Salman Rushdie's Haroun And The Sea Of Stories

Unexpected occurrences take place that are negative, and these might be things which one does not have control over. Authors often use internal struggles as a mental imprisonment that one much conquers in order to achieve their full potential. In Hag Seed, Felix is backstabbed, kicked out of his job as the director of the Makeshiweg theater festival, and put on his journey to prove to those who betrayed him that they were wrong but most importantly he has to show himself that he can overcome the harsh obstacles of failure and rejection. The psychotic break Felix suffers after his termination, and Miranda’s death, motivates him to direct The Tempest, which ultimately heals him.

This research project is focused on understanding a book, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. In addition, the project objective is to understand choices, actions, and processes of characters and what factors led them to arrive to such consequences.

Amir’s mother, Sofia, dies in childbirth; Amir inherits her love of literature and probably her looks to some extent, but, her being dead, never receives any motherly love or guidance, which could have helped him out of the cowardly hole he later digs himself into. Amir’s father’s best friend and business partner, Rahim Khan, tries to give Amir the motherly love he clearly needs, fostering Amir’s love of writing and steadfastly standing up for him when Amir’s father, Baba, criticizes him, but Rahim Khan does not do enough to instill honesty, courage, and strength of conviction in young Amir. Amir’s best friend, Hassan, a servant a year younger than Amir, is everything Amir is not: athletic, brave, loyal, honest, and kind, inciting jealousy in Amir. Assef, a local bully, poses a real threat to Amir, hating Amir for the crime of befriending a Hazara (oppressed ethnic minority), but Amir is protected by Hassan, allowing young Amir to freeze and not stand up for himself in Assef’s presence. Last, but most importantly, is Amir’s father, Baba, and his views on Amir: he blames Amir for Sofia’s death,

The harlot plays a very important role in the development of this story. It was because of

I love the way his chapters' lengths widely vary; it is as if he just writes down his story as it comes to him. Because Hosseini does not follow a strict structure when writing, his characters are very well-developed and the audience is told almost everything about each of them through Amir. This unique style of narration allows me to see situations in the book from many characters' different perspectives. For example, when Amir says "I finally had what I'd wanted all those years. Except now that I had it, I felt as empty as this unkept pool I was dangling my legs into," I see a lot more than a simile and some irony. As a reader, I not only understand that Amir has given everything he has to receive his father's love, but I also know that Hassan has had to suffer through a lot for Amir to get here. Was Baba's love worth all of Hassan's suffering? I am pretty sure Hassan is actually happy for Amir because the author has consistently been showing the audience that Hassan will not do anything to harm Amir. However, when the author compares Amir's emotional state to that of the barren pool directly in front of him, I can infer that Amir is at a total loss for words. Hosseini has told the audience that Amir is a well-educated child, so when he resorts to comparing himself to vague physical objects in his immediate vision, I believe Hosseini is trying to state that Amir is unable to think of any words to express

One lie that robs Hassan and Amir of the truth is drastically changing the outcome of their lives. Correspondingly if Baba doesn’t rob Hassan of knowing who is real father is his life may be totally different beginning from his adolescence; "Possibly, Baba would have brought them along to America. Perhaps Hassan would have had a home of his own now, a vocation, a family, a life in a nation where nobody minded that he was a Hazara"(Hosseini 238). Since Hassan is known to be Ali’s son, he is a servant whom does not attend school and is unable to move to America like Amir and Baba. Hassan being a servant leads to having different social standards than Amir which cause many problems for both of them such has Hassan’s’ rape; Hassan’s rape leads to Hassan and Ali moving out which is ultimately the cause of Hassan’s death.

For instance, by using the relationship between the past and present to influence Amir’s character development, Hosseini demonstrates how despite one’s best efforts, there is no way to escape the memories of the past. Memories follow individuals wherever they go and can torment individuals for the rest of their lives. Hosseini reveals how Amir’s past decisions shape his character development and his decision­making as the story progresses. When Amir was young, he was

During his visit to Kahani,Haroun crossed the twilight strip which led them to an evil and forbidding region, “It was a suicidal mission, Haroun became convinced they would be defeated”(121),but after he saw Mudra a shadow warrior his opinions changed. Mudra was performing a martial dance,”The dance of the shadow warrior showed him that silence had its own grace and beauty...and that action could be as noble as words;and that creatures of darkness could be as lovely as the children of light”(125). This emphasizes the change Haroun went from seeing the evil in the Chups to seeing the beauty. Not only did stories change Haroun they changed the people in the Valley of K as well. Rashid told them “Haroun and the Sea of Stories”. The crowd became so impacted by the story they sang along and interacted with Rashid. Eventually the citizens were able to connect and sympathize with people from the land of chup. They realized how their ruler resembled Khattam-Shud and were able to choose leaders they actually liked. Storytelling takes us on a journey that lets us experience moments in a way reality doesn't let us;it changes us in a way no one else

