A Post-colonialist Analysis of Salman Rushdie’s The Free Radio

Abstract

Drawing upon post-colonialism, this paper is intended to probe into the problem of cultural identity reflected in Salman Rushdie’s The Free Radio. Starting from an overview of the historical context, the paper is devoted to the reinterpretation of the main characters (the rack puller, the thief’s widow and the old teacher) by resorting to Foucault’s power of discourse. The paper argues that the source of Ramani’s tragedy results from the concept of colonialism deeply rooted in the mind of the colonized. It is hoped the research may shed some light on a holistic understanding of cultural identity of those in the Third World.