World Masterpieces II

Opening Up the Universe

In "Imaginary Homelands," Salman Rushdie argues that "human beings do not perceive things whole; we are not gods but wounded creatures, cracked lenses, capable of only fractured perceptions" (12).

This partial condition is further complicated for those who live in displaced conditions, those who, for one reason or another, are "translated," having "been borne across the world" (17). For translated persons, Rushdie advocates the construction of "imaginary homelands."

"Imaginative truth," Rushdie claims, is "simultaneously honorable and suspect," creating visions that depart from strict fact and yet, nevertheless, offering a way to cope with the shocks and challenges of a new world.

For your final essay, I want you to use Rushdie's meditations on imagination, displacement, and literature as a framework for analyzing one of the final authors we are studying this semester: Jorge Luis Borges, Léopold Senghor, Hanan Al-Shaykh, or Art Spiegelman (choose one). Make an argument that responds to the following two questions:

1) How does the author or his characters use imagination, projection, memory, or art to respond to disaster, displacement, marginalization, or change?

2) How does your chosen text illustrate-or depart-from Rushdie's arguments about "imagined homelands"?

There are 3 minimal requirements for this essay:

1. You must directly QUOTE AND CITE both Rushdie and your chosen literary text. Any other sources, including Internet sources, are strictly forbidden.

2. Your argument must be grounded in aclose reading of the source text. I expect to see careful analysis, drawing on all of the reading skills and resources we have developed this semester.

3. In a departure from the prior two essays, I want you to imagine that this essay has 2 readers: Salman Rushdie and myself. Attempt to surprise us with your insights; write as intelligently and creatively as you can.

As always, I am eager to discuss your work in progress. Feel free to schedule an appointment with me at any time.

Naming Instructions: Submit the essay through SafeAssignment as a WORD document. In GoogleDocs, upload the file to your folder with the title "essay 3."

Jaussen

Essay 3

Length: 3-4 pages.

Format: 12 pt, Times New Roman Font, double-spaced, 1" margins. MLA citations.