Shalimar the Clown and Orientalism pt.1

In the first section of Salman Rushdie's "Shalimar the Clown" we are presented with a view of both inner and outer chaos.  This chaos is sparked and spurned by political turmoil, interpersonal conflict and pain, as well as the ultimate combination of unfortunate circumstances which lead to the culmination of this novel.  As a reader, we are given the rare and incredibly valuable opportunity to analyze situations regarding the main character from both inner and outer influences.  Shalimar, the clown, the assassin, is an individual whose thoughts, actions, and reasoning are far too complex to be fully disclosed let alone understood in a mere 398 pages.  The task we are given, of truly thinking as Shalimar does, of seeing the world through his interpretations and decision making processes, is an imposing one to say the least.  However, as with everything in our world, one is only able to even begin to understand an individual or their actions if they start from the beginning.  Luckily Rushdie, as with so many of his other works, displays an uncanny ability of placing the reader in his characters exact place.  In various times throughout history and life, in different places throughout the world, and in varied and complex emotional states, Rushdie practically forces the reader to delve into his works and attempt to capture all it is that he writes.  

A main and critical theme throughout this novel is one of destruction, loss, pain and sorrow.  Shalimar feels this regarding his lost chance at a true family, the immense agony he feels for his lost love, and eventually he channels all these emotions into his defining act of murdering the one to blame for it all.  One need only take a glimpse at the life Shalimar once held, a life so naturally associated with that of a performer, a clown. He was happy, he felt pride and hope and love.  Sadly though, this comes to an end; as does the proverbial Eden that was his home.  The fracturing and demise of Muslim Pakistan from India inevitably ends with a total collapse of the once cherished Indian life itself.  The crevice into which Shalimar's entire life falls is etched by corrupt political, emotional, and religious lines. Rushdie may not be able to cause us to smell, to taste, to see or feel the life he so eloquently describes, the life Shalimar once led.  But he is at least more than able to compel and relay a feeling of darkness and despair, some of the only things left after it ends; whether it is through interpretation of Shalimar, or simply contrasting it with the life led by Max and India in the United States.  By showing us a life of luxury, privilege, happiness and family, and by knowing Shalimar’s life to be one of complete contrast with those words, we can start to piece together the puzzle Rushdie presents to us; a puzzle of cracked and missing pieces, one that, however tempting and alluring it may be to finally solve and understand, poses an unattainable and impossible task.  Perhaps we aren't meant to finish this puzzle, though. After all, when searching for a destination, it is more often the journey to find answers, reasons, or solutions that gives the traveler a greater sense of fulfillment and understanding. A road riddled with even more questions, leading down even more roads of discovery and further enrichment.