-
Essay / Hidden Allegory in Haroun and the Sea of Stories
Table of ContentsIntroductionRushdie's communication with readers through historyConclusionHaroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie tells the fictional story of a young protagonist named Haroun who becomes returns to the sea of stories to help his father regain his talent as a narrator. This account was a consequence of Rushdie's many years in hiding. After publishing The Satanic Verses, a novel about the pagan goddesses of Mecca that insulted many Muslims, former Iranian Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa ordering Rushdie's death. As a result, the English government put Rushdie into hiding and he was forced to be separated from his young son, Zafar. In an effort to reconnect with and entertain his son, Rushdie wrote an entertaining story for children: Haroun and the Sea of Stories. Although the tale resonates with younger audiences and depicts a sense of magical realism, the allegory also makes several allusions to works familiar only to older audiences. Rushdie's references to King Lear, Plato, and the Beatles demonstrate this dichotomy, resulting in a work that aims to appeal to a child's sense of wild creativity, while also appealing to more experienced readers familiar with complex subjects. Rushdie particularly hooks his second, presumably older, audience by explaining the importance of speech and storytelling in a deep philosophical context. Describing the circumstances of his fatwa, Rushdie appeals to the second audience by presenting them with an overarching framework for how speech promotes a richer private and public life. In the tale Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Rushdie addresses children and experienced older readers simultaneously. By using magical realism to advance the plot, allude to other well-known children's works, and introduce a myriad of magical creatures, Rushdie immediately captures children's interest. In almost contrasting fashion, Rushdie informs readers about the importance of storytelling, portraying Khattam-Shud, the opposition to all storytelling, as an antagonist and expanding on Haroun's progressive love of storytelling and culture. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayIntroductionAfter several years of hiding and isolation from his family, Rushdie longed to connect with his young son, Zafar through a story that would entertain him. Thus, Haroun and the Sea of Stories is formatted as a children's book to demonstrate the bond between Rushdie and his son. The first way Rushdie illustrates this is by using the art of magical realism to advance the plot of the book. Magical realism is defined as a genre of fantasy fiction that expresses a distorted and magical view of the real world. Magical realism is commonly used in writing children's stories, such as Peter Pan or Harry Potter, both of which begin with a protagonist living in reality and discovering a magical, revolutionary world. Rushdie's first allusion to other children's works comes at the beginning of the third chapter, when Haroun is introduced to Iff, the water genie. The character Iff most resembles the genie in the magic lamp from Aladdin, as he serves as Haroun's guardian throughout the plot and has some physical similarities. Iff is described as having baggy pants and a turban, common Middle Eastern clothing that strongly resembles the story of Aladdin's genie. The description and role of Iff, an important role in the allegory, shows the reader that Rushdie's primary intention wasto write a book aimed at young children, particularly her son. Additionally, in the fourth chapter, Rushdie makes explicit mention of the fairy tale Rapunzel, writing: "What Haroun was experiencing, thought he did not know, was the story of rescuing Princess Number S /1001/ZHT/420/41(r). )xi; and because the princess in this particular story had recently had her hair cut and therefore did not have long braids to let down (unlike…Rapunzel)". The story is set within the retelling of a different story and popular which advances the adventure and reaffirms Rushdie's intention to make it a story accessible to children Finally, another visible allusion is found in the seventh chapter, when Haroun observes a man fighting viciously against his own shadow with a. sword However, the shadow fought back "with equal ferocity, attention and skill". The reference to Peter Pan in this scene is obvious, since Peter Pan also fought his own shadow. book makes it much more accessible to young children Likewise, the use of magical realism to alter the storyline is common in children's fairy tales. Thus, the use of magical realism, the countless allusions to popular fairy tales. for children and the introduction of various bizarre characters affirms the idea that Rushdie wrote Haroun and the Sea of Stories in order to entertain his son and other children. Readers Through History Although Rushdie's primary intention in creating Haroun and the Sea of Stories was to write an entertaining fantasy novel for his son, he also wrote it to explain the circumstances in which the fatwa had put it. Rushdie begins this process by telling the reader about Khattam -Shud, translating to “silence.” Khattam-Shud is the story's antagonist who poisons the flows of the Sea of Stories and captures Princess Batcheat. Haroun best describes Khattam-Shud as "a skinny, skinny, whiny, talkative, shabby, miserly, miserable, weasel, clerk type, who had no shadow but seemed almost as much a shadow as a man." Immediately, the reader is presented with a negative connotation of the character responsible for silencing Haroun's father. Rushdie emphasizes the importance of free narration, which Khattam-Shud vehemently opposes. Rushdie continues to write: “The Chupwalas…proved to be a disunited rabble…many of them actually had to fight their own treacherous shadows! And for the rest, well, their vows of silence and their habits of secrecy had made them suspicious of each other... The result was that the Chupwalas did not stand side by side, but betrayed each other, stabbed each other in the return, mutinous, hidden, deserted. The Chupwalas, meaning “those who are silent,” were silenced by Khattam-Shud and, as a result, suffered from censorship. Rushdie once again asserts that a society that suffers from censorship can never stand up when challenged and fight against itself and its own shadows. It viciously criticizes Khattam-Shud's character for his lack of tolerance and authoritarian rule, but also portrays the acceptance of the narrative in a positive light. He explains from Haroun's point of view: "He looked into the water and saw that it was made up of a thousand thousand thousand and one different currents, each of a different color, intertwining with each other like a liquid tapestry of breathtaking complexity. …these were the Currents of History…each colored strand represented and contained a single tale.” Haroun's awareness of the beauty of storytelling indicates a.