Postcolonial Identity And Cultural Hybridity In Salman Rushdie’s Later Works: A Literary Exploration

Abstract

This research article analyses postcolonial identity and cultural creolization in the later works of Salman Rushdie concerning The Moor’s Last Sigh, The Ground Beneath Her Feet, and Shalimar the Clown. In this way, the study explores how Rushdie subverts the conventional understanding of identity and culture as fixed and stable categories that are determined by history and the world. To analyze how Rushdie’s characters grapple with the hybridity of their identities in the postcolonial world, the article draws from postcolonial theory, especially the hybridity theories developed by Homi K. Bhabha. The study focuses on the development of identity in Rushdie’s novels, and how his characters continue to be shaped by colonial and global forces. It also compares Rushdie’s treatment of hybridity with other postcolonial writers, to show how he has contributed to the field through the use of magical realism and narrative techniques. The present research adds to the existing body of postcolonial studies by providing fresh perspectives into the representation of culture, history, and identity in Rushdie’s novels. They stress the importance of hybridity as a concept for the analysis of postcolonial subjectivity in the context of modern global concerns. The article ends with an identification of directions for further research, with the author calling for more research on the ethical and political aspects of Rushdie’s representation of hybridity and its relevance in contemporary globalized society.