November 10th, 2018

I enjoyed my second reading of Haroun and the Sea of Stories almost as much as the first. There is a certain charm that reading a children’s story that brings one back to the early days of reading and being read stories.  I read HATSOS the second time through the lens of Satire. Satire is when an author uses sarcasm, irony, or wit to ridicule and mock someone or something. Reading with this lens opens a whole new world, so to speak, of HATSOS that gives light to the authors hidden themes. For my second reading I also researched more of Rushdie’s life and what may have compelled him to write this story.

One of my favorite moments in the novel, that struck me equally both times I read the novel was, “‘But but but what is the point of giving persons Freedom of Speech,’ declaimed Butt the Hoopoe, ‘if you then say they must not utilize the same? And is not the Power of Speech the greatest Power of all? Then surely is must be exercised to the full?'” (Rushdie 119). This quote comes from Chapter 7: Into the Twilight Strip. Here Haroun finds himself right in the middle of the Library preparing for battle. He is surprised by the looseness of lip that the entire army possesses. They openly criticize their leader’s decisions, a making Haroun a tad uncomfortable. This line brings the underlying theme of Freedom of Speech, which is alluded to in most of the novel, to a head. This is conformation, by Rushdie, that this is the message of this story. The matter of fact way that Butt brings this about makes it easier for children to understand.

In our both of our Socratic Seminars on HATSOS I learned a few things, and the perspectives of others were brought into my view. In both seminars we focused on the ideas of Freedom of Speech vs. Censorship in the novel and how it translates in to our current world. In the first seminar Drew had mentioned the novel Satanic Verses and how it was burned. I didn’t know enough about this and I went and researched the topic. Satanic Verses was the book Rushdie wrote before HATSOS, which resulted in Rushdie being the target of a fatwa. Another topic that we briefly touched on was the idea that stories are a coping device. I want to expand on this hear; If telling ourselves stories is a way that we cope with the world, is this the purpose of HATSOS. I think that it may be possible that Rushdie wrote this story as his own coping mechanism.

I think that there are many things that can be gleaned from reading a novel in another lens. My lens, Satire, lends itself very handily to analyzing the real world. For example the idea of the Twilight Strip. Haroun describes it as an invisible force field that divides the dark and light sides of Kahani. Rushdie highlights this “grey area” between dark and light here. Here I think that he is using satire look into the balance of free speech and anarchy. For example should all free speech be allowed. For example can someone use their free speech to hut another person.

In HATSOS the question, “What is the point of telling stories that aren’t even true?” is raised. This question is one that is very important to the novel and I think is answered by Jonathan Gottschall’s Storytelling Animal. Gottschall answers this question in his four functions of story. One of which is that stories are used as a persuasion/ information tool. We can see this function used in the novel. In the beginning Rashid is hired to tell stories at a political story for “Snooty Buttoo.” The crowd knows the stories are’t true, but they are swayed none the less. Politicians in real life do the same thing, tell stories, to gain political clout. I think that this is the most important function of story and the perfect answer to the question in the novel.

Looking back to my first reading of the novel I have changed my view a little bit. I was more concerned with what the text was saying rather than what it meant. I was rather disappointed that the story ended happily and Soraya returned. However, after reading HATSOS a second time I actually found this to be a fitting ending. After learning more about Rushdie and why he wrote the novel I have a much higher understanding of the underlying current. I think the one thing I am going to take with me from this novel is a skepticism of free speech. Is the free speech we know really free?

Rushdie, Salman. Haroun and The Sea of Stories. Penguin Publishing Group, 1991.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satanic_Verses_controversy

http://www.salmanrushdie.com/

October 22nd, 2018

Looking back at my first writings for Haroun and the Sea of Stories,  I predicted the direction of the novel fairly well. In my first writing, on chapter one, I recognized how the novel jumped from point to point quickly. It introduced characters in one or two line and moved on to a new topic. I found the rest of the novel to be very similar as it introduce Iff and Butt. At first I was a little apprehensive of reading a children story, it felt a little silly to be honest. Though after reading for a while I started to feel at home. It reminded me of reading the Chronicles of Narnia, just a little subdued.  I felt myself being drawn to Haroun and wanted him to succeed in his endeavor(yes I know this is the point of the story). I predicted that Haroun’s whole adventure was going to turn out to be a, as it was so far fetched. This did not turn out to be the case, and I was a little surprised. I had also predicted that Rashid would come back into play in Haroun’s adventure. The only thing I could not predict was how he arrived and how he would fit in. At the end of the story I was a little appointed that Soraya returned in the end of the story. I though that it would have been enough to make Kahani happy again and let Haroun and Rashid live happily ever after. I felt as if I was being forced o like the ending. I also don’t think Rashid would be as welcoming to her return.

More Info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salman_Rushdie

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haroun_and_the_Sea_of_Stories

A Real Hoopoe:

This is what I picture Gup City to be like: