Haroun And The Sea Of Stories: A Literary Analysis

696 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: What is the sea of stories in haroun and the sea of stories

Storytelling is crucial to everyone, as it is apart of every society around the world. This is shown strongly throughout Salmon Rushdie's book, Haroun and the Sea of Stories where story is used to teach, warn and entertain people and without it the world is a very dull place. In the real world everyone from politician's like Mr.Buttoo to father's like Rashid Khalifia, use stories to control and entertain the people surrounding them .

Storytelling is a critical part of a politicians survival and livelihood in Haroun and the sea of stories since they rely on the storytellers to persuade and convince people to vote for them. The stories and the truths revealed through storytelling are the people's way of judging a politicians character and trustworthiness. This is evident when the narrator says, "Nobody ever believed anything a politico said...So the politicos needed Rashid to help them win people's votes" …show more content…

They dislike story and try to spread their hate to everyone with ears, telling the world their negative opinion of stories and storytellers. People like Mr. Sengupta, from Haroun and the Sea of Stories, interpret fiction as useless, they feel that, “life is not a story book or a joke shop. All this fun will come to no good” (Rashid 20). Mr. Sengupta feels that stories are nothing but a waste of time, that they provide no substance or use to the real world, and fails to see the happiness they fill people with. Those who hate story are like poison, infecting everyone with doubt and gloom to battle the happiness story brings its patrons. This poison touched Haroun when Mr. Sengupta asked, “Whats the use of stories that aren’t even true” (Rashid 20)? Haroun began to doubt his father as the poison seeped deeper into his mind, and began to wonder about the relevance of story entirely. These people, with their poisoned tongues and hateful airs are the greatest weakness of storytellers and stories

Show More
Related

  • Similarities Between Fahrenheit 451 And Othello

    868 Words  | 2 Pages

    In most stories we enjoy, may it be from childhood or something more recent there is many times a theme that shows a clear hero and a clear villain. But ordinarily this is not the case in real life, there are few times that this is quite that simple. There are many sides to each story, and sometimes people turn a blind eye to, or ignore the opposing side’s argument. But if we look at both sides of a situation in the stories we can more clearly understand what is going on, moreover the villains in the book or play would seem more real, instead of a horrible person being evil for no reason, these two people have their own agenda may it be a ruthless vengeance or misplaced trust.

    Read More

  • Important Quotes From The Things They Carried

    661 Words  | 2 Pages

    The point of stories it to tell a tale and inflict certain emotions onto the reader. Tim O’Brien uses this in his novel The Things They Carried. These stories were fictional but true, regaling his experiences of war. In the last chapter he writes that stories have the ability to save people. He does not mean “save” in a biblical sense, but as if a person saved the progress on a game they have been playing.

    Read More

  • Deviance In Society: Wideman's Our Time

    1337 Words  | 3 Pages

    Often, when a story is told, it follows the events of the protagonist. It is told in a way that justifies the reasons and emotions behind the protagonist actions and reactions. While listening to the story being cited, one tends to forget about the other side of the story, about the antagonist motivations, about all the reasons that justify the antagonist actions.

    Read More

  • The Most Dangerous Game and The Cask of Amontillado

    614 Words  | 2 Pages

    Has a Story ever made a reader want to hurt the character responsible for trouble that’s being caused? Of course; usually the antagonist is often the nuisance. Richard Connell creates these instigative characters with pleasure and diversity. In his story “The Most Dangerous Game”, He Creates General Zaroff so that he is easy to hold a grudge against. Likewise Edgar Allan Poe Creates a character that is easy to hate. In his short story “The Cask of Amontillado”, Poe creates a mastermind killer. Connells antagonist, General Zaroff, and Poe’s antagonist, Montresor, give the reader an invitation to hate them. These two characters are similar yet different in their evil persona, wealth, and challenge.

    Read More

  • Daniel Quinn’s Ishmael - Horrifying

    1394 Words  | 3 Pages

    Desperately confused, this everyday writer tries to step out of his culture and experience a whole new world. Day after day, this half ton gorilla, Ishmael, opens the narrators eyes and teaches him "how things came to be." He starts out by dividing man into two different cultures. He calls the people of our culture takers and the people of all other cultures leavers. Each culture has a story. In Ishmael's teachings, a story is a scenario interrelating man, the world, and the gods. This story is enacted by the people in a culture. In other words, people in a culture live as to make the story a reality.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Stories in "Borders" by Thomas King

    1442 Words  | 3 Pages

    Stories are a means of passing on information, acting as a medium to transport cultural heritage and customs forward into the future. In his essay titled "You'll Never Believe What Happened," King says that, "The truth about stories is that that's all we are” (King Essay 2). Contained within this statement is a powerful truth: without stories, a society transcending the limitations of time could not exist. Cultures might appear, but they would inevitably die away without a means of preservation. Subsequent generations would be tasked with creating language, customs, and moral laws, all from scratch. In a way, stories form the core of society's existence.

