In the post-war period, dystopian elements become more visible in literature. The Drowned Giant by Ballard and At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers by Rushdie are examples of post-war literature where dystopian elements play an important role. As the works of Rushdie and Ballard center their plots on dystopia theme some similarities can be found between these two short stories. In this essay, I will be exploring the similarities while taking into account their distinct differences. I will also be referring to the importance of similarities to the dystopia theme and its use for stories. After this examination, I will focus on investigating the reasons why dystopias become a common sight in post-war literature as seen Rushdie’s and Ballard’s works.
The Drowned Giant and At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers show numerous similarities as both stories try to depict a dystopia. Rushdie’s story follows an auction. In this auction, a pair of ‘magical’ slippers are being sold. However, the narrator lacks the knowledge of what the slippers are capable of: “We don’t know the limits of their powers” (88). It is clear that society is not sure about slippers’ properties. A similar situation can also be found on The Drowned Giant. In the story when the giant is disembodied and people try to remember it; they do not recall that it had humanistic features: “…even those who first saw him cast up on the shore after the storm, now remember the giant, if at all, as a large sea beast” (243). It is certain that society is not able to identify and remember what they have seen. This can be tied with the situation on Rushdie’s story as in both stories society fails to acknowledge the reality of the fictional thing they perceived. This failure can be seen as a part of the dystopia theme and it functions as a tool to criticize the society.
Failure to acknowledge properties paves the way for the other similarity concerning fictional things: the interest of people towards them. In both stories, people show great interest to fictional things. In Rushdie’s story, the narrator becomes obsessed with the slippers. In addition to the narrator, all parts of the society attend to auction for slippers. It is stated that the excitement over the slippers could lead to unexpected births and deaths (87). This situation proves that there was a huge public interest. Similarly, in Ballard’s story, many people become interested in the giant: “…there were a thousand people present on the beach, at least two hundred of them standing or sitting on the giant” (236). This crowd justifies that people had an immense interest in the giant. The interest of society to a fictional thing that can be seen in both works can be considered as an important aspect for dystopia theme as it criticizes societies’ interests towards the popular.
The loss of interest in both fictional elements can again be seen in both stories. In Rushdie’s story, the narrator loses his interest in slippers through a fictional transition (102). Similarly, the society in Ballard’s story loses its interest in the giant as they become accustomed to it. The narrator explains this situation as: “…there were fewer than fifty or sixty people sitting on the shingle” (238). This transition from thousands to less than hundred clearly shows that society lost its interest towards the giant. As both societies get very interested in the fictional object then they lose their interest quickly it is possible to argue that in both stories the societies are depicted as societies of spectacles. This depiction can be understood in the concept of dystopia as it allows writers to become critic of socities of spectacles.
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Another important similarity can be identified as the integration of fictional elements in their respective stories. In both stories, fictional things are integrated into reality. In Rushdie's story, it is accepted by society for fictional characters to come to life and magical things to be found (95). Similarly, in Ballard’s story, many do not see the magnificent presence of the giant except for the narrator (239). Thus, the acceptance of fiction is common in both stories. However, even if the acceptance is common, the fictional entities still force people to get out of closed spaces they usually dwell. In Rushdie’s story, it is argued that the slippers could “tempt us from our bunkers” (87). Even if many fictional things are accepted, a new fictional entity could still cause excitement. Similarly, in Ballard’s story, the existence of the giant tempts people out. This situation can be understood early on the story as the narrator argues that: “the library was deserted” (235). The excitement the giant created leads to a similar effect that can be seen in Rushdie’s story. It is clear that in both stories even if fictional entities are accepted, they still create enough excitement to attract people. The presence of fictional elements can be understood within the framework of the dystopia theme as it transfers the idea that the future can bring unexpected changes.
Another important aspect that is similar in both stories can be identified as the power of money. In Rushdie's story, it is stated that: “Everything is for sale…” (98). In the story, auctioneers sell everything from important wonders of the world to state secrets and even demons (98). It is clear that the money is the leading factor in the story as all of these auctions are done for pragmatic desires. Similarly, in Ballard’s story, the giant is disembodied by fertilizer companies (240). It is not hard to imagine that the desire for money played the most important role in this action. Thus, it is easy to claim that in both dystopias money is crucial. The extreme importance of money is a way to conduct the fears of losing moral for material needs in the future within the concept of dystopia theme.
As similarities can be found between two stories some differences can be found as well. In Rushdie’s story, it is stated that: “… running feet, sirens, screams. Such things have become commonplace” (101). Rushdie also argues that “…freelance commandos bearing battlefield nuclear weapons” can be found (96). These two instances differ from Ballard’s world. Anarchy was prominent in Rushdie’s dystopia yet in Ballard’s story no such thing can be found. Rushdie argues that violence was accepted: “…rage, which gives us, in our opinion, the moral high ground… From this high ground, we can shoot down at our enemies and inflict heavy fatalities.” (89-90). Chaos and anarchy can be understood with a lack of governing force. However, in Ballard’s story, a government exists even if they are not very willing to conduct their jobs (236). These minor difference in dystopias creates a great split between two stories. In Rushdie’s story the chaos reigns and only money rules. In Ballard’s story, things appear to be relatively normal. Yet it is important to acknowledge that in both instances society appears to be corrupt as they follow the mass and fail to understand the reality of things while accepting fictional elements.
Considering the similarities and differences between the two stories written in the post-war era, it is possible to find some reasonings for why dystopia become a prominent theme. Developments seen in science along with war technologies lead to the idea that fiction can and will penetrate the real life. In wartime, the society witnessed horrors they could never imagine, thus, in a sense fiction became real. People remembered the existence of weapons of mass destruction and nations declaring war to each other. Due to this, fictional and negative elements penetrated to literature. The integration of these two elements could only be made with dystopias, thus, the theme of dystopia gained popularity in the post-war world. Wars also showed that people had a tendency to forget and were inclined to make mistakes while defining important qualities. For example, many people in wartime failed to understand the reality behind the wars and they even ignored regular bombings. Society became more indifferent. To integrate this aspect and to criticize the state of society dystopias were choosen. In addition to all these aspects; not trusting governments, increased weapon production, and chaos also became standard in wartime. To criticize these and to voice their concerns about the future writes choose dystopias. Finally, due to capitalism money gained importance in wartime. To argue against this situation writers of the post-war era chose dystopias. All these aspects can be seen in the two stories I have investigated. Overall it is possible to say that the negative understandings of post-war period penetrated into literature via dystopias and they were used to criticize the state of the society. For these reasons, dystopias become prominent in this era.
I have examined The Drowned Giant and At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers in this essay. I examined their similarities in the aspects of societies’ failure to understand the reality of events, integration of fictional elements, the interest of society towards fiction, and the importance given to money. I have argued that these elements were used to convey the fears towards future and criticize the negative sides of society within the framework of the dystopia theme. Afterward, I have discussed some differences between the two stories while mainly focusing on the state of order. Finally, I have concluded that the reason for dystopias to become prominent in the post-war period was the need to integrate the negative understanding of the period and to criticize society.
Works Cited
- Ballard, J. G. “The Drowned Giant.” The Best Short Stories of J.G Ballard. pp. 233–243. Print.
- Rushdie, Salman. “At The Auction of the Ruby Slippers”. East, West. pp.87-103. Print.
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