Who Is Khattam-Shud: Helpful Or Harmful?

This is evidenced by the imagery and phrases present in the cartoon. In the cartoon a character named “corporate media” is asking Uncle Sam, a figure representing the US, how he should portray controlling internet speech. In the cartoon, control of internet speech is presented as an object needing to be wrapped in either “Anti-Terrorism” or “Protect kids” before being presented to the public, corporate media’s audience. The information portrayed by the corporate media is influential because media is a source through which the world obtains news and knowledge. Thus the corporate media is using their influential platform to portray control of internet speech as being able to protect kids and be against terrorism. By “wrapping” the idea of censorship positively, and implying that if censorship wasn’t present, terrorism would rise and children wouldn’t be safe, censorship is portrayed to be of great importance. Therefore false dilemma is present, because the audience are told there are two outcomes to the situation when there are more. The first outcome is censoring internet speech to ensure children are protected and terrorism doesn’t rise and the second outcome is not censoring internet speech and risk putting children in danger and increasing terrorism. The possibility of children being in

Censorship is the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security. There are good reasons why censorship is used, such as some information might have to be censored for the content it might display and which in turn might cause a disturbance in peace. Countries try not abuse the fact they are allowed to do this because they are the ones who create the rules. However, China is abusing this fact and has been doing it to the point people are fearing what they can post or use on the internet. This issue was brought up in recent years because it has many different types of medians that were found in the New York Times. Firstly, the discussion

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

     Since this country was founded, we have had a set of unalienable rights that our constitution guarantees us to as Americans. One of the most important rights that is mentioned in our constitution is the right to free speech. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the

Throughout history censorship has been primarily used to effectively repress a person or group’s opinion about a certain subject. Censorship is not only used in radical nations that are ruled by a dictator such as North Korea,

An example of China’s actions of this are when the Boston Globe reported that, “Yasin is one of more than three dozen writers held in prison by the Chinese authorities…In addition, poets, playwrights, and novelists are imprisoned in Turkey, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Algeria, Cuba, Myanmar, and Iran for the crime of writing about how the world appears to them. In a world in which our destinies are intertwined, in which we need more desperately than ever to know one another, such censorship hurts us all.” Hoffman, R. (2009, 14 Oct.) China is essentially trying to hide things from the public and not allowing people to speak how they feel about the country by banning their books and imprisoning them. Therefore, banned books in China are hunted for so often. And truly, there is no positive side to this view point except maybe with the case of the author of the book “The Satanic Verses”, when the Straits Times reported that, “…the then spiritual leader of Iran called "blasphemous". The late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini offered a bounty for the writer's death and Rushdie had to spend 10 years of his life in hiding. The fatwa or edict calling for his murder has yet to be cancelled.” Nanda, A. (2012, 09 Oct). This might be one of the only positives of having to ban a book because the book was

China today still follows a similar style of governing by blocking websites, altering news and punishing scholars (Buckley). In addition, due to the concealment of information citizens of China are living life in ignorance (Buckley). These actions might jeopardize the prosperity of China in the future just as it did during the Qin Dynasty. Ceasing media censorship now in China may benefit their society in the years a head due to all of the conflict in the apparent world around

The Jewish poet Heinrich Heine once said, "Where books are burned, human beings are destined to be burned too." Did you know that the Chinese government uses “The Great Firewall” of China to monitor and prohibit any dissent against the Chinese government?(Mark Jacob and Stephan Benzkofer) These kind of actions are called acts of censorship and most of them are against the 1st amendment, law prohibiting that Congress can’t pass a law that establishes religion, or restricts the freedom of speech in America . Censorship is when a government or social group regulates the content in movies, books, and other types of media, and prohibits content they consider obscene or inappropriate. Another instance of censorship is when 20,000 books were burned in 1933 by the Germans in the beginning of the Nazi regime(Holocaust Encyclopedia). The grave incidents that happened on May 10, 1933 were a direct result of the German propaganda against anything Jewish and non-socialist.

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.

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 Communist China, thought confining and regulation for access to banned book are existing. The authoritarian government controls all the knowledge, spiritual and cultural disseminating channel, for example, media, publishing, films, drama, etc. (Chen 2006 p.5)

In "Haroun and the Sea of Stories", Khattam-shud is a metaphor for Ayatollah Khomeini and Rashid is a metaphor for Rushdie. Khomeini stifled Rushdie’s freedom of speech which caused him to develop writer’s block. He was forced to leave his family to go into hiding, which was the catalyst for his divorce. In the novel, Rashid experiences the same plights. He looses the Gift of Gab and his wife because of Mr. Sengupta, who is Khattam-Shud’s real-world counterpart (155). Khattam-Shud has a cult following called the Zipped Lips, who sew their lips shut as a visual opposition to speech (148). These are extremists, like the Muslim fundamentalists willing to carry out Khomeini’s fatwa. The majority of the Chupwalas do not believe in Khattam-Shud and are only afraid of him (132). Rushdie believes that most Muslims were only afraid of Khomeini, and there was only a small group of zealous extremists that endangered his life.

Social conditions are what shape a country. Over the years, people, not only in Afghanistan, but around the world create norms that define people’s roles in life, their future, and how they should be treated based on their gender and beliefs. Khaled Hosseini’s first novel, The Kite Runner, comments on the social conditions of Afghanistan through telling a story about the lives of two Muslim boys; a privileged Sunni Pashtun, Amir, and his long-time friend and servant, Hassan, a loyal but disadvantaged Shia Hazara. Hosseini expresses Amir’s uncertain feelings toward Hassan which form the decisions he makes throughout the book. These choices result in Amir destroying his relationship with Hassan. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini is a commentary on the social conditions in Afghanistan as shown through the roles of women and men in society and the ideals of Afghan culture. Unfortunately, these problems are still active in most of Afghanistan.

Because he is likeable and the people enjoy listening to him, they will vote for the person who hired him when Rashid asks them to. Without the endorsement and backing of a good storyteller, a politician’s career is ended. Additionally, when Rashid tells his final story about the corrupt politician Snooty Buttoo, Mr. Buttoo is forced to flee and “was never seen again in the valley of K, which left the people of the valley free to chose leaders they actually liked” (Rushdie 207). Rashid’s tale convinced the people of the valley of K to stand up for what they believed in and, as with the people of chup they turned against Khattam-Shud. The tale of the defeat of Khattam-Shud inspired them to, likewise turn from their poor leader. The influence of storytelling is so great that it has the power to positively or negatively affect the career of a politician.

Within the United States, the first amendment, freedom of speech includes the cyber-web. However, the government may try to examine personal information to protect its citizens from planned terroristic activities. Even so, these terrorists are allowed to say whatever they want, but it does not mean it will be ignored and not taken as a literal threat by the government. Throughout other parts the world, however, countries rely on communicating through means of the internet as ways to spread propaganda. In countries like China specifically, their government censors its citizens to prevent the spreading of propaganda or other radicalism. However, due to the fact that China’s strategy is so