We're all guilty.

            I some times catch myself doing something very out of character, acts that go against my general concepts of right and wrong and the type of person I would like to be. Almost every time I stop and wonder why I acted out of my normal fashion; I find that most of the time it’s because I wanted to do or acquire something. Apart from my moments of greed, I also find myself acting poorly due to sheer laziness. However most of the time my lapses of poor judgment are innocent enough and that everyone else makes the same mistakes. Innocent as they may seem I still need to be responsible and aware of my actions because if everyone just let these slip ups continue, these poor actions become the normal actions. I feel that Salman Rushdies’s short story “At The Auction of the Ruby Slippers” offers a great outside perspective on how similar situations have effected our society.

            I am curious if this story would ever exist if Salman Rushdie had not been in hiding at the time of writing it. Due to his exile he was unable to participate in society and also exempt from these possible lapses of judgment. His isolation is apparent when he discuses the “permeation of the real world by the fictional” (94). Most of what he would know about society at that time would be do to some form of media, and I feel it comes through in the increased intensity of the auction room; an increased intensity similar to how a news anchor might spin a boring story into something exciting or frightening. From his removed position Rushdie is able to point out some of societies flaws due to lapses of judgment and laziness.  

            The novel can be read on many levels but I felt the largest point to be made was about our societies greed, and possibly capitalism. “The Grand Saleroom of the Auctioneers is the beating heart of the earth.” (98). This sentence is an obvious statement of how money makes the world go around. I don’t want to believe that money is the most important thing in life, because its not. I strive for money to support myself and to enjoy my chosen lifestyle. But as one makes more money and their lifestyle becomes more expensive one may find their selves in an endless chasing of more material possessions. This story does a wonderful job of pointing out how ridiculous and how far peoples materialistic slip ups have mad materialism the norm, and in its wake tons of additional shifts from morally backed norms to greed driven ones. Rushdie gives the reader a warning with the next sentence saying “If you stand here for long enough all the wonders of the world will pass by.” (98).

            The image of the ruby slippers seems to be a comment on people’s laziness. In “The Wizard of Oz” the ruby slippers are able to dive Dorothy what she wants the most, to go home, to a place of comfort where everything is how it should be. In the novel everyone is bidding ridiculous amounts of money over a pair of magical slippers they think can bring them their greatest desires. The bidders think throwing money at a problem can solve it. Problems such as a society driven by materialism. The home that the slippers are perceived to take a wearer to is “a lost state of normalcy in which we have almost ceased to believe”. A state when good will, the pursuit of knowledge, and love are the guiding forces in life, not money.  

            In this gigantic world with so many people, it becomes easy to believe that your actions don’t affect the whole. What we need to understand is that the whole is comprised of many individuals. It’s up to each individual to act in the fashion that they would like others to act in. Ever since we were kids we’ve been taught to treat others as we would like to be treated, but it’s so often ignored. Change will not come about naturally, and throwing money at the problem will never help. If you want change, you must make it in yourself and in your actions. So avoid being lazy and constantly re-evaluate what you “need” to survive and maybe we can return to that lost state of normalcy.