1. Matt Ruff’s novel The Mirage is an almost complete, one-for-one rewriting of late-twentieth-century American history, transposing major political figures, political movements, religious organizations, government bodies, and global events (9/11, the Iraq War) from America and into the world of the United Arab States. Ruff goes to tremendous lengths to parallel as much of the recent history of the US into his alternate world, where America is now a series of nation-states controlled by various Christian extremist factions. Instead of a war in, Iraq, there is thus a war in America. Given, as Itty Abraham has suggested, that the Iraq War in our world was an extension of US imperialism, it bears questioning how Ruff critiques imperialism in his novel. (To extend your understanding of US imperialism, you might watch this video on its origins in the 19th century, or peruse the ever-helpful Wikipedia article on the topic; if you’re feeling particularly tenacious, you might check out A.G. Hopkins’s excellent new book American Empire: A Global History.)
Write a 500-word essay crafting an original argument about the role contemporary imperialism plays in Matt Ruff’s novel. You might consider, for example, what the significance of Ruff’s alternate history is—why does Ruff parallel US history so closely? Is the alternate history merely an allegory for US history? What purpose does this allegory serve? What role does “Arab imperialism” play in Ruff’s novel? What role does religion play in this imperialism—in the invasion of America and the retaliation for 11/9? Ultimately, what is Ruff saying about our recent history, the history of US involvement in the Middle East, and of US economic, religious, and military imperialism through The Mirage? How you deal with these questions and the secondary material is your choice.