Haroun Post #1

First Impressions:

Before I started reading this novel, I expected it to be a collection of stories that Rushdie told his child, Haroun. When I first started to read, I was very confused. I wasn't sure if the beginning of the story was something Rushdie had made up and was telling his son. Later on, I figured out that this book was one big story together about how Rushdie gets his story telling capabilities back. I like that the story is very creative, and that Haroun seems to be a pretty normal-ish kid at the start. From that point on, I just got really confused. I will most likely have to read this story again to fully understand it because there are many confusing characters and the plot is all over the place. I don't understand why the wife would leave Rushdie. The author portrays her as easily persuaded and very selfish, and Rushdie has lots of power because of his ability. I found it hard to believe that she would leave him for some random neighbor. I predict that this story is about Haroun going on this adventure with his father in order to give him something to tell stories about.

Lenses/Annotations:

My lense while reading this book is Allegory. This means I am looking for parts of that have a hidden meaning that relates to politics or the world today. Haroun and The Sea of Stories is FULL of hidden meanings. There is much talk of politics in this book, it is the whole reason that Haroun and his father are going on this trip. Rushdie is going to tell stories for a politician so that they can persuade voters to vote for them. The book does not refer to politicians in a good way at all. I believe that it is also speaking of modern-day politicians when it says that they try very hard to sound like they are telling the truth, and this is how the people know they are lying. In politics today, it is just the standard that they are not to be trusted, and when we are proved right, it just furthers the doubt. Just like Rushide's power in Haroun, today's politicians need celeberties and endorsements to get ahead.

The Demi Lovato endorsement of Hillary Clinton is a prefect example of using celebs to gather the popular vote: http://www.idolator.com/7641047/demi-lovato-speaks-about-mental-illness-performs-confident-at-the-dnc .

The author uses language as a tool by using descriptive words, rhymes, and creative names. This adds to the feeling of a children's story. He also uses appearance vs. reality to relate real-life things like bus rides and rainfall as settings in the story. This allows common people who have experienced these things to relate to the book. This is interesting to me because it makes me see the book more from a kid's POV.

Discussion:

Our discussion about the book showed me many different perspectives. I learned more about the author's past and where he came from. I also learned about the threat of his life. The Illusion group also gave me new insights and predictions about the story.