Analysis of Storytelling in Haroun and the Sea of Stories

This essay provides an in-depth analysis of the storytelling theme in Salman Rushdie's novel, 'Haroun and the Sea of Stories'. The essay explores how the narrative emphasizes the significance of stories in human lives, focusing on the character of Rashid Khalifa and his son Haroun. It examines the conflict arising from the importance of storytelling, the impact of stories on individual identity and dignity, and the role of storytelling in shaping moral behavior. The analysis covers key characters like Khattam-Shud and Mr. Sengupta, highlighting their roles in creating dramatic situations. Furthermore, the essay discusses Rushdie's views on freedom of speech and the importance of stories for both personal and political survival. It concludes by reiterating the value of storytelling and its positive impact on characters within the novel.

Running head: FOLK AND FAIRYTALE
Haroun and Sea of Stories
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Introduction
Storytelling connects people with humanity and creates the links with the past. It provides
a glimpse into the future as well. Humans have numerous stories to tell since they first walked
the earth. Initially, they used to present the stories with several signs and body language. These
stories are presented to shape the existence of the human beings. Every story has the different
perspectives that leave the humans think of the valuable aspect of life (Albertazzi, 2015). The
study presents the underlying theme of Haroun and Sea of Stories. The theme describes the
importance of storytelling in human lives. The study would describe the significance of this
theme used by Salman Rushdie in this story. The underlying perspectives would be presented
through the in-depth analysis of the storytelling concept.
Discussion
The conflict in this novel begins with the appropriate action that revolves around the
concept of importance of storytelling. Rashid Khalifa, the father of the protagonist Haroun, has
shown the love for son and wife who told him the irrelevant existence of stories. They do not
support the ideas of storytelling as they think that the stories are not real. However, on the other
hand, this perception turned out to be quite difficult for Rashid since he perceived that without
storytelling he would not be able to express the justification of his life (Eaglestone & McQuillan,

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2013). However, Haroun is quite focused towards giving a meaning to his father’s life. The novel
thus describes the adventurous journey of returning to his father’s stories. The novel is thus
identifying the importance of the stories for composing the dignity and identity of a person.
Storytelling is sometimes much beneficial for making the humans realize the self-worth
and self-respect. Stories teach many lessons to the humans that are beneficial for perceiving
things in a different way. In this novel, Haroun learnt that stories are not the waste of time rather
portray a meaningful consequence, which inspire other living beings (Albertazzi, 2015). The
effective story shapes up the moral behavior of a person by generating the sense of principles in
a different and better manner (Eaglestone & McQuillan, 2013). In this novel, Haroun also makes
his moral choice of participating in an adventurous journey to identify the ability of his father in
terms of telling stories.
As the plot unfolds, it becomes clearer that the story telling can define the dignity of a
person in a particular way. When Rashid was about to lose his hope to define his life journey
through a story, Haroun gave him the hope of going forward and exploring the truths behind his
stories. It brought the sense of satisfaction and happiness within Rashid as this method was his
last hope of expressing his life journey (Eaglestone & McQuillan, 2013). When his stories were
taken as the waste of time, Rashid lost his sincere ability of presenting his life stories. His world
went into sadness from complete happiness. He started feeling oppressed and lonely that led him

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to severe depression. Haroun gave him the hope by going on the quest to give a meaningful value
to his father’s life.
The very first question of the novel, “What is the use of stories that aren’t even true?”
defines the complexity of the underlying themes (Maiti, 2016). The story of Haroun is
recognizably relies on the other stories for creating the different meaning. In order to explore the
significance of storytelling, the novel itself describes the texture and structure. Khattam-Shud
and Haroun made the constant observations about the story in which they were eagerly trying to
find themselves. Haroun presented Khattam-Shud as the anti-climatic figure whereas the arrival
of Khattam-Shud indicated the melodramatic vision. The best part of storytelling is the method
of portraying ones character that makes the human visualizing the real scenario. The novel
includes some of the evil characters life Khattam-Shud and Mr. Sengupta (Eaglestone &
McQuillan, 2013). They appeared to be the villains of the story and created many dramatic
situations for the main characters.
In spite of the sequential situation arrangements in the story, the novel still assumes
whether the story is good or bad. The novel presents Rushdie’s beliefs about the freedom of
speech for expressing his life journey. The fictional stories became important to the Khalifa
family since they were mostly dependent on the past experiences for their emotions and career
(Anjum, 2017). The characters of the novel realized that the stories are not mere entertainment;

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rather these are much crucial to their lives for surviving within a fictional world (Eaglestone &
McQuillan, 2013). The stories presented in this novel are not only important to Rashid Khalifa,
also for the politicians since it is a critical part of their survival and livelihood.
Conclusion
The analysis presented for novel theme describes the significant use of the stories to
describe the lives of the human being. The theme describes the importance of storytelling in
human lives. Rahid Khalifa is the major storyteller in this novel and he tried his extent level of
defining his life. The lack of support from his family made him shattered for a moment since he
knew that storytelling is the best method of presenting his life journey. However, Haroun, his son
and also the protagonist of the novel made the quest for an adventure journey to give a meaning
to his father’s life. It gave Rashid the sense of hope, which was enough to justify the importance
of storytelling. It has been observed that the sequential presentation of the stories can shape a
person’s life and lead towards a positive direction. Salman Rushdie also explained the
significance of the storytelling concept through the excellent utilization of the speeches. The
complexity level decreased as the plot unfolded eventually. The sadness of Rashid turned into
happiness when he received support from his only son Haroun. In fact, it described the
significance of the storytelling to describe the lives of the other characters associated with this
novel.

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References
Albertazzi, S. (2015). From pepperland to alifbay: The influence of yellow submarine on
rushdie's haroun and the sea of stories. Interactions: Ege Journal of British and American
Studies/Ege ?Ngiliz Ve Amerikan ?Ncelemeleri Dergisi, 24(1-2), 1.
Anjum, S. (2017). A Postmodern Study of Politics, Language, Magic Realism and Oral tradition
in Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children and Haroun and the Sea of Stories.
Eaglestone, R., & McQuillan, M. (2013). Salman rushdie: Contemporary critical
perspectives(1st ed.). New York: Bloomsbury Academic.
Maiti, S. (2016). The Art of Storytelling and the Role of Memory in Salman Rushdie’s Haroun
and the Sea of Stories and Luka and the Fire of Life. Rupkatha Journal on
Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, 8(1).