Multivariate Democracy, Female Independence And Cultural Return

Salman Rushdie,a British-Indian writer,is the most important person of the magic realism writers in the 20 th century,whose magic expressions naturally combine values from Eastern and Western cultures with consummate skills.His three representative works,Midnight's Children,Shame and The Satanic Verses,are called “The Magic Trilogy” by many critics,which not only reveal that his artistic style is a combination of fiction and fact,but also carry his serious scrutiny of the historical changes and his critical thoughts of the social reality.“Magic and grotesque” just function as the bright coat while “reality and reason” are the nuclear in the novels.This paper systematically analyzes the magic realism expressions in Rushdie's magic trilogy,which give us pure insight into the complex social relationships and the tremendous internal conflict in South Asia,revealing his way of thinking and his literary world,understanding his best wishes of multivariate democracy,female independence and cultural return for South Asia.Based on the knowledge of magic realism and post-colonialism,and by the method of reference study,root-seeking and text analysis,this thesis takes reality and reason as the basic point,and analyses Rushdie's magic trilogy profoundly for the first time,which is no longer confined to the representations of magic realism,and more attention is paid to the nuclear and the realistic significance of his novels.The thesis is composed of four chapters.Chapter One introduces the background of this paper,briefly summarizes Rushdie's life,the contents of magic trilogy and the research situation at home and abroad.Chapter Two introduces the origin and development,the definition and characteristics of magic realism,aiming at establishing the theoretical foundation for the following analysis.Chapter Three analyses the demonstrations of magic realism in magic trilogy from four aspects,namely,non-linear narrative of time and space,magic characters and plots,adapting classic allusions and blending reality and fiction.Chapter Four comprehensively exposes the reality and reason hidden behind the magic coat.From the three aspects of politics,human rights and culture,which upgraded one after another,this paper exposes serious social challenges in the Subcontinent,e.g.superpower,masculinism,cultural invasion.And then reveals Rushdie's real wishes of multivariate democracy,female independence and cultural return for South Asia.Rushdie has won the speaking right for the Subcontinent through his unique perspective,alerting the people to face their own problems with courage,and building a co-existent,democratic and equal new society.