The Importance of Stories
The conflict at the beginning of the novel revolves around the importance of stories in every person’s life. The most important people in Rashid's life, his son and his wife, both turn on him and tell him that his stories are fake and insignificant. Without his stories, Rashid discovers that he no longer has a purpose in life or a reason to live. Haroun’s quest is not only an adventure to return Rashid’s stories to him, but it is also a son’s journey to give meaning to his father’s life. In this way, Rushdie explains that a person’s stories compose his/her identity and dignity.
The Beauty of Darkness
In the story, Haroun watches Mudra the Shadow Warrior in a martial arts dance with his living shadow. This dance opens Haroun's eyes to the fact that darkness, and the evil that he believes it symbolizes, is not always meant to contradict light or goodness, even if they are opposites. In this sense, darkness and light do not cancel each other out but, instead, complement each other. Night becomes as vital as day, and darkness contains its own innate values. The true evil in the novel is the hatred that Khattam-Shud possess towards the Land of Gup as well as the Sea of Stories.
The Playfulness of Language
Rushdie originally wrote Haroun and the Sea of Stories for his children. As a young adult novel, Rushdie creates this unique, alternate world of Kahani through the unusual and enjoyable use of diction. Characters in the novel exhibit literary devices such as alliteration, rhyme, and repetition. The rhythms and one-of-a-kind aspects of the language represent particular characters and show their particular traits. He creates words and phrases to express the fact that the reader is eluded by the true meaning of the text and the author’s intention. The reader is perplexed by the use of the language and the patterns of its use so that the moon of Kahani feels foreign.
The conflict at the beginning of the novel revolves around the importance of stories in every person’s life. The most important people in Rashid's life, his son and his wife, both turn on him and tell him that his stories are fake and insignificant. Without his stories, Rashid discovers that he no longer has a purpose in life or a reason to live. Haroun’s quest is not only an adventure to return Rashid’s stories to him, but it is also a son’s journey to give meaning to his father’s life. In this way, Rushdie explains that a person’s stories compose his/her identity and dignity.
The Beauty of Darkness
In the story, Haroun watches Mudra the Shadow Warrior in a martial arts dance with his living shadow. This dance opens Haroun's eyes to the fact that darkness, and the evil that he believes it symbolizes, is not always meant to contradict light or goodness, even if they are opposites. In this sense, darkness and light do not cancel each other out but, instead, complement each other. Night becomes as vital as day, and darkness contains its own innate values. The true evil in the novel is the hatred that Khattam-Shud possess towards the Land of Gup as well as the Sea of Stories.
The Playfulness of Language
Rushdie originally wrote Haroun and the Sea of Stories for his children. As a young adult novel, Rushdie creates this unique, alternate world of Kahani through the unusual and enjoyable use of diction. Characters in the novel exhibit literary devices such as alliteration, rhyme, and repetition. The rhythms and one-of-a-kind aspects of the language represent particular characters and show their particular traits. He creates words and phrases to express the fact that the reader is eluded by the true meaning of the text and the author’s intention. The reader is perplexed by the use of the language and the patterns of its use so that the moon of Kahani feels foreign.