ali saw them he felt himself getting young again” (Rushdie 5). The men tend to fawn over her because of her attractiveness. One example of the superficiality of the men is portrayed when Muhammad Ali was more than willing to give free counsel with regards to receiving a permit in order to look at her for a longer amount of time of time. Another characteristic found in the story is the reliability of people. At the end of the short story, Miss Rehana turned out to be an undependable character, which is an attribute of Rushdie’s characters (Holcombe). When she returned after applying for a permit with a smile, Muhammad Ali and the readers think that she received the permit, but in reality she did not. Miss Rehana would rather go versus societal pressures to get married than live an unhappy life with a husband who she did not know. Unhappiness was represented a lot of times in the story; it was likewise symbolized by the permit to London.

The symbolism of the permit to London revolves around the conception of contentment in the world. “Now I will go back to Lahore and my job. I work in a great house, as ayah to three good boys. They would have been sad to see me leave” (Rushdie 15). If Miss Rehana had received the permit to go to London, she would have had to leave everything that she loved behind in India. Muhammad Ali, described the permit procedure to be a tedious task involving an interrogation of the applier. Therefore, the permit also symbolizes that integration is hard to accomplish. With so galore obstacles standing in Miss Rehana’s way of going to London, it may be inferred from the story that she was not destined to migrate and leave her home in India. Her home in India is signifigant to her, and it is also one of the themes of the short story.

Indian nationalism is a major theme of “Good Advice is Rarer than Rubies”. It was shown in the end as a reason why Miss Rehana did not determine to go to England. But there are galore other themes in the story. For example, attraction and arranged marriage are other themes. The men were attracted to Miss Rehana, and from the attraction came good works, exceptionally from Muhammad Ali. He gave her the counsel that helped her get rejected for the permit. The story likewise portrayed that pleasure was without doubt more inviolable than marriage and that arranged marriages did not work out. “It was an arranged engagement…I was nine years old when my parents fixed it, Mustafa Dar was already thirty at that time…Then my parents passed from physical life and Mustafa Dar went to England and said he would send for me. That was a good deal of years ago” (Rushdie 14). Miss Rehana wanted to live a happy life in India, rather of a miserable life in England. This book had much to do with the occurrences with the East, but Rushdie had much to say in regards to the West as well.

“At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers” depicts the happenings of the western culture. The unnamed main reputation comes to an auction where it is marketing a pair of ruby slippers. The main reputation believes that by purchasing the ruby slippers, he would win over his love, Gale. Because so a good deal of people want the ruby slippers, he does not bid the most eminent price, and therefore, he does not get the slippers. But the reputation still believes that life goes on and he is anticipating the next auction so he may buy something to impress Gale.

“At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers” described life in the West. The stories out of the “West set” tend to be the dullest, because there are no culturally diverse dilemmas (Ho). There was only one main reputation in the story, and his characterization is distinguishable equated to Rushdie’s other characters in that he shows more hope than pessimism (Ahmad 1324). He seemed to be living on his own which showed a sense of maturity, but he still had a superficial, desperate, and unmindful personality. The man was very shoal because he thought the slippers would attract his lover. He was desperate to find love, and he was determined to do anything to have it. Even though the ruby slippers are shown to be a materialistic prize, the narrator thought it represented something totally different.

The ruby slippers may be symbolized differently according to the viewpoint of the narrator or reader. According to the narrator, the ruby slippers were a form of success. With the slippers, he would be recognized from the diverse crowd of people as a winner. He desperately wanted to find love, and he believed that with the slippers he would obtain it. But to the intermediate reader, the ruby slippers symbolized stupidity and materialism. The readers believe that the narrator is very naïve for believing that his lover would take him back for the slippers. If this were true, the story would describe the world as being very materialistic. But instead, there are more positive themes.

