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Haroun
and the Sea of Stories - Chapter 5
by Kiwi Jivan and Beant Gill
::SUMMARY::
Haroun,
Iff, and Butt the Hoopoe are heading towards Gup City. Iff explains that
Khattam-Shud is the "foe of speech" and the leader of Chup.
Butt informs Haroun that Kahani is controlled so that Chup is always in
darkness, Gup is in sunlight always, and the Twilight Strip is in-between.
Iff
comments that something serious is going on because all units of Gup have
been ordered to return to Gup. As they continue to Gup, they meet Mali,
the floating gardener. Mali says that the sea of stories is highly polluted
and it may take many years to clean. As they continue their journey to
Gup, Haroun meets the Plenitmaw Fishes that agree with Mali's claim on
the pollution, and say that the Old Zone (where the ancient stories are)
is polluted the worst. They finally reach Gup City.
In
Gup City, Haroun sees beautiful gardens, lagoons, and a beautiful archipelago.
The government consists of King Chattergy, the Chatterbox (Parliament),
and the Library (the army). Haroun meets Prince Bolo and the Walrus in
a town center meeting. The Prince informs the Guppees (and Haroun) that
Princess Batcheat has been kidnapped and the Chupwalas and their leader,
Khattam-Shud, are polluting the sea of stories. The Guppees promise to
save the ocean and Batcheat. Iff says Haroun should give the Disconnecting
Tool back because he probably won't have time to meet the Walrus since
they are going to war. Haroun refuses to give it back. Haroun learns that
the Guppees get luxury foods from Earth (that's why we have UFO's). Guppee
Patrols caught a spy in the Twilight Strip and Prince Bolo will interview
him. They bring out the spy, and to Haroun's amazement, its Rashid Khalifa.
::ANALYSIS::
In
relation to Salman Rushdie's life, the pollution of the Sea of Stories
is the writer's block that Rushdie claimed to have before writing this
book. Rashid is symbolized as Rushdie himself and Khattam-Shud also being
the writer's block. Another comparison to his life is between the lands:
 The
Walrus also is portrayed as a dictator because: (1) He controls the spin
of the moon. (2) He is respected and feared. (3) All the eggheads have
no hair, but he has hair so the eggheads are proud of it (The eggheads
emphasize "hairy" and "silky smooth"). (4) He never
explains P2C2E; only he fully understands it.
Mali
is very quiet, tough, and tends to speak in biblical terms. In some ways,
he is considered the "God-like" figure. The Plentimaw Fishes
are two fish that intertwine different stories and make new ones. Even
though they are two fish, they are considered ever linked because they
speak together in rhyme, they connect stories, and they help each other.
Earlier in the story on Earth, Buttoo says there are plenty of fish ("plenty
more"/ Plentimaw) in the sea, but Rashid says there are very few
angelfish. The Plentimaw Fishes are united, so Rashid is ever linked to
his wife.
© Smelli Notes 2001
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