This prove that even someone that has lived with a Hasara their whole life still sees them as a servant before a friend. This is significant because it shows that even Amir, the closest person to Hassan is so easy to turn his back to him. The main point that is trying to be proven is that Hazaras are treated unfairly as “dogs” and second class

The Chupwalas had been beat before they had even went to war with the Gups. The dark warrior knew this, as he can see that without freedom of speech, communication and trust amongst each other had been lost. Once the Chupwalas went to fight the Gups, Haroun witnessed this for himself. He saw the lack of trust amongst the dark warriors. (61)

In Salman Rushdie’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Haroun, an eleven year old boy travels to magical lands intending to restore Rashid Khalifa’s lost storytelling ability. Haroun faces an internal conflict when trying to understand his father’s stories because others are simple minded, but after meeting friendly creatures he is able to look at the stories differently. Haroun’s neighbor causes him to question Rashid’s inspiration for stories. Only knowing how to accept sensible answers, Haroun refuses to believe that Rashid’s explanations can be the truth. During an unpleasant encounter with Haroun Mr. Sengupta says, “Life is not a storybook or joke shop.

Nobel Prize winner Nadine Gordimer once stated, “Censorship is never over for those who have experienced it. It is a brand on the imagination that affects the individual who has suffered it, forever.” This was a problem faced by Salman Rushdie. After years of suffering from writers block, he overcame his obstacles and published "Haroun and the Sea of Stories". It is not only a story for his son, but a proclamation of the triumph of the writer over the oppressive forces that sought to silence him. When read literally, the resolution of "Haroun and the Sea of Stories" is the defeat of Khattam-Shud as dictator. However, Rushdie’s true resolution is the conquest of freedom of speech over oppression. This is seen in how the characters’

Throughout the novel, Amir endeavors to be approved by his father, Baba, who is admired by people in Kabul. Unfortunately, Baba believes that Amir, unlike him, is very unmanly “and [that he] never fights back. He just... drops his head ” (Hosseini 24). Since Baba wishes for a son who would stand up for himself, he can’t help but observe that Amir’s friend Hassan, as the guy who “steps in and fends the [bullies] off” (Hosseini 24) is his idea of the ideal son. Though aware of his father’s expectations, Amir is unable to change himself and instead envies Hassan and the fact that Baba treats him like his own son by“[patting]Hassan on the back. [and even putting] his arm around his shoulder [like a fatherly figure]”(Hosseini 15). Despite the manifestation of this hatred in Amir, he continues to recognize the bond that he shares with Hassan, “ brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast” (Hosseini 11) which is because both their mothers died during birth. The confusing emotions he feels for Hassan has Amir face a situation in which he acts inappropriately and allows the guilt to manifest upon him. After winning a very important kite tournament for the first time and “seeing Baba on that roof, proud of [him] at last” (Hosseini 71) Amir begins to search for Hassan who had gone to run his kite earlier. Finally, Amir finds him in a dark alley and as he “peeks around the corner” (Hosseini 75) he witnesses a sight that eradicated not only his relationship with Hassan but also Baba’s brotherly relationship with Ali, Hassan’s father. Peeking through the corner of the alley, like a bystander, he watches his one and only friend getting raped. The guilt that came upon him was for two reason; one, his lack of courage to stand up to

Amir, representing the Pashtuns and high-society Afghanis, allows himself to degrade Hassan, the face of the mere Hazaras of the lowest class rank. Through the eyes of Amir, it seems as though Baba preoccupies himself passing time with his comrade Rahim Khan; when he sporadically attempts to involve Amir in his life, Baba always suggests that Hassan accompany them in their daily adventures leaving Amir questioning why his father tries desperately to avoid alone time and bonding moments with his son. The initial occurrences in which Amir witnesses Baba's immediate affection for Hassan drive Amir's negative mental attitude and envy towards his only companion Hassan.

Conversely, Haw is an optimistic character who anticipates and accepts change. After resisting change in the first phase together with Hem, he decides to follow his instincts and venture into the maze alone. Along with his adventures, he writes his experiences and observations on the walls expressing his values and beliefs as they undergo change. Most importantly, he has set himself a goal and continually visualizes success. This way it is easier for Haw to learn from his mistakes and persevere to achieve the expected goal which is to find the new cheese station.