Haroun and the Sea of Stories

I found this story to be vastly entertaining and really enjoyed reading it. Haroun and the Sea of Stories was representative of human emotions and the effect they can have on every day life. Throughout the beginning of the story, the inhabitants of the town without a name, the town with the sadness factories, are in constant lament and despair for their situation. Towards the end, though, even when the town remains the same (except for the remembrance of its name), the people cheer themselves. In doing so, they show that the mood of a group of people, even the mood of an entire town, is controlled by the people's own will. Rather than feeling sorry for themselves, the people in this town, now named Kahani, make the best of thier situation.

Along with the representation of human emotions, this story entertains the reader with allegories of other occurrences. Interestingly, one would think that the only representations would be in the alternate world, on the moon of Kahani. This is not the case in this story, though. Before even entering the world of Iff the Water Genie and Butt the Hoopoe, Haroun encounters the Dull Lake, which displays the emotions and characters of the people on and around it. The Dull Lake, paradoxically, is not dull at all, but instead is brilliant and capturing. What makes this lake dull, though, is the general attitude of its occupants. When the evil mayor is gone at the end, the lake's inhabitants cheer considerably and are able to see the brilliance of their world. This, I beleive, is the case in any situation. If a person chooses not to see the brilliance of thier surroundings, they simply won't.

As many people, as well as Dr. Sexson, have mentioned, the theme the Myth of the Eternal Return plays a huge role in this novel. While Haroun is searching for answers for what seems to be a concrete problem, ie the loss of his father's "gift of gab", he comes to realize that what he is really searching for is a new, or perhaps old, beginning. This beginning is to be found with his mother, at home, singing, as usual, and his father retaining his position as the "Ocean of Notions". New beginnings, in this particular novel, seem to be synonymous with old beginnings, in accordance with the Myth of the Eternal Return. While seeking out a new beginning, a new and better life, what Haroun really seeks is the recovery of his old beginning, his old life.