Good Advice is Rarer than Rubies
By Alexander Menzel
In this essay I will look at “Good Advice is Rarer than Rubies” which is a short story by Salman Rushdie. Throughout the essay I will pay special attention to the narrative technique and characterization, which both play a big part in the understanding of the story.
The story takes place in Lahore, Pakistan, and is set just outside the British Embassy.
In the very beginning of the text, we are introduced to a Miss Rehana. The very first thing we are told about her is how beautiful she is: “It arrived pushing a cloud of dust veiling her beauty from the eyes of strangers” (P. 1, Col. 1, Line 3). This is the very first thing that people notice about Miss Rehana, which is also why this is the first description that we receive of her. Because of her beauty, she is often met with special treatment from men. Muhammad Ali, who is another important character, is one of those men: “She turned to look at him, and at close range those eyes did bad things to his digestive tract.” (P. 2, Col. 1, Line 16).
Muhammad Ali is a bus driver and self-proclaimed “advice expert”. He is poor and lives off swindling people around the Embassy. In the story he is described as an old grey-haired man, with a lot of experience with tricking people: “Specialized in advising the most vulnerable-looking” (P. 2, Col. 1, Line 7). He specifically claims to sell false passports, while in reality he runs off with the money once he has been paid. However, astonished by Miss Rehana he offers her free advice: “for you my advice comes free” (P. 2, Col 2, Line 10). Muhammad does not quite understand that Miss Rehana decides to stay in Pakistan and abort the arranged marriage.
Miss Rehana is set to marry a Mustafa Dar from England, it is made clear in the text that she does not have much knowledge of the country: “’Mustafa Dar of Bradford, London’ ..