Wizards, Lions, and Scarecrows! Oh My!

Imagine if the power of the ruby slippers were really for sale, imagine what kind of chaotic event it would be of world powers, political figures, rich business, and popular media figures all vying for the power of the ruby slippers.  This is the scene that Salman Rushdie in his short story "At the Auction f the Rube Slippers."  Salman Rushdie uses comedy and satire to show this futuristic world where many bidders are competing over the ruby slippers, and the power that they represent.

At this fantasy auction, there a huge variety of bidders present at this auction.  Wizards, lions, scarecrows, movie stars, memorabilia junkies, and even totos are an example of some of the characters trying acquire the ruby slippers.  Salman Rusdie does note that "There is a scarcity of Tin Men, on account of the particular discomfort of the costume." (pg. 89), I found this to be rather amusing.  Along with this seemingly random crowd, there are police officers stationed to keep the peace, pysiciatrist prepared to keep people sane, and tramps present, simply trying to get a look at the pair of ruby slippers.  The narrator also mentions that the public is present, however the public is labeled as an angry crowd that have short fuses.  Political figures are also present at the auction, including kings and queens as well as others. There are also more fantasy type characters such as characters in paintings and literary characters.  The power of the ruby slippers has certainly attracted a very wide variety of characters, much wider and more imaginative then I would have first envisioned. 

What makes these ruby slippers so sought after? What attracts the throngs of people to simply get a glimpse of this artifact?   What is it about this object that forces these people to be so mesmerized by these shoes that they actually drool at the site of it?  Salman Rushdie does a good job of outlining why these slippers are so powerful.  In our modern world, the ruby slippers would be a coveted item, but I don’t think they would be nearly as coveted as Rushdie how outlined in this short story.  Salman Rushdie describes the ruby slippers as so revered because of the power and protection they come with.  The ruby slippers are able to protect the wearer from witches, which have become increasingly dangerous in this world.  These slippers also represent an idea of normalcy that many people haven’t felt in a while in this corrupt futuristic world.  These two attributes are rare in this world, and because of this, these slippers are attracting such a crowd.

The whole idea of an auction that is selling these slippers with such a huge crowd is a very interesting idea to me, and it became more interesting, albeit a bit more absurd, when Salman Rushdie outlines what else the Grand Saleroom as been used for in the past.  In recent years, the Grand Saleroom has been used to auction such legendary artifacts as the Taj Mahal, The Statue of Liberty, the Alps, and the Sphinx.  After reading this, the ruby slippers almost seem insignifigant compared to some of these items of history.  I also thought of some person winning the auction for the Statue of Liberty and carrying it home with him and putting it on his front lawn, I’m not sure that this is what Rushdie envisioned, but I still found it amusing.  The Grand Saleroom is also known to sell secrets of countries and states.  I thought this was similar to the auction of the ruby slippers because of what they represent, and what they are able to do.  This really does show that everything in this futuristic world is for sale. I think this story maybe a bit of a satirical representation of what Annie Leonard’s worst nightmare would look like.  Annie Leonard was promoting sustainability for the whole earth, and this world that Salman Rushdie created is clearly not sustainable.