The Diffirent Interpretation Of Salman Rushdie's Work
Reading a literary work causes an experience. However, this experience differs between two readers of the same literary work. The novel Haroun and the sea of stories by Salman Rushdie proves this point perfectly. The novel is about Haroun, who goes on a quest to restore the world order. Iranian and English readers will have a different look upon Haroun, mainly as a result of the hidden political message. The essential factors influencing the interpretation are the context, literary features, as well as the themes used in the novel.
The interpretation differs as a result of the context in which the reader is reading it. The reader’s religion is an important factor in the interpretation. The Iranian reader is Muslim, while the English reader is either Christian or atheist. Haroun was written as a response to the circumstances in which Rushdie had to live in England. He had to seek refuge as a result of the fatwa that was pronounced on him by Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran, for his book The Satanic Verses. He lived in England under police protection. The Satanic Verses did not fall well within the Muslim community, and therefore got banned in twelve Islamic countries. The storyline of Haroun symbolises what Rushdie had to go through, as he explains: He was trying to talk about “the battle between speech and those who would strangle it, those who would gag it, silence it.” The narrator, Rashid, is a storyteller but has lost his ability to do so. This is similar to Rushdie himself, who had a writer’s block. Subsequently, the Iranian readers will have negative associations with the novel, making them feel angry and annoyed. Partly because they associate Rushdie with the novel The Satanic Verses, which they think was an anti-Islamic book. Therefore, they think Rushdie is personally addressing the Iranians. But also, because of the fatwa, there are Iranians that still want to act upon it, and so feel angry. The English reader, however, are reading about Rushdie’s past situation in England. Just like The Atlantic explains, the westerners were “baffled” about the violence caused by a novel, as many riots and mass protests were caused by The Satanic Verses.
Moreover, Rushdie uses literary features that are interpreted differently by Iranian and English readers. Haroun started as an oral story, which Rushdie told his children as a bathtime story when living in England. As he was writing the story down later, he made use of parentheses in order to bring across his political message. This becomes evident when Rashid says: “In fact, this was how everyone knew they were lying.” This is said about the politicians that tried really hard to act like they were telling the truth, but this only made it obvious that they were lying. Rushdie criticises the fact that the politicians are liars and corrupt. Subsequently, Iranians feel bothered and annoyed about this. For them, this is something personal, and therefore feel attacked. For the English readers, they are simply reading Rushdie’s opinion, by which they were intrigued as a result of the riots and protests in England. Furthermore, The cultmaster, Khattam-Shud, is used as a symbol for Ayatollah Khomeini, representing censorship. He is portrayed as a dictator who is against free speech. This is underpinned by the fact that he rules the dark side of the moon Kahani as well as the fact that his mission is to poison the Sea of Stories. The dark side represents the Iranian world while the bright side represents England. The bright side, symbolising democracy, overrules the dark side, symbolising a dictatorial state. Rushdie tries to bring across his message here. He thinks that a democracy with free speech will work out better than a dictatorial state like that of Iran. As a result, most Iranians will feel offended, as Rushdie is making their country seem like a corrupt and evil place. On the other hand, most English people will agree with his point of view. Their democratic country is portrayed as the correct way. Therefore, they will feel content and proud about it.
Moreover, the theme “foolishness of war” plays a major role in the story. There is a war between the Guppees, meaning: “gossip” and the Chupwalas, meaning: “quiet fellow”. The Chupwalas stand for censorship, as they cannot talk to each other at all. The Guppees, however, are very talkative. The reason for their war is in fact a foolish one, as they are at war because they are unable to communicate well. Rushdie makes the armies look like clowns, underpinned by Rashid who says that the war is beginning to look like “buffoons”. Rushdie makes them wear red noses, associating them with clowns. This supports Rushdie’s opinion that war is foolish. His main reason for him to think this, is that he had to seek refuge after he wrote The Satanic Verses and the fatwa was pronounced on him. In the end, the Guppees won because of their free speech, which further underpins his opinion on it. The Iranian reader will feel offended, as they are associated with clowns, portrayed as foolish, and their country is ridiculed. Furthermore, some will still want to act upon the fatwa. Their leader is portrayed very negatively, as a dictator, which comes across offensive. The English reader will support the ideas of Rushdie, as he went there to seek refuge and his thoughts match with the English society’s thoughts.
In conclusion, as a result of the political message that Rushdie is trying to bring across in Haroun, Iranian and English readers will have a different interpretation of the novel. The Iranians will have a negative interpretation while the English reader will have a positive one. There are different factors that help this, like the context, literary features, and the themes that are used. Even though there are different factors that affect the way in which Iranian and English readers interpret Haroun, the main message of Rushdie stays the same.
