The Construction of Enemies in Ron Rash’s “Return”

All of us, no matter how hard we try, succumb to preconceived stereotypes and the construction of others who may disagree with us enemies. Salman Rushdie discusses this extensively in his memoir Knife as he writes about his stabbing in August 2022 at the Chautauqua Institute. During a fictionalized interview with his would be assassin, Rushdie tells the man, “I know that it is possible to construct and image of a man, a second self, that bears very little resemblance to the first self, but this second self gains credibility because it is repeated over and over again until it begins to feel real, more real that the first self.” Rushdie points out how easy it is to construct an image of someone that is not, in any way, the reality of the individual. Once that “second self” arises, it takes over, and subsumes the “first self,” the true self, thus making it easier to justify violence and oppression against someone.

Earlier in Knife, Rushdie points out how this occurred following the publication of The Satanic Verses and the fatwa placed upon him by Ruhollah Khomeini. Writing about how some relished the attack on him, Rushdie writes, “And, inevitably, there were voices expressing pleasure about what had happened. If you are turned into an object of hate, there will be people who hate you.” Once the “second self” arises and the “first self” falls beneath the…