The Usenet Newsgroup alt.usage.english has debated this expression several times, most recently in spring 1998. No one there presented definitive evidence, but dictionaries agree that the proper expression is “the carrot or the stick”. One person on the Web mentions an old “Little Rascals” short in which an animal was tempted to forward motion by […]
A few residents of the United Kingdom and Canada have taken umbrage at my statement that “American English is quickly becoming an international standard.” “Piffle,” they assert; “everyone knows that the Queen’s English is the worldwide standard,” or words to that effect. Let’s see if I can make this clear while being reasonably polite. First […]
Annotated Bibliography A-Z Bibliography In the original online version of this bibliography, all the book and periodical titles were italicized. Unfortunately in the transition to the new version the italics were lost. I may try to restore these eventually, but it will take some time. In the meantime you will probably have no difficulty discerning […]
Selected Sources I have drawn on these books and articles in creating these notes. However, this is far from being a comprehensive bibliography of scholarship on The Satanic Verses, nor is it intended to be a list of the best sources. Rather it consists primarily of sources which provided assistance in tracking down allusions in […]
Margot Dijkgraaf’s interview with Rushdie about James Joyce Every year there is in the Netherlands a special week, called the Week of the Book, in which– to promote the new titles– anyone spending more than $10 in a book store receives an extra book, which is specially written for the occasion. In 2001 it was […]
The Unity of The Satanic Verses The Satanic Verses has been attacked by many critics as incoherent, as a disorganized mixture of plots, themes, and characters. Even a cursory survey of the preceding notes reveals that Rushdie has sought to knit together the various threads of his novel by introducing a host of cross-references, repeating […]
Chapter IX: The Wonderful Lamp Plot outline for Chapter IX A year and a half later, Saladin flies home to be with his dying father. He has heard that Gibreel is now making films based on the “dreams” which have alternated with the present-day plot throughout the novel. On the plane he reads of various […]
Chapter VIII: The Parting of the Arabian Sea Plot outline for Chapter VIII It is important to know that the events in this chapter are based on a real occurrence. In 1983 thirty-eight fanatical Shi’ites walked into Hawkes Bay in Karachi (the site of the Rushdie family home in Pakistan). Their leader had persuaded them […]
Chapter VII: The Angel Azraeel Plot Summary for Chapter VII This is by far the most eventful chapter in the novel, and the one in which readers are most likely to get lost. The Saladin/Gibreel plot resumes as the former meditates on his two unrequited loves: for London and for Pamela, both of whom have […]
Chapter VI: Return to Jahilia Plot Summary for Chapter VI This chapter, the most controversial in the novel, returns us to Jahilia, from which Mahound had fled (historically this corresponds to the Prophet Muhammad’s flight from Mecca to Medina). Mahound is returning to his home city, having gained many followers while he was away. The […]