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The Magic Lamp
In The Satanic Verses, the trumpet symbolizes Gibreel’s belief that he is a God-like figure who should be responsible for issuing divine judgments. When Gibreel purchases the trumpet, he names it Azraeel, the name for the Angel of Death in Islamic tradition. The trumpet, therefore, becomes not just a symbol of divine judgment but also a harbinger of death. This naming underscores Gibreel’s internal struggle with how he perceives his role as a divine instrument. It represents Gibreel’s fear of being an agent of destruction and his burden of carrying out what he believes to be God’s will. It is this belief that he is responsible for delivering such judgments, which eventually leads to his psychological unraveling.
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The Trumpet Symbol Timeline in The Satanic Verses
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Trumpet appears in The Satanic Verses. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 7, Chapter 2
...sense of triumph. Meanwhile, Gibreel, now completely unhinged, walks into a store and buys a trumpet, declaring himself the right hand of God. The shop attendants are stunned as they witness...
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Part 7, Chapter 3
...days and is increasingly unable to distinguish between waking life and dreaming. He carries the trumpet Azraeel and contemplates whether is he an angel of life or an angel of death....
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...making it difficult for him to grasp the truth of his situation. He hears the trumpet calling to him, urging him to unleash its power, but he resists, unsure of what...
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...him, recognizing in him a power they do not fully understand. Gibreel takes out the trumpet and blows, releasing a stream of fire that consumes the sex workers’ pimps, leaving nothing...
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...others have been renamed after freedom fighters like Mandela. As he walks, Gibreel blows his trumpet again, and flames sprout from the ground, forming a multicolored inferno that engulfs the buildings...
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...the two men into an ambulance, where Gibreel, still exhausted and delirious, babbles about the trumpet and the fire. Hanif dismisses it as the ravings of a disturbed mind, insisting to...
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