East West
Good Advice Is Rarer than Rubies by Salman Rushdie
Brief summary
One Tuesday morning, the beautiful Miss Rehana leaves a bus in front of the British Consulate somewhere in Pakistan. Her parents are dead,and her fiancé,who lives in Bradford and who she has not seen since she was nine years old,has sent for her,and she has come to apply for a visa to immigrate to Britain. She is immediately accosted (D.: jmd.ansprechen) by the advice expert Muhammad Ali,who is so attracted to the beautiful young girl,that he even offers her his advice for free. Miss Rehana conscientiously uses his advice, but not to”pass” the test. Instead, she deliberately (D.:mit Absicht) fails,telling Muhammad afterwards that she has a job in a great house as ayah /nanny to three boys who would have been very sad to see her go.
Structure of the plot
Rushdie has always been fascinated by motion pictures, and the action of this single incident is presented to the reader as if he was watching actors in a film.
At the beginning of the story Miss Rehana is at first concealed (D.: verborgen) by a cloud of dust,and then makes a dramatic entrance when she descends from the bus.
The narrative is divided into short scenes, in which the reader forms certain expectations as to (D:hinsichtlich) how the narrative could continue.
p.203 -205 /15 : the reader has formed the impression that Miss Rehana is a beautiful and polite young lady.
p.205/16-206/27: Miss Rehana does not seem to be so polite any longer, as she is obviously making fun of the old man.
p.206/28-208/2: Muhammad Ali,the crook and swindler,who usually feels no guilt when it comes to tricking women into giving him money,is giving his advice for free.
p.208/3- 208/25: Miss Rehana is angry now and the old man feels like a fool, as she tells him off (D: jmd. ausschimpfen)
p.208/26- 210/29: Miss Rehana is happy
Brief summary
One Tuesday morning, the beautiful Miss Rehana leaves a bus in front of the British Consulate somewhere in Pakistan. Her parents are dead,and her fiancé,who lives in Bradford and who she has not seen since she was nine years old,has sent for her,and she has come to apply for a visa to immigrate to Britain. She is immediately accosted (D.: jmd.ansprechen) by the advice expert Muhammad Ali,who is so attracted to the beautiful young girl,that he even offers her his advice for free. Miss Rehana conscientiously uses his advice, but not to”pass” the test. Instead, she deliberately (D.:mit Absicht) fails,telling Muhammad afterwards that she has a job in a great house as ayah /nanny to three boys who would have been very sad to see her go.
Structure of the plot
Rushdie has always been fascinated by motion pictures, and the action of this single incident is presented to the reader as if he was watching actors in a film.
At the beginning of the story Miss Rehana is at first concealed (D.: verborgen) by a cloud of dust,and then makes a dramatic entrance when she descends from the bus.
The narrative is divided into short scenes, in which the reader forms certain expectations as to (D:hinsichtlich) how the narrative could continue.
p.203 -205 /15 : the reader has formed the impression that Miss Rehana is a beautiful and polite young lady.
p.205/16-206/27: Miss Rehana does not seem to be so polite any longer, as she is obviously making fun of the old man.
p.206/28-208/2: Muhammad Ali,the crook and swindler,who usually feels no guilt when it comes to tricking women into giving him money,is giving his advice for free.
p.208/3- 208/25: Miss Rehana is angry now and the old man feels like a fool, as she tells him off (D: jmd. ausschimpfen)
p.208/26- 210/29: Miss Rehana is happy
Links: to other stories Immigration: Although it is not a central issue, Spark`s “The Black Madonna” also deals with immigration. However, it shows the racism which some immigrants experienced when they entered Britain, whereas Rushdie underlines the fact that immigration is not always the ideal solution. Stereotyping: This also an issue in Qaisra Sharaz`s “A Pair of Jeans”: in the eyes of the future in-laws Miriam is at first the ideal stereotypical Muslim daughter-in-law, but when she sees her dressed in Western clothes she is automatically stereotyped as the wild, disobedient girl. The author Rushdie was born in Bombay in 1947 to a middle-class Muslim family.he was educated at the Engluish public school Rugby and studied at King`s College Cambridge.His fourth novel, “The Satanic Verses” opens with two Indian actors falling from the sky after a jumbo jet is hijacked and explodes. The novel was controversial as it dealt with the founder of Islam , Muhammad, in a satirical way. This led to accusations of blasphemy against Islam, so that the novel was banned in many countries and was burned in the streets of Bradford. Iran`s spiritual leader at that time, issued a fatwa (a legal pronouncement) calling on all Muslims to kill the writer and the publishers of the book, which forced Rushdie to go into hiding.