Salman Rushdie's Haroun And The Sea Of Stories

Throughout Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Salman Rushdie provides a fundamental, yet intricate variety of literary usage. These instances of literary usage provide and framework of support for the text which is to follow and to further accentuate the smaller and unnoticeable details of the story in to vital parts which are necessary for better comprehension and understanding of the meaning of the upcoming events. Symbolism is the most commonly used and most imperative literary device used by Rushdie. 'With the land of Chup, on the dark side of Kahani?This looks like the doing of the leader of the Chupwalas, the Cult master of Bezaban.'(H.S.S. Pg 75) This statement from the text has a very symbolic meaning behind it, both in terms of the

Hosseini is able to present the political conflict in Afghanistan between Hazaras and Pashtuns in the novel to reflect on Amir and Hassan’s relationship. The harsh treatment and discrimination faced by Hazaras does show the historical influence that this had on their friendship. Despite this known conflict between the two ethnicities, Amir and Hassan’s relationships shows to be more of a brotherhood as they were ‘fed from the same breast’ and also to show how little political impact had on their friendship and the social pressures of the two contrasting characters and their backgrounds. Amir and Hassan are able to ignore the discrimination that goes on around them as Hassan is mostly referred to be other people as the ‘Hazara’ and not by his

Throughout the novel you can see the corruption of power via characters and their cultures. The Hazaras being a minority group, practicing the Shi’a Muslim religion, they were treated unequally. The affluent Pashtuns have discriminated the Hazaras for decades and considered them as servants. The separation of ethnic groups in Afghanistan, led to the Pashtuns utilizing their power to abolish the Hazaras out of their history. The two groups have a ongoing ethnic conflict that is inscribed into a child at a young age "I found one of my mother's old history books. . . An entire chapter dedicated to Hassan's people! In it, I read that my people, the Pashtuns, had persecuted and oppressed the Hazaras. It said the Hazaras had tried to rise against the Pashtuns in the nineteenth century, but the Pashtuns had "quelled them with unspeakable violence." The book said my people had killed the Hazaras, driven them from their lands, burned their homes, and sold their women."(Hosseini 9) It is not socially acceptable for Pashtuns and Hazaras to be acquainted. Both groups do not believe the other is a “true” Muslim and express this through violent outbursts. Nevertheless, there are exceptions to these social norms. Baba, Amir's father was a Pashtun and wealthy but throughout the novel has not followed the religious expectations of a Sunni Muslim such as despising

Who had nearly, if not all of the power in Afghanistan. The Pashtuns thought of themselves as a higher power the than the hazara’s. For example, when Amir reads the story he wrote to Hassan, Hassan says the man could have smelt onions to cry instead of killing his wife. Amir is so upset that he didn’t think of that but Hassan did, he thinks to himself “The Plot Hole. Taught by Hassan, of all people. Hassan who couldn’t read and had never written a single word in his entire life. A voice cold and dark, suddenly whispered in my ear, what does he know, that illiterate Hazara? He’ll never be anything but a cook. How dare he criticize you?” (Hosseini

Social status allows the powerful to gain more power, while pushing the struggling deeper into a hole. Hazaras are an ultimately low class in Afghanistan with very minimal rights. In The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini the protagonist Amir is a higher level Afghan citizen who is best friends with Hassan, a lower level Hazara. Throughout the book Amit gradually begins to treat Hassan more like a Hazara is treated by the majority of the population. Assef bullies Hassan to show him his place as a minority in Afghanistan. Due to Hassan being a Hazara, Baba avoids social embarrassment by not exposing the truth of Hassan being his son. Hassan later on gets killed for being a Hazara. In The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini shows that an individual's social status affects their future through the way Hazaras are treated in Afghanistan.

In particular, Amir’s morals and beliefs are influenced by his social position in the caste system. For example, left speechless by Hassan’s question, Amir thinks to himself, “What does he know, that illiterate hazara? He’ll never be anything but a cook”. Amir is offended by Hassan and insults him. He makes remarks of Hassan’s lower social status. This happens because of the fact that Amir subconsciously looks down at Hassan for being a Hazara while also recognizing his own privileged position of a Pashtun. Further, because Amir has been surrounded by other Pashtun who look down, criticize, and insult Hazaras, these thoughts have naturally resided within Amir. Consequently, Amir begins to believe Hazaras are less than him as seen when he insults Hassan with rude remarks of his social position.

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

In The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, Hosseini makes a clear division between those who are wealthy and those who are not by contrasting Amir to his peers. In Afghanistan, treatment in the community is related to race between the Pashtuns and the Hazaras. However, wealth and prominence play big roles in how even Pashtun children are treated. One example of this is how Amir is treated by others in Afghanistan.

