Good Advice Is Rarer Than Rubies

Her er vores study guide til novellen "Good Advice is Rarer Than Rubies" af Salman Rushdie, som du kan læse i lærebogen Targets, Gyldendal 1998 (s. 54). Med denne study guide får du det fulde overblik over de elementer i novellen, som det er relevant at tage med i en analyse. Det gælder alt fra resumé og struktur til tema og budskab.

Præsentation af teksten

Titel: “Good Advice Is Rarer Than Rubies” (1975)
Forfatter: Salman Rushdie
Genre: Novelle

Salman Rushdie (f. 1947) er en britisk statsborger, født i Indien. Hans litterære værker foregår for det meste på det indiske subkontinent og behandler kulturelle temaer. På grund af romanen The Satanic Verses er Rushdie blevet en kontroversiel forfatter, da bogen blev anset som stødende af flere medlemmer af det muslimske samfund og religiøse ledere. De seneste 15 år har Rushdie boet i USA, hvor han nyder stor popularitet.

Uddrag

Her kan du læse et uddrag af vores analysehjælp:

Social setting

The social setting of the story mainly focuses on emigration, tradition, and gender roles.

The story provides some explanations about the emigration system between Pakistan and the UK. According to Muhammad Ali, many people believe that women are lying about their situation when they try to emigrate to the UK: “He told her that the sahibs thought all the women who came on Tuesdays, claiming to be dependents of bus drivers in Luton or chartered accountants in Manchester, were crooks and liars and thieves.” (p. 283, ll. 36-39), suggesting the British distrust in Pakistanis. Also, the story presents part of the procedure for obtaining a visa: “He explained that they would ask her questions, personal questions, questions such as a lady’s own brother would be shy to ask” (p. 283, ll. 43-45). This shows that the process of getting a visa to England was a thorough and intrusive one.