History and fiction as narrative in the novels of Salman Rushdie

This work examines the fiction of Salman Rushdie--Grimus, Midnight's Children, Shame and The Satanic Verses, and its complex narrative structure. Fictional narrative is discussed in terms of structuralist theory using studies by Mieke Bal, Seymour Chatman and Gerald Prince. Historical narrative is analyzed through the writings of the philosophers of history, Hayden White, Louis O. Mink and Paul Ricoeur. These theories are applied to the fiction of Salman Rushdie in order to investigate his use of narrative. It is concluded that he uses a combination of historical and fictional narrative in order to explode existing 'truths' and mythologies, and to suggest alternative realities in their place.