Rushdie Sees Consumerism

    Consumerism was born when the department store was introduced in Europe in the late 19th century.  It brought a whole new element to society that had not been there before.  Advertising came out of this and was the main source of the problem Salaman Rushdie comments on in his story “At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers.”  This is a very satirical social commentary that shows Rushdie’s opinion on how capitalism causes obsession and materialism to become the modus operandi of society.  I can understand Rushdie’s perspective because I have seen how advertising tries to make people feel like they need the product being advertised.  I recently saw a video by Annie Leonard called “The Story of Stuff,” where she discusses the aspects of consumerism on a global spectrum and how impossible it is when practiced at the rate it currently is. Part of her presentation talks about the forces behind the scene, what influences people to have an obsession with buying things.  She applies Rushdie’s perspective to modern America, pointing out that there is a repeating cycle that has a built in element of advertising that keeps the cycle going. 
   

The title, “At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers,” is a great pretext for what the story comments on.  He sees “the Auction” as the supermarket, or the mall, or the car dealership.  It is where business happens, where money changes hands; it is seemingly the destination of the multitudes.  Rushdie sees the “the Ruby Slippers” as the gourmet caviar, the perfect matching outfit, or the brand new, shinning car.  Advertising persuades people to feel like they need these things simply because they are available and people have the means to get them.  The product in the story, as well as in reality, is presented, “behind bullet-proof glass, the ruby slippers sparkle. We do not know the limits of their powers. We suspect that these limits may not exist.” (Rushdie, East, West, p. 88) Whenever something, anything, is presented in such a way, it appears a person has no option but to bid that thing.
   

After writing The Satanic Versus, Rushdie was forced into hiding, trying to avoid those how were offered money to kill him.  Without being able to travel or explore freely, and being restricted almost only to personal reflections, it is quite understandable that Rushdie would develop this view of consumerism.  In some Native American cultures, boys on the verge of manhood undertook vision quests. Where the boy would go to be alone for personal discovery of the meaning of his existence or something that had to do with his people’s creation myths and rights of passage that significantly changed their lives.


Rushdie also has this personal reflection period, although it was not action but reaction; this shows in the tone of the narrator.  He, the narrator, uses the very effective images of “the auction” and “the ruby slipper” metaphorically, which allows him to put a different light on the subject.  The use of satire makes people see the bigger picture, the picture that the narrator wants them to see.