Symbolism In The Prophet's Hair By Sallman Rushdie

In his short story, “The Prophet’s Hair,” Salman Rushdie make use of magic realism, symbolization and situational irony to comment on class, religion, and the fragility of human life. The story is brimming with ironic outcomes that add to the lighthearted and slightly fantastic tone. Rushdie’s use of the genre magic realism capitalizes on the absurdity of each situation but makes the events relevant to readers’ lives. In addition, the irony in the story serves as a way to further deepen Rushdie’s commentary on class and religion. Finally, his use of symbolization focuses on the concept of glass, and just how easily it can be broken. A story is classified as magic realism when surreal or fantastic events occur within a realistic narrative and setting. This type of writing is present throughout Salman Rushdie’s short story, “The Prophet’s Hair.” The story is set in the early 20th century in the Kashmir Valley in India. This setting is not only realistic, but it actually is a real location in India. In addition, all of the

In the beginning of the short story, Hashim is not a religious. He claims that he’s “not a godly man,” but he sets great store by “living honorably in the world.” Although he isn’t religious, he feels that he holds himself morally accountable. However, by charging an outrageously high interest rate of 71 percent, Hashim is not what many would consider noble. He justifies this standard by saying he is teaching the poor “the value of money: let them only learn that, and they will be cured of this fever of borrowing, borrowing all the time.” Despite Hashim’s claim that he is helping the poor, what he is actually doing is pushing them further into debt. Although he claims that if his plans succeed, he will put himself out of business, I don’t think that as Hashim is sitting in his large house surrounded by signs of his wealth that he is very worried about losing his