How does one live amongst one's fellow countrymen and countrywomen when you don't know which of them is numbered amongst the sixty-million-plus who brought the horror to power, when you can't tell who should be counted among the ninety-million-plus who shrugged and stayed home, or when your fellow Americans tell you that knowing things is elitist and they hate elites, and all you have ever had is your mind and you were brought up to believe in the loveliness of knowledge, not that knowledge-is-power nonsense, but knowledge is beauty, and then all of that, education, art, music, film, becomes a reason for being loathed…
In Salman Rushdie's "The Golden House," the protagonist grapples with living in a society marked by political turmoil and the rise of an oppressive regime. The difficulty lies in distinguishing between those who actively supported the oppressive power and those who remained indifferent. This uncertainty creates a profound sense of alienation, as it becomes impossible to trust or connect with fellow citizens who may have different moral compasses.
The narrator reflects on the paradox of knowledge and education, which are both sources of personal empowerment and beauty, yet are met with disdain in a culture that equates knowledge with elitism. As this cultural disdain for intelligence persists, the protagonist feels increasingly isolated, struggling with the tension between their appreciation for knowledge and the societal narrative that vilifies it. Ultimately, the text highlights the challenge of seeking meaning and connection in a fractured world.
