Imaginary Homeelands: Literature as Freedom
Salman Rushdie’s “Imaginary Homelands” calls for freedom from a physical homeland and the restrictions that some impose on those physical space (e.g. that one must choose one, that one must adhere to the version and regulations dictated within that space by politicians for instance). Rushdie says essentially that (1) the homelands people imagine as static and pertaining to them are only imagined to be (which is limiting, but including diasporas and nation-states alike) and (2) that there is a higher status of imaginary which itself can become a freeing homeland, not attached to anything but the space in between identities and varied realities. He imagines that there is infinite possibilities that literature can provide, but often even many artists do not take advantage of the full spectrum of potential. The final image from a Bellow novel clearly puts forth this notion, with the concept of a barking dog often misinterpreted, but perhaps still clamoring in protest about the limit of h