Ian Iracheta

Letras Inglesas, Colegio de Letras Modernas

UNAM


Types of Characters in The Prophets Hair by Salman Rushdie
Without a doubt, one of the aspects that is most emphasized in Salman Rushdies The
Prophets Hair is the transformation the character of Hashim undergoes because of the
peripetea Mohammeds ancient relic engenders; However, by virtue of the abundant
attention paid to it, or rather, as a consequence of it, another feature that is illuminated is
the very schism between the two types of personages with whom the story deals.
In very blunt terms, we can see that every character in the story can be easily pigeonholed
into one of two categories: Either they are forced to endure vicissitudes regarding their
modus vivendi, that is to say, the change they suffer is external, or they are compelled to
undergo an internal metamorphosis which can even change their personality. Hereafter
the former characters will be referred to as static and the latter as dynamic. This essay
is to analyse and contrast the characters of Atta and Hashim and illustrate the way in
which they fit into the aforementioned categories.
Even though that, by definition, static characters are intrinsically more flat than
their dynamic counterparts, this by no means entails that their role in a short story is
devoid of any action; however, often the turmoil they endure has the sole purpose of
advancing the plot. In blunt terms, their only reason to appear in the story at all is to
function as the literary contrivance that affects other characters. This quality is perfectly
crystallized in the persona of Atta. In fact, his character arc is so unimportant that his story
is told almost in its entirety in the first two paragraphs of the text. At first he is introduced
as a young man upon whose cold-pinked skin there lay, like a frost, the unmistakable
Ian Iracheta
Letras Inglesas, Colegio de Letras Modernas
UNAM


sheen of wealth, [who is seen] entering the most wretched and disreputable part of the
city. Just a few lines after that we see him suffering terribly from exposure as well as a
broken skull [and entering] a coma which [causes] the citys finest doctors to shrug
helplessly.
The fact that his whole story is told so abruptly is the way the author has of
implying that it is not by any means transcendent in terms of itself. Even though Atta
actually loses consciousness and eventually dies, he does not under any circumstances
undergo a meaningful transformation, when compared to that of, for example, Hashim.
This is taken to its most laughable zenith when, even after he almost gets killed, Atta is
still described in similar terms, as evidenced in this quote, and on whose now deathly
pale skin the sheen of wealth could still be made out dimly beneath an actual layer of
frost. The reason this character is developed in such a perfunctorily manner, and
throughout such a measly portion of the text is that his only purpose is to influence his
sisters future actions. Far from being a human being, he only serves as a bad example
from which Huma can profit. Rushdie uses Attas calamity as a way to teach Huma that
indiscretion and imprudence are not the way to go about hiring a thief.
Sitting at the other end of the scale is the character of Hashim, who is the most well-
developed character out of the entire panoply. Even before he undergoes his
transformation we can see his psychological complexity. He is described as a character
that makes a priority out of living honourably in the world, yet is severely unscrupulous
when it comes to doing his job. The way Rushdie solves this contradiction is by bestowing
Ian Iracheta
Letras Inglesas, Colegio de Letras Modernas
UNAM


upon the character of Hashim a heavily convoluted psyche that is capable of rationalizing
the biggest indiscretions and, through loops and alibis, is able to justify his most amoral
behaviour. He states that the only reason the moneylender asks for an interest rate of 71
per cent is to teach these people the value of money. Hashim also adds that if they
were to only learn that, they will be cured of this fever of borrowing, borrowing all the
time. From this, we perceive that, completely unlike the psychological treatment Atta
receives, Hashims psyche is so thoroughly developed that, at least in his own mind, he is
able to convincingly disguise greed as altruism, or at the very least convince his wife about
it.
In conclusion, it is important to notice that the character development that a personage
receives is not proportional to the immensity of the events that he is forced to endure. We
can see how Atta goes from being young and vibrant to being in a coma, to actually dying,
without so much as his wealthy complexion changing. And even though he suffers
through all these events, the changes he goes through tell us a lot less about him than
what we learn about the character of Hashim, even without taking into account his
transformation into a religious fanatic.