    Read More

  • Book Review of The Storytelling Animal

    764 Words  | 2 Pages

    Purpose and effect of storytelling/The art and desire of storytelling has been in our blood since the beginning of creatures, humans and animals alike.

    Read More

  • Good Country People

    856 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Flannery O’Connor’s stories, “Good Country People”, “Everything that Rises Must Converge”, ”A Good Man is Hard to Find”, and “The Life You Save May Be Your Own”, there are many similar characters and situations. Few, if any of the characters are likeable, and most of them are grotesque. Two of the stories have characters that view themselves as superior in one way or another to those around them, and in some cases these characters experience a downfall, illustrating the old proverb, “Pride goeth before a fall” (King James Bible ,Proverbs 16:18). Two of the stories include a character that has some type of disability, three of the stories showcase a very turbulent relationship between a parent and child, and three of the stories contain a character that could easily be described as evil.

    Read More

  • The Truth about Stories

    2174 Words  | 5 Pages

    In “The Truth about Stories”, Thomas King, demonstrate connection between the Native storytelling and the authentic world. He examines various themes in the stories such as; oppression, racism, identity and discrimination. He uses the creational stories and implies in to the world today and points out the racism and identity issues the Native people went through and are going through. The surroundings shape individuals’ life and a story plays vital roles. How one tells a story has huge impact on the listeners and readers. King uses sarcastic tone as he tells the current stories of Native people and his experiences. He points out to the events and incidents such as the government apologizing for the colonialism, however, words remains as they are and are not exchanged for actions. King continuously alerts the reader about taking actions towards change as people tend to be ignorant of what is going around them. At the end people give a simple reason that they were not aware of it. Thus, the author constantly reminds the readers that now they are aware of the issue so they do not have any reason to be ignorant.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Kate Taylor's Serial Monogamy

    1324 Words  | 3 Pages

    Storytelling’s impact on people who use it has been life saving in certain cases. By asserting the existence of different perspectives, writers get to suppress their own opinions in order to sympathize with others. (insert thing about meta-fiction) With this idea in mind, author Kate Taylor wrote the novel Serial Monogamy, a meta-fiction of a writer recalling the story of her husband’s affair and her deal with terminal breast cancer, all through her telling of Dickens’ secret life and tales of the Arabian Nights. In Serial Monogamy, storytelling makes people more understanding as they explore new perspectives.

    Read More

  • Kathleen Norris' Dakota

    653 Words  | 2 Pages

    A good story is one that isn't demanding, that proceeds from A to B, and above all doesn't remind us of the bad times, the cardboard patches we used to wear in our shoes, the failed farms, the way people you love just up and die. It tells us instead that hard work and perseverance can overcome all obstacles; it tells lie after lie, and the happy ending is the happiest lie of all. (85)

    Read More

  • Thomas Monologue At The End Of Smoke Signals Summary

    633 Words  | 2 Pages

    Storytelling is as much part of the tradition of the Native community as it is their identity. Storytellers and their prophecies are used to navigate the modern world by aiding in the constant obstacles that continue to make Native people question themselves and their belief systems. The best way to explain this concept is by starting at the end.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Stories In Haroun And The Sea Of Stories

    1068 Words  | 3 Pages

    Within the fictional worlds of Haroun and the Sea of Stories, the characters realize that stories are not mere entertainment, but are crucial to their lives. Fictional stories are crucial pieces to Rashid Khalifa since he relies on them for a career and brings him enjoyment. They are also important to a politician because storytelling is a critical part of a politician’s survival and livelihood since they rely on the storytellers to persuade and convince people to vote for them. Most importantly they are important to Guppees since they depend on stories to be the source of all there speaking, and the pages of Gup (the army) they depend on stories to help them fight. All in all stories can

    Read More

  • Prufrock Anti-Hero

    1050 Words  | 3 Pages

    For a time, the main characters in a story, poem, or narrative were easily classified as either being a hero or a villain. A hero would be easy to identify by the traits he'd possess, such as bravery, honesty, selflessness, trustworthiness, courage, leadership, and more. The villain would be easy to identify as well, possessing traits such as maliciousness, deceitfulness, immorality, dark, wishing harm upon others, and more. But what if the character lacked the natural heroic qualities but wasn't a villain either? What if the person displayed personality flaws that would traditionally be associated with a villain, but has heroic intentions? These questions were finally answered with the emergence of the anti-hero in literature.

    Read More

  • Comapring Sympathy For Characters in O. Henry's Furnished Room and Chekov's Vanka

    760 Words  | 2 Pages

    The manner in which the narrators present human nature--the dark side of a merciless world in which the characters live--as well as the naive and pathetic nature of both characters, render two stories thirsty for empathy. The naivity that both characters have towards the deceit in their surroundings, as well as their lack of control in events which they endure, cause both characters to be helpless in a cruel world.

    Read More

More about Haroun And The Sea Of Stories: A Literary Analysis

Open Document