This is introduced when Iff the water genie asks Haroun what bird would he like for transport, Haroun says the only bird present is the peacock bed resulting in an explanation from Iff about see what you want. This is a key point in the book as it teaches the protagonist as well as the reader that's for you use your imagination you can see whatever you want. Rushdie also shows this in other places in the book, whether describing weird creatures or having Heroun go into corrupted fairytales. Due to the conversation Haroun had with his father earlier, the reader and Haroun are expected to know that storytelling goes together with imagination. There is another key message Rushdie puts inside his fairytale. After the sea of stories is no longer poisoned and the antagonist is defeated, the author gives another message that say that storytelling brings happiness. The sad city where Haroun lives population becomes happy and renames the city to the name of the imaginative world he was was once in. Haroun starts out in disbelief and finding it hard to adjust in this new world that was suddenly established. Then he adjusts, his imagination becomes more open. By the end of the adventure the message is understood by the protagonist/reader and the story

Haroun and the Sea of Stories is an intriguing tale that could easily be classified as a children's story, but beneath its surface it shows Salman Rushdie’s struggle to overcome censorship and religious persecution.

In each of their own ways, they are protectors of the Sea of Stories and are incomplete without the other. Haroun seeks to discover the essence of stories and support his father, while Rashid gives them both form and shape. While Haroun is the hero of Haroun and the Sea of Stories and restores his father’s ability to tell stories, Rashid is the one who forms their adventure and relates it to others at the end of the novel. As can be seen, the Khalifas must come together to complete their mission in accordance with the Wahdad al-Vujud principle and fulfill their role of metaphorical Caliph, restoring both exoteric and esoteric

Rushdie uses opposites frequently throughout his book and one of them deals with the lands of Gup and Chup. In the novel, Haroun explains "Gup is bright and Chup is dark. Gup is warm and Chup is freezing cold. Gup is all chattering and noise, whereas Chup is silent as a shadow" (114). In the story, Gup represents the West where we value freedom of speech, whereas the land of Chup represents the East. Kattam-Shud, the dictator of Chup, wishes to poison the Sea of Stories in order to silence the stories forever because he believes "Inside every single story . . . there lies a world . . . that I cannot Rule" (151). His sign is a symbol of stitched lips which points to that he represents censorship unlike the Gups who value freedom of speech tremendously. However, the importance of free speech doesn't mean one should always speak, unthinkingly. Haroun observes that "Silence has its own grace and beauty (just as speech can be graceless and ugly) . . . Action could be as noble as Words" (115). Rushdie argues that a society must have a healthy balance of speech. Silence in itself is not a bad thing, but forced silence

In Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Salman Rushdie indirectly mentions real-life problems and conflicts in his story. For example, he mentions the issue with gender-inequality in the armed forces. He does this through his character, Blabbermouth. Blabbermouth is a brave and outspoken page for the Gups. She is very significant in the book because she saves the Gups from being bombed and also helps Haroun accomplish his goal. Although she was probably the most fearless of all the pages she did have to hide the fact that she was a girl in order to work as one. This is actually something that women in the 1800’s started doing. Women were not allowed in the military so they would disguise themselves as men in order to join and fight in the military.

Qurratulain Hyder, Hyder also spelled Hayder or Haider was born on January 20,1927,Aligarh (British India) now in Uttar Pradesh state , India .and died on august 21,2007, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. She was an Indian writer ,editor,scholar,and translator who helped the novel become a serious genre of hitherto poetry –oriented Urdu literature. Her masterwork ,aag ka darya (1959;river of fire),a novel first published in Urdu in 1959,from Lahore, Pakistan, that stretches from the 4th century bc to post partition of India .popularly known as “Ainee Apa” among her friends and admirers ,she was the daughter of writer and pioneer of Urdu short story writing

However, the characters are what make this book a cutting edge masterpiece.The story is about starts with Amir, a Pashtun kid who is carving for his father’s love and respect , but instead his father pours all of his love towards a child servant named Hassan, who soon resembles later in the story to be siblings to Amir. “Amidst this historical backdrop are questions of guilt and redemption, courage and cowardice, friendship and betrayal. The relationship between father and son, with both its love and its tension, forms the basis of the plot, irreparably defining Amir’s character” (Narelle). Told from Amir's point of view, the book completes his entangled interactions and patterns with his dad and Hassan. He soon tries to avoid his problems by figuring out how to get rid of Hassan so he wouldn't feel the guilt of seeing him everyday. Amir was able to do this successfully by planting a sin upon Hassan. “"Good," Baba said, but his eyes wondered. "Now, no matter what the mullah teaches, there is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft. Do you understand that?"” (Hosseini 29). Amir made it look like that Hassan stole his watch and this caught the attention of Baba. Baba soon confronted Hassan ultimately forgiving him but Ali couldn’t stay with Amir and Baba anymore after this disastrous stunt. This