The Penis
The short story ”The Penis” is written by Hanif Kureishi. The short story is about a penis, which has been separated from its owner Doug, who we hear from later on.
At first though we hear about a guy called Alfie who was “a cutter – a hairdresser – and had to get to work”. He is having breakfast with his wife, when she asks him what he did last night, and if he had a good time last night? Alfie can not remember what he did last night, he then looks in his wallet to examine how much money he had spent or if he has any cocaine left or anything else, which could give him a clue of what he has been doing. He finds something strange inside his pocket. In his pocket he finds a penis, with balls, and pubic hair.
This appears very incongruous to me, because I had not expected that he would find a penis in his pocket, maybe cocaine, which Hanif Kureishi had prepared the ground to. Alfie considered how he should get rid of the penis. His instinct is to drop it in a litterbin, but then he remembers how his wife wants him to be more “business minded”, and more than anything wanted him to appear on television. After this little thought he then considers selling the penis to an art dealer, but he ends up throwing the penis over the side of a bridge.
Alfies story is told by a limited omniscient point of view, and when we hear about Doug, which I will tell a bit about next, Hanif Kureishi turns the point of view and tells the rest of the story in an omniscient third-person narrators point of view.
Doug is presented as an actor, and he is in his early forties, but his look is still superb. He is about to start on the biggest film of his career. All in all this sounds very amazing, until we discover that he is a porn actor. In this situation I think that Hanif Kureishi tries to draw a picture of today’s young generation. Today everything has to sound so extravagant, instead of calling of it what it really is. A perfect example of people in today’s world who think that they are famous and nearly Hollywood stars is people who have participated in a reality show. These people think that they are of the same significance as the prime minister of England or as a Hollywood actors who has been making hundreds of films, who has been seen by billions of people world wide. In spite of the fact that those people only contributed in one season of a show, where they got known from drinking forty shots. It is the same with Doug: “He believed he was entitled to the gratitude and respect that comedians, singers and political impersonators received.”
One day it all might be over though, Doug think that it is over for him when he finds out his penis is gone: “ If he lost his manhood, his livelihood would go with it.” Doug have been doing porn since his teenage years, and has most likely not got any real education, so for him to loose his penis is the same as loosing his livelihood. This is the same with reality “stars” they might not have any education either and most of them are only thinking on tomorrow, but one day it all might be over. Who for an example wants to look at a 50-year-old woman or man doing reality television, not that many, I think. It does not have to get that far maybe another more interesting reality “star” just tops them, who knows?
The fact that Doug will do almost anything to get his penis sewn back on: “ Doug begged the man to restore him.” Shows me that like Doug the reality stars will do almost everything to stay in the spotlight, but as Doug do in order to get the money required to get his penis sewn back on, they make a mistake: ” The man made Doug sign a contract, pledging to make film for what seemed like the rest of his life.” Reality stars have a tendency to be naive and hunger too much after the life in the spotlight. In their hunt, they forget the requirement their employer demands of them. Like Doug most of the reality stars are glad to be in the spotlight and for as long as possible and they will do crazy things to stay there, but maybe some of them thinks like Doug ones in a while: “ Doug was glad to be reunited with the most important part of himself, but when he thought of the numerous exertions ahead, he felt weary.” Sometimes they might just wish, that they had a normal life, with a normal nine to five job. Who knows?
In contrast to Dough, who spent his time living in the fast lane not thinking the thing he do through, there is Alfie. He thinks over his actions: “Alfie was distraught, convinced the police were pursing him not only for stealing a penis and trying to sell it, but for dropping it… on a pleasure cruiser.” it rankles him. Then when he meets Doug in a bar, and Dough recognises him, he gets guilty conscience: “ What were we doing?
Who knows? Listen -‘ Alfie explained that he felt terrible about the whole business. If Doug ever wanted a free haircut, he’d be very welcome. He even offered to give him one immediately.” For me it seems like Alfie has a guilty conscience about what has happened to Doug. I don’t know if he did it to Doug, but I do not think that it is a coincidence, that he is introduced as a cutter in the beginning of the story and is linked to Doug by the fact that he was to the same party as him. However no one will ever know.
One think I know for sure though, is that Dough will never found out who did it and why it happened, because he is to focused on the life in the fast lane, and enjoying his time there, instead of focusing on the little and more obvious things in life.