Salman Rushdie's The Moor's Last Sigh: Using Art to Ascend Mortality

No one can doubt the literary genius of Salman Rushdie: his philosophical nuggets of wisdom, depth of character development, and his poetic skill in tying the novel together. Many writers have attempted to portray India's hodge-podge of religions, cultures, and morals, but Rushdie triumphs over them. He writes in a lyrical manner, and the challenge in absorbing his intense artistry is well worth the effort. An element of The Moor's Last Sigh that is unique …

…only thing that remains to be beautiful and significant is Aurora's art. Just like history, art can be subject to an individual's interpretation, one different from the other. And "in the end, stories are what's left of us, we are no more than the few tales that persist" (p. 110). Aurora's art acts as the vehicle, which allows the characters to live on and maintain a sense of immortalit, despite their sense of ruin and failure.