how the vial of Prophet’s Hair affected society of Kashmir

how the vial of Prophet’s Hair affected society of Kashmir

        Societies are built on and governed by customs and values. However, not all customs and values are good, and sometimes people are forced to practice them unintentionally. People may be forced to be something they are not to suit the demands of society. In the stories, several characters have been absorbed in the unacceptable societal traditions, for example, Goodman Brown, Gimpel, Tessie Hutchinson, and The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas. This essay explores how the individuals above have reacted to their cultural pressures and the moral and ethical behavior in their diverse societies. The essay also analyzes how the vial of Prophet’s Hair affected society of Kashmir.

The story of Young Good Man Brown by Hawthorne denotes how a young man, Goodman Brown, who has been influenced by the society of devil and witch struggles to identify himself in the midst of other people (Hawthorne). In The Lottery by Jackson, Tessie Hutchinson seems to enjoy a lottery that is conducted every year to establish the one to be stoned, but she opposes it when one of her family members becomes a victim (Jackson 298). The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas is a good illustration on how people can become prisoners of the traditions. Omelas is an ideal society where everyone is happy. However, to remain the perfect society, a child is detained and tortured, but the society members are comfortable with child mistreatment since they believe that it is a society dictate. Le Guin noted that “they all know it is there…some of them understand why, and some do not, but they all understand that their happiness…depend wholly on this child’s abominable misery” (360). This means that the society can suffer from harmful acts, but people would keep quiet because they think that is how things should be done.

With the society which treating people awful and pretending to be normal, some people will conform to its requirements while others will walk away. The acts are done by the people who walk away show the few in the society who are ready to despise the mistreating societal norms despite the consequences. People who walked from the city as presented by Len Guin sympathized with the child and knew the repercussions when the child is freed. Even though they understand the nature of the suffering child, they see no difference when he or she is released since he or she has already suffered and will have to endure the calamities that will befall the society. Instead of fighting for what it is right, the child sympathizers decide to leave never to return back. The city deserters present the group in the society, which fully understand the misdeeds, which are tied to the societal customs, but instead of condemning them they selfishly protect themselves against the traditions’ harmful effects.

Just like the Omelas story where child detention and torture were believed to hold the happiness of the society, a vial of Prophet’s Hair holds Kashmir society into the captive. Through the symbolism and metaphors, hair has been portrayed as a fear, spiritual artifact, human bosom, and secular object. It is ironic that hair does not possess any of the prophesier attributes. However, despite hair failing to show the right way of the prophesier, people embrace it by physically performing the relic. Ironically, Kashmir society adores hair, instead of embracing and practising the teachings of the prophet. It is an indication that the Kashmir customs place faith on the prophets rather than on the true faith and teachings.

Conclusion

As portrayed in the stories, people who conform to the status quo believe in conservatism and have a notion that any slight change will lead to suffering. In the story The Ones Who Walks from Omelas, it is apparent that people are afraid if the child is freed, they will face severe calamities. Therefore, they prefer having him or her detained and tortured to being freed. Those who fight the traditions are believed to face serious consequences. This is why some people rebel by leaving never to return back for fear of suffering. Likewise, in the society of Kashmir, people believe that hair symbolizes prophesier, but in reality, it does reflect the true meaning of faith, which is an attribute of the prophet.