Haroun and The Sea of Stories- Chapter 7 & 8

(pg. 114) Each character has a unique way of speaking and communicating. Butt the mechanical bird with a brain says "but but but" all the time, Iff uses says and short sentences, Goopy and Bagha the Plentimaw Fishes only rhyme together, and Blabbermouth the Page emphasizes every other word. And Prince Bolo is dashing yet a bit foolish. "'What's that you say?' shouted Bolo, leaping to his feet and striking a dashing and slightly foolish pose." (Rushdie 102)

(pg. 129) The army of the Gups made their way to Chup Land where they encountered one the natives. A Shadow Warrior, who looks extremely frightening with black eyes. The Chups live in darkness at all times while the Gups live in light, so their eyes are reversed so they can see. The Shadow Warrior attempts to speak. "The effort of producing sounds twisted the Shadow Warrior's already-striking face (green skin, scarlet lips, white-striped cheeks, etc.) into dreadful, contorted shapes. 'Gogogol,' he gurgled. 'Kafkafka,' he coughed. 'Eh? What's that? What's the fellow saying?' demanded Prince Bolo loudly. 'Can't make out a single word.'" (Rushdie 129) The humor of this story is just as effective (and unexpected) as it was in What is the What. The humor comes at unexpected times. Like throughout Achak's painful journey, the confrontation with this Shadow Warrior, named Murda, and even in Life is Beautiful there was humor throughout the movie despite the Nazi's and work camps.

"'If, as it is said, people in the Land of Chup hardly talk at all these days, because of the Cultmaster's decrees, then it's not surprising that this Warrior has temporarily lost control of his voice..." (Rushdie 129) I saw a MTV segment called TrueLife, and this episode was about deaf teenagers who use sign language or they figure out what people are saying by reading lips. One teenage boy had an ear surgery and had to learn how to talk. Since he was never able to hear others talk he never even knew how a voice was supposed to sound. When he tried to talk I couldn't understand a word, it was so bizarre.

(pg. 142) The Chup group decides to split, with Prince Bolo and company going after Princess Batcheat and Haroun volunteered to go check out the source out the pollution in the Sea with his friends. Word is Khattam-Shud and his shadow (which, in this world, shadows are like real people) have split up, and one of the two is at the pollution side while the other is with the Princess. Butt, Iff, Goopa, Bagha, Mali, and Haroun are almost to the pollution source when they get captured by Shadow Chup People. "'So we're prisoners already,' Haroun fumed. 'Some hero I turned out to be.'" (Rushdie 142) I like how human Haroun is. He's just like a normal person, so it's interesting to see how he reacts to situations. He's comical, sarcastic, and loves an adventure- just like a regular human boy.