There are assorted western themes to “At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers.” The story depicts a sense of unity amidst the diverse range of people at the auction, all vying for the same prize. But at the same time, it shows a theme of contest that arouses people. Along with competition, there is always the chance of failure, which was the result for the narrator. In the end, the narrator learns that life does go on, and accordingly he does not give up, for there is another auction the following week. As in the former story, there is a theme when it comes to love. This story does represent a superficial attraction like the one before, but it likewise depicts how love may make persons do crazy things.

The final story in the collection, East, West, is “The Courter.” The story of “The Courter” is how the young boy learns of the difficultnesses of integrating cultures. The young boy goes through a number of tough experiences that made living in the western environs a nightmare. His family gets laughed at for their eastern habitual actions, such as the use of faulty vocabulary. They likewise are victims of violent attacks. But they still survive on the good works that take place in the West.

The characters of “The Courter” are distinctive because they are of eastern ethnicity in western times. There are rather a few characters in the story, but the main male protagonist is young boy who is left unnamed. The boy is a preteen living in England whose parents emigrated from India. Because the boy was very young, he tended to be very immature towards others. He gave sharp nicknames to people, and oftentimes played cruel jokes on them. But when other people started to distinguish his family and him, he begun to learn from his experiences.

The game of chess was symbolic in the story of “The Courter.” It represented the pleasure of the family in a game that required thinking and skill. The family did not feel discriminated while playing the game. It was their form of enjoyment where they could not be bothered by trivial matters. The game is customary in both the East and the West. It shows how the two cultures combine for the same interest. Cultural hybridization was the main point of the story, and it showed how cultures learn to incorporate even though it may be wearisome (Ahmad 1323).

The main theme of the story is integration and identity. The boy sat through galore terrible events of abuse to his family because they were not located to the English culture as others were. It was tough for the family to withstand the prejudices versus them, but they never gave up on it. With all these experiences, the young boy started to consider his identity in the world (Liukkonen). He was of Indian ethnicity living in an English world. Even though, he was embarrassed by his parents’ ceaseless cultural mistakes, he realized that he would have done the same.

In his stories, Rushdie unquestionably depicted the faults and virtues of characters that made the stories agreeably diverting pieces of fiction. He specified the boundaries of the East and West, and showed when they intermix. Because of this introductory style of writing, he makes his place in the twentieth century context.

Because of Salman Rushdie’s distinct ethnic background, he brings a distinguishable style to British literature. “The culturally and religiously diverse worlds of both India and Great Britain offer Rushdie a wealth of worries and themes that systematically reflect and refract allround his works” (Ho). Throughout his works, Rushdie oftentimes talks in regards to integration and the troubles that come with them (Ahmad 1317). A regular style in his works is how he takes history and fictionalizes it into a “new genre” (Holcombe). His distinct style sets him apart from other British contemporary writers who follow a Modernist style, while Rushdie follows a Romantic, Postmodernist, and Post-colonialist style and trend.

Contemporary British writers commonly follow the literary motion of Modernism. Literary Modernism focuses on going versus rules, and finding new perspectives (Fajardo-Acosta). The writers of Modernism went versus public opinion by writing regarding liberal ideas in their works (“Modernism”). In spite of the fact that Modernism is mutual in the work of British authors, Rushdie is not considered an author of Modernism. He never focalized on breaking away from traditions, but rather on joining the dissimilar traditions of dissimilar cultures.

Rushdie is an apparent example of a Romantic writer because of his special importance and significance on individualism (Holcombe). “The basic aims of Romanticism are various: a return to nature and to believe in the goodness of humanity; the rediscovery of the artisan as a supremely person creator; the development of nationalistic pride; and the exaltation of the senses and emotions over reason and intellect” (“Characteristics of Romanticism”). These key points were illustrated in Rushdie’s works. “The Courter” portrayed good works when “Mixed-Up saved the ladies from a violent attack. “Good Advice is Rarer than Rubies” also depicted the goodness of humanity when Muhammad Ali offered Miss Rehana advice. This short story illustrated a sense of nationalistic pride in India, when Miss Rehana remained in India because that was her unfeigned home. Another short story by Rushdie, “At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers,” likewise showed his Romantic writings. The main reputation indicated individualism when attempting to set himself isolated from the other diverse range of humans at the auction. This short story is likewise Romantic because the reputation puts emotions over intellect. He was more than willing to spend good amount of cash for red slippers, because he thought it would win over his love. Romanticism is more or less affiliated to Postmodernism, another literary motion in which Rushdie is involved.

