Wax Eloquent

Wax Eloquent

            Salman Rushdie, one of the greatest contemporary writers of our time, has an unparalleled ability to paint an epic tale on the canvas of the mind.  Focused primarily on stories from the land of his birth (India), the novelist has tackled many sensitive subjects such as conflict within the Islamic faith.  One of Rushdie’s most famous works, The Satanic Verses, forced him into hided after a fatwa (death sentence) was issued against him for his “blasphemous” work. Rushdie continued to write however, and in 1994 Publish a compilation of short stories titled East, West.  Again exploring the realm of eastern culture, the story The Prophet’s Hair spins a yarn of a lost religious relic and the harm brought to those who sought to selfishly conceal it.

            Hashim, the maniacal collector and moneylender who by chance discovers the sacred hair of Muhammad, enters a fit of crazed self-righteousness that ultimately leads to the expiration of his entire family (save his blind wife).  Considered the essential object for sustained “equanimity and peace” (Rushdie 43), the hair relic evokes an evil from Hashim that he mistakes as spiritual liberation.  As a result of vicious torture, his son and daughter make it their purpose to rid the house of the evil brought by the hair.  The tragic ensuing tale leaves much in question.

            It rightfully so is often thought that The Prophet’s Hair is a parable or possibly a comic parody written in satire.  However, it is for certain (beyond or in addition to the previous) a tall tale that may or may not have a purpose.  The story weaves its way flawlessly through the plot, demanding emotion at every turn.  From the dramatic nearly half page opening sentence to the only ‘light’ quality of the story in the closing, Salman Rushdie’s craft is revealed: 

“Struggling hard against the newborn goblins of nostalgia” (Rushdie 40).  “The glassy contentment of that household, of that life of porcelain delicacy and alabaster sensibilities, was to be shattered beyond all hope of repair” (42).  “Under the influence of the misappropriated relic, he had filled up with some spectral fluid which might at any moment ooze uncontrollably from his every bodily opening” (45).  “The throng of the distraught faithful which was swirling around the desecrated shrine” (49).  “Silence lapping at its walls” (53).

            The quotes above are just some examples of why written word, even if void of substance, is essential to culture and art.  Salman Rushdie should be a great inspiration to any who wish to speak vividly and fluently.