Perpetual Strangers: Stereoscopic Vision, Self-fashioning, and Three Modern Novels

As the world becomes smaller through technology, we find an increasing overlap between differing sociological worldviews. This can lead to either antagonism and alienation, or empathy and new possibilities, depending upon the balance between newness and tradition. By examining the works of bi- cultural authors, we can get a glimpse into the minds of those who have successfully negotiated a path toward allowing alternate worldviews while maintaining stability in an ever-changing world. This book uses the work of Joseph Conrad, Vladimir Nabokov, and Salman Rushdie, to explore how language and other sociological matrices work to filter perceptions of reality and provide the basis for individual identity building. Heart of Darkness, Lolita and Midnight?s Children provide models of this filtration and identity building, as well as examining, in their fictional episodes and through created characters, the consequences and strategies of using language, law, and religion to mold our experience into understandable stories and consumable elements. The book will be useful for those interested in the power of social matrixes in shaping worldview and identity.