At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers

Going once, going twice… sold to the…!! Those are the words you are likely to hear at any auction. Last week the AS held an auction where they sold bikes to the students. However, what was the auction of the ruby slippers all about in the short story by Salman Rushdie. He starts off the novel by saying that “The bidders who have assembled for the auction bear little resemblance to your usual saleroom crowd” (p. 87).

The ruby slippers being auctioned in this story are the slippers that were worn by Dorothy in the movie titled ‘The Wizard of Oz’. But this pair of slippers was not just a material item as they might seem. Rushdie uses these ‘ruby slippers’ to represent happiness. “We revere the ruby slippers because we believe they can make us invulnerable to witches (and there are so many sorcerers pursuing us nowadays); because of their powers of reverse metamorphosis, their affirmation of a lost state of normalcy in which we have almost ceased to believe and to which the slippers promise us we can return” (p. 92).

However, what’s interesting is that happiness to each person means a different thing. For example, for the main character of the novel, it meant winning the heart of his love, that is, Gale back. On the other hand, to an orphan it meant reuniting him/her with his/her parents. This is what brought such a large crowd to the auction.

The bidders consisted of a rather ‘diverse’ crowd. Why I use the word ‘diverse’ is because of the fictional method Rushdie uses to describe the bidders. He brings alive characters such as children from 19^th century Australian paintings, aliens and even literary characters from novels. He says “This permeation of the real world by the fictional is a symptom of the moral decay of our post-millennial culture” (p.94). What he means by this is how our culture has evolved and become materialistic, and one of no morals. This could be especially seen true in the entertainment industry.  Also, amongst the bidders are movie stars, memorabilia junkies, people dressed in costumes of wizards, lions, scarecrows and tin men and even the untouchables and outcasts “Political refugees are at the auction: conspirators, deposed monarchs, defeated factions, poets, bandit chieftains” (p. 91). Basically everyone is at this auction.

Also, the Grand Saleroom has held auctions for many other items in the past including the Taj Mahal, Statue of Liberty, the Alps and the Sphinx. Even “… human souls of all classes, qualities, ages, races and creeds” are for sale. Basically everything is for sale. Here Rushdie is trying to establish the modern day free-for-all market where anything could be ‘sold’ and ‘purchased’ at a ‘price’. I think that he is also ridiculing the auctions that have taken place in the modern society where worn clothes of a famous celebrity or their other personal belongings are auctioned at unbelievably high prices, but surprisingly so, are actually purchased by people who place such a high value on them.

Rushdie ends the story by saying that there is another auction next week "Family trees, coats of arms, royal lineages will be up for sale, and into any of these one may insert any name one chooses, one's own, or one's beloved's" (p.102). Also, he makes an interesting statement at the end whereby he says that any one of us (dog, cat, man) could be a blue blood thanks to the infinite bounty of the Auctioneers.