Salman Rushdie is discerned as a Postmodernist writer because of his continuous themes of coexistence displayed in his works (Ahmad 1317). Postmodernism is characterized by special importance and significance on the ideas of the value and independence of the local society, the a lot of amount of outcomes of humane existence, and the coexistence of clashing cultures” (Fajardo-Acosta). “Good Advice is Rarer than Rubies” exhibits Rushdie’s Postmodernist writing. The story talked when it comes to how the little town in India was independent and lived on simple necessities. The story likewise gave a theme of coexistence when it talked in regards to how the Indians lived together and how even the smallest job, like a bus driver, would be noticed in society. “The Courter” showed how the autonomy of the persons relied on people’s good works. When Rushdie is recognized as a Postmodernist, he ordinarily is recognized as a Post-colonialist as well.

Salman Rushdie is a strong follower in the Post-colonial literary motion (Ahmad 1317). Post-colonialism is characterized by the depictions of the experiences of the victims or people of colonial power (Fajardo-Acosta). His short story, “The Courter,” is a outstanding example of Post-colonialism because it depicts the discrimination towards the Eastern humans by the Western culture. The character, “Mixed-Up,” endured an attack from the Western society because he was a victim of prejudices. But Salman Rushdie does not ordinarily grant an ending of internal divisions to take place in his works. A sentiment of contentment does come over the characters, where the diverse cultures come together.

Salman Rushdie became a literary success for a heap of reasons. His upbringing and childhood gave him personal experiences of integration that became indispensable themes and morals for his works. Because of Rushdie’s individuality, he was set detached from other British contemporaries because he followed dissimilar literary movements. Rushdie’s use of fictionalizing history made agreeably diverting and disputable plots that accumulated readers from all over the world. Rushdie’s works impacted the world because of his free speech and political statements. Salman Rushdie will always be remembered as a twentieth century British author whose success arose from his literary natural abilities and qualities and his political mind.

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• Amazon Sales Rank: #50480 in Books
• Published on: 1982-05-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .81 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 351 pages

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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful.
Bridging the Chasm through Preaching
By William E. Turner Jr.
Stott’s modern classic, Between Two Worlds, argues that there is a chasm between the biblical world and the modern world. This chasm is bridged through the preaching and proclamation of the Word of God. It is the preacher, empowered through the Spirit, who stands in the gap between these two worlds. It is through preaching whereby the world of the Bible is brought into the world of modern hearers and modern culture is confronted with the Bible.

Stott begins by briefly surveying the history of preaching from Jesus to the 20th-Century. He continues by answering three objections, which are commonly leveled against preaching. First, he confronts the anti-authority mood of our culture by arguing that preaching should be dialogical – preaching is not a monologue but a conversation. The second objection is the ever-growing problem with the technological dominance of our culture. God is a speaking God and Christianity is very much a culture of the written and spoken word. How then is one to be heard in an ever-increasing culture of images? Stott shows that the sacraments are visual and most necessary our lives must visually reflect the message we proclaim. The last objection is the loss of confidence in the gospel. Founded upon strong conviction, Christian preaching, must regain confidence in the truth, relevance, and power of the gospel.

The heart of the book is found in chapters three and four. Chapter three highlights the theological foundations for preaching. One must have biblical convictions about God, Scripture, the Church, the pastorate, and preaching. We must allow the text to be master and preachers must recognize that they are servants to Scripture. In chapter four he proceeds to make the case that preaching is bridge-building. Modern people often question the relevance of ancient Scripture. It is the task of the preacher to show them Scripture’s relevance and demand on their lives. Therefore preachers are to be men of the Word and men of the world.

