Everything Has a Price

How would you feel if someone told you that there was a price for all hallowed commodities? And that anything of great value had a price and could be worthy of auction. How about being told the value of the most sacred objects was worth no more than a certain quantity of green paper? Or even that the purpose of such commodities was to make people look ridiculous and silly, with money tied into the mix? What does this all say about society?

In this case, Salman Rushdie, author of "East, West" wrote a satirical short story called "At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers." The ruby slippers are the hallowed commodity that hold lots of significance, and send lots of messages as well. The story says a lot about the society we live in, as well as the true value of commodities like ruby slippers, the Taj Mahal, and Statue of Liberty. An auction is held where bids are being placed on the ruby slippers, and lots of important people are going absolutely crazy over the footwear (as if a pair of slippers was actually worth going crazy for.) People from major cities all over the world placed bids. Bid after bid was placed, and our narrator was unsuccessful in obtaining the pair. The story satirized the value of the slippers and hallowed commodities alike, as well as the herds of people that went wild over the possibility of owning such footwear. Rushdie once again "desacrilized" anything that held sacred value.

People who take themselves too seriously are the biggest targets for such ridiculous and silly labels. On page 90, Rushdie informs us, "Around the- let us say- shrine of the ruby-sequined slippers, pools of saliva had been forming. There are those of us who lack restraint, who drool." Rushdie provided descriptive detail to satirize the people who so desperately bow at the sight of the ruby slippers (or are they just a damn pair of shoes?) He further stressed the scene of absolute ridiculous desire and need for these slippers in the next paragraph by writing of "Opportunities of acquiring the truly miraculous are limited in our Nietzschean, relativistic universe. Behaviorist philosophers and quantum scientists crowd around the magic shoes." Rushdie, who wrote the story while confined to his hiding space under the "fatwa," just sat back and laughed as he made the people who saw the slippers as a sacred object look silly. He even made sure to include people in society of high rank and class in his satire.

Rushdie sends many messages about society via the ruby slippers. On page 93, we read, "Money insists on democracy, the Liberal Auctioneers insist. Anyone's cash is as good as anyone else's." He sends the message that our society doesn't see a human face in a situation like this, but instead dollar signs. Money can buy anything, and everything has a price. On page 98, we also read, "....we have witnessed the auction of the Taj Mahal, Statue of Liberty, the Alps, and the Sphinx." All of which are hallowed commodities, and have sacred meaning to lots of people. Rushdie however, sends the message that these objects are worth an amount of money, and are worthy of auction. Rushdie satirizes the society that values such hallowed commodities, and puts them in a perspective that sees pure "objects," rather than sacred ones that have a sacred place. Rushdie takes the objects from their place and puts them on the Auction-block. Could this be a bit offensive? Or is he just exercising free speech?

If the auction that took place serves as a metaphor, it suggests that we live in a society that prioritizes money and those who own it over anything. It suggests that sacred value might be important, but money can steal that value at the raising of a hand. Rushdie successfully made the people of the auction look ridiculous, and at the same time "desacrilized" valued objects in the world. Finishing this story does rise many questions though----"Is this free speech, or has Rushdie crossed the line? Or is there even a line?" Regardless, the story suggests that the value of hallowed commodities can be met with a pocket full of cash. What is our society coming to??