Analyzing a Source That Pertains to Haroun and the Sea of Stories Haroun and the Sea of Stories is a intriguing tale that could easily be classified as a children's story, but beneath its surface it shows one man's struggle to overcome censorship and religious persecution. Mark McDannald of Washington and Lee University has written a series of essays on this story. His work, "The Allegorical Defiance of Censorship in Rushdie's Haroun and the Sea of Stories," is an insightful critique on a major literary effort. He views Haroun and the Sea of Stories as an allegory that expresses Salman Rushdie's desire to battle censors