In chapters five and six Stott offers help on the task of preaching. Chapter five deals with the roll of study in the life of the pastor. We are to study the Bible and the world and in doing such the purpose is not to gain intellectual knowledge but to learn to think and live more Christianly. Chapter six deals with the preparation and construction of sermons. He points to the necessity of noting the dominant thought of the text and using this as the basis and proposition statement of your sermon. Around this thought – the main point of the scriptural text – is to flow the entire sermon.

The final two chapters deal with the character of the preacher. Stott stresses that the preacher must the balance of sincerity and earnestness, courage and humility. The purpose of preaching is to both comfort and disturb the congregation. The preacher is to declare the sinfulness of humanity and the hope of the gospel of Christ. In doing so the preacher must speak to both the heart and the mind – the whole person is to be in view. Christian preaching is to be done in the humility of our human frailty yet in the power of the Spirit of God.

Stott’s book is both a theological and practical argument for sound preaching. The chapter on the history of preaching, although terribly short, certainly serves to whet one’s appetite for a deeper history on the preaching of God’s Word. For filling in the blanks one should consult Hughes Oliphant-Old’s magisterial The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church.

The book shows its age in dealing with the contemporary objections for another transmitter of information and images is the Internet. Between the Internet and TV the preacher has his work cut out for him. How is one to make the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments interesting and exciting for those who have the Internet and hundreds of television channels? It is truly a great and daunting task.

The section in which Stott makes suggestions in dealing with controversial issues is helpful. He suggests making good use of your congregation. Listen to your people and hear their opinions and ideas on such difficult questions. Let them speak and listen to their thoughts and ideas. Seek to know their hearts and minds and then preaching through the more difficult waters will be more safely charted.

The role of the preacher is a high and lofty task. Not only is he to know the Bible but he also must know his congregation and the world in which they exist. He is to be a man of the Bible and a man of the newspaper. The task of preaching is to bridge the chasm, which exists between the Biblical world and the modern world. It is a difficult yet great calling. Stott’s book is a great guide to this end. It will benefit both the seasoned pastor and the preacher in training. And may this book serve as a call to reclaim the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in our preaching and ministry. To him be all the glory!

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful.
A Good Balance of Theology and Practice
By Neil M Cameron
I just finished this book (English edition “I Believe in Preaching”) and, though I had a number of quibbles, I think this is one of Stott’s most classic books. Churches throughout the world have systematically abandoned expository preaching and taken hold of secular business growth strategies. While growth in numbers may occur, the depth of faith is not there because the preaching is not from the Bible. Stott’s book is a reminder that preachers should not preach what the audience wants to hear, but what they need to hear. What Stott really pushed for me was the notion that preachers should engage both the intellect and the emotion. Preaching which is merely intellectual is dry and uninteresting, no matter how true it is. Preaching which is merely emotional has little substance to it. True Expository preaching (the systematic preaching through books of the Bible, rather than topics or themes or hobbyhorses of the preacher) engages both the head and the heart, the intellect and the emotions, the ancient world (of the Bible) with the modern world of today.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
Excellent Explanation of the Essentials of Exposition
By Brian G Hedges
This excellent resource on preaching was very fresh for me. Stott approaches it from a different angle than many do. His aim is to show that preaching must connect two worlds – the Biblical world and the modern world. The image he uses is bridge-building, and the only bridge that is successfully built, is the one with an end firmly planted on both sides of the gap it attempts to span! Thus, this book encourages not only a firm grasp of the Scriptures, but a regular perusal of the newspaper . . . not because the two are equal in authority, but because the aim of the preacher is to bring the Bible to bear on the mind of the modern man. Other very interesting things are discussed – like the history of preaching, methods of study, and how to prepare sermons. An excellent resource for preachers and pastors!

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