The Satanic Verses: Study Questions. V. A City Visible but Unseen
1. An obvious question that immediately springs to mind is the significance of the title of this section. What does it mean? How can a city be "visible" and "not seen" at the same time? Is the "city" in question here just London (or a part of London), or is the city more than just a place? (While this question may immediately spring to mind, an answer does not, and you may want to reflect on possible answers from time to time in the course of your reading.)
2. The Sufyan family has the same name (Sufyan) as the historical figure on whom Abu Simbel is based in the "Mahound" section. His wife has the same name as Simbel's wife. What similarities and contrasts are there between the families? Think of the characters of the husband and the wife and of the differences between their characters in Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and London. What does their experience suggest about the problems of migration?
3. The Sufyan daughters, especially Mishal, become important characters. How do their characters and their relationship to each other change in the course of this section? Does our attitude towards them change as well? Why, in particular, is Mishal sympathetic to Chamcha? Why are her parents so upset at her relationship to Hanif Johnson?
4. It must be something of a shock to encounter a man who is in the process of changing into a goat (or, still worse, a goatish devil). How do various characters react to Chamcha? Do reactions to Chamcha show the moral status of the characters who react? What are the reactions, and what do the reactions say about the characters? Why does his image as a goat become an important symbol for the Brickhall community?
5. Chamcha tries in various ways to explain to himself why he is changing into a goat. Why is he? Why does he think he is? What attitudes does he adopt towards his change, and how do they in turn change in the course of the chapter? What brings about his retransformation into himself at the end?
6. In a sequence of sections (pp. 258-70), Chamcha has a series of telephone conversations with his show-business associates. What, in particular, does the information we get on these characters imply about the themes of migration and race relations that dominate this chapter?
7. Beyond the Shaandaar Café racial relations become more intense as the chapter goes along: the Granny Ripper, the reactions of the police (why, by the way does Pamela accuse the police of having covens of witches?), the adoption of the Goat symbol by local people, the imprisonment of Dr. Uhuru Simba for the Granny murders, and the climactic scenes at the Hot Wax Club. What are the issues here, what are the sources of concern and tension, how does Rushdie present them?
8. We learn a great deal more about Alleluia Cone--her family, her mountaineering, her work. This information seems to engage a number of themes we have encountered thus far: religion, migration and identity, and sexuality. How does what we know about Allie and her family extend and illuminate these themes?
9. Allie Cone seems a strange mixture of characteristics: she is beautiful, nordic (despite being Jewish), a mountain-climber, flat-footed, and, like Gibreel, a dreamer. What do we make of her? Do we like her? Is she "right" for Gibreel? Why is she an important character for the novel?
10. Allie advertises her line of outdoor products. Advertising in a broad sense (the creation and distributing of false images, from the work of Hal Valence through the modeling of Elena Cone to Sylvester Roberts's change of name to Uhuru Simba)) seems a recurrent theme in this section, and it intersects with the related theme of acting or performance. What are the nature and significance of advertising in The Satiric Verses?
11. The romance of Gibreel and Allie seems rocky from the start. But one dominant cause of their problems is Gibreel's jealousy. Is this an aspect of his character that is a convenient and arbitrary element of plot for Rushdie, or does it have thematic significance? After his first effort to reform London is unsuccessful, Gibreel returns to Allie? Why does she take him in (despite her mother's advice to the contrary)? Why is she so interested in helping him?
12. God visits Gibreel (318-19). He looks remarkably like the author Salman Rushdie. He identifies himself as "the Fellow Upstairs," but Gibreel suggests he might be "the Guy from Underneath." The short scene reminds us of the various times the narrator describes himself mysteriously. Is the author divine or diabolic (or neither or both)?
13. Gibreel, at God's command, sets forth to redeem the City. How does he, a non-believer, get to be transformed into an angel? His interventions on behalf of divine sanity seem, at first, quite unsuccessful. Why? Why at this point does Rekha Merchant appear to him again? What is the significance of Gibreel's dismissal of her, and what are its effects?
14. In the course of his "cure" (and how effective a cure is it?), Gibreel resumes his movie career. Whiskey Sisodia seems to take over from Alleluia Cone as his healer and comforter. Why does Gibreel return to the film? What is its effect on his relationship with Allie? What is its connection to his eventual return as the Angel Gibreel?
15. As the Angel, Gibreel turns London into a tropical paradise (or something like that). The transformation, if only temporary, deserves a question. Beyond the advantages and disadvantages of the change (listed on p. 355), what possible meanings can you attach to this shift in weather patterns?
16. At the end of their episodes, Saladin and Gibreel both have visions of the other as the adversary. How do the events of this long section redefine their relationship to each other? What elements of this relationship make them adversaries?