Reflection on Pakistan History, Politics, and Women Status in Salman Rushdie’s Shame

Abstract

This dissertation aims at revealing the right Pakistani social and political picture in the eyes of the Indian Salman Rushdie throughout the study of his novel Shame. It assesses the concepts of shame and shamelessness and their impact on the society throughout the analysis of his literary styles and figurative images that he uses mainly to draw the Pakistani life. In other words, it shows how shame is a part of the architecture of the Pakistani world where history is victimized and dismissed throughout the novel. It also sheds light on Pakistani women status, who are marginalized and suppressed pathetically in society. The writer portrays them as submissive victims to men and rigid social norms. From an analytical perspective, this work has proved that Salman Rushdie through his novel Shame controls his characters to portray Pakistan. He brings successfully the mechanism of oppression and repression into his novel in which characters manipulate history and shame becomes a part of Pakistan politics. He also portrays Pakistani women as victims to both men and society; trying to bare the truth of gender issues from the beginning till the end in the novel. The submissive woman always tries to save herself from the domination of man or society. But, in Shame the rescue happens only when men exaggerate in their hegemony and cause the explosion. Eventually, the thesis offers insights into the fate of Pakistan where violence is a result of what the nation suffers from in which shame and the shamelessness are a disastrous price of living. The uncontrollable beast of the novel is a result of the corruption, tyranny, and suppression of politicians and leaders. It is also a result of the dreaming mind in creating a pure nation without a past history; that is to say, in order to have a pure identity in society, an oppressed nation which suffers from violence must be created.