Delineation of Anti-History in Salman Rushdie’s Quichotte

Abstract

This research paper aims to exploreSalman Rushdie’sQuichotte(2019)as delineation of anti-history in terms of its reinterpretation of the American Dream, privatization, liberalization,globalization andscrutinization of the historical documents(Declaration of Independence, 1776, Immigration Act, 1917) inorder to deconstruct state-crafted history. Rushdierevisits the official historyand other state policies, primarily ofAmerica,secondarilyofother western countries andfinallyof Indiafor juxtaposing the anti-history throughout the novel.Observingthe text, this paper offers more than one potential reading of mainstreamhistory and the novelist’s social context to analyze the novelas adirect outcome of the contradicting interpretations.Aspeople havebeen mobilized by theAmerican Dreamin the contemporary time, there hasbeen the failure ofmarginalizedaspirations.To explorethese ideas,thisresearch interpretsSalman Rushdie'sQuichttefrom the perspective of New Historicism.By taking MichaelFoucault’sideas-power, discourse, truth and knowledge, andCatherine Gallagher and Stephen Greenblatt’s ideas oncounter culturethisresearchconcludes thatthe dream ofthe downtroddento live dignified life turns to be unsuccessful because of thecontinuation of unequal power relation, ineffective public management and weak socio-political regulatorymechanisms. Keywords:Anti-history,Counter-Culture, Discourse, History,Unequal-PowerRelation