The second half of MAO II concerns Bill's attempts to free a writer being held hostage by a terrorist group. When DeLillo wrote MAO II, anxiety about the role of the writer in world terror was at an all-time high. Particularly, many writers worried about the fate of their fellow novelist, Salman Rushdie--a famous British-Indian author, who was sentenced to death after publishing The Satanic Verses (1988), a novel that playfully and irreverently represented the story of Muhammad, among its many other story lines.
Thankfully, the fatwa (death sentence) placed on Rushdie's head by the Ayatollah Khomeini, the then-leader of Iran, was never carried out. However, Rushdie suffered for many years under the fear of death and pursuit by a series of assassins bent on carrying out Khomeini's will. Rushdie's difficult situation greatly affected many writers during the period in which DeLillo was writing. What did it mean that someone would want to kill a writer for insulting a religious figure or deity? Did other writers need to live in fear? The case of Rushdie haunts MAO II.
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I think it means that they live in an intolerant society that practices the fundamental form of an outmoded, mystical religion. The treatment of women, homosexuals, and those who hold "offensive" worldviews in those cultures is abominable.
- Christopher Bruckmann
Whether authors need to live in fear of offending extremists from anywhere (United States included) is not the most significant issue. What should be brought to light is the insidious creeping of the extremist's point of view into the author's consciousness. Now, authors know, "what's on the table." (to put it simply) Consciously or not, I think other artists fear this brand of extreme measures, this frigid lack of tolerance, these groups supporting violent absolutes.
But on the other hand...
Authors understand that literature is a dynamic force and often times an iconoclastic one. And to quote Peter Parker's uncle Ben "With great power comes great etc. etc." or something like that.
With the power to challenge and create comes the power to produce turbulence and possibility of offending the fundamentalists and extremists of this world. Authors have always been in danger of the group mentality, and especially of angry fundamentalist groups. This happens in our country(see various instances of book bannings and burnings)! Unfortunately the extremists aren't leaving or being phased out necessarily, but neither are the great authors. So we'll call the extremist set of ideology an occupational hazard to great authors.
Very interesting conversation, Christopher and Madison. The question of extremism (whether it emerges from fundamentalism abroad or at home) is a fascinating one--and one that helps us ask what role the writer has in a culture where little attention is paid to the subtleties of words as opposed to images. Let's keep this conversation going in class tomorrow.
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