Salman Rushdie's

Midnight's Children

The writer, Salman Rushdie, uses a specific type of narrative voice from the very
beginning of the novel Midnight's Children. The narrator of the book is the central
character called Saleem Sinai, who mostly speaks directly to the reader in first person
singular. Like in a real-life conversation, it seems that the narrator speaks spontaneously,
without refining his words. It is like he speaks out his thoughts as they come to his mind.
Of course this is not true for the writer, Rushdie, whose genuine lies in the fact that he can
create a narrative rich in meanings and symbols without making it sound too literary. The
story of Midnight's Children records more than half a century of the history of India and
also the personal history of Saleem's family, but reading it is not like reading some kind of
history book, because it is not calmly enumerating the happenings.
The timeline is fragmented and the events are filled with emotion and personal
judgment of the narrator. So reading this book is more like listening to a story told orally,
rather than going through a history book. A kind of 'device' helping Rushdie to create this
sensation in the reader is the character of Saleem's wife Padma, who is the virtual listener
of the story told by Saleem. However, Padma doesn't listen passively to the story all the
time, on some occasions she questions her husband, makes comments, or gently directs
Saleem in storytelling. Padma is also very skeptical about her husband's story; we can
consider her the voice of the reader, who has his/her doubts and questions concerning the
story. This way Rushdie manages to crate an active dialogue between the reader and his
main character. I would say that through Padma's voice, which influences the whole
process of storytelling, the reader is given a kind of power of self-expression throughout
the book.
As I previously said the narrator of the book is Saleem, who is also the protagonist.
He starts his story by explaining the circumstances of his birth. He was born on the 15 th of
august, 1947 at midnight; the exact moment when the 'crown jewel' of the British Empire,
India has gained its independence, after a long period of violent and peaceful protests and
struggling. This also explains the title of the novel: midnight's children are people
belonging to the first generation that was born into a free India, since the country has

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become a British colony. However, Saleem's identity is defined by fate right from the
beginning of his life, him being secretly switched with another baby right after birth. As a
consequence Saleem is raised by a rich family in the capital, while his counterpart, a boy
named Shiva after the Hindu god, is raised in complete poverty. The two would become
rivals later on in the novel.
Saleem is gifted with the innate ability of telepathically reading thoughts of other
people, a skill which is replaced by a very refined sense of smell later in his life as a result
of a nose surgery. His sense of smell allows him to find other gifted people belonging to his
generation, and to create the Midnight's Children's Conference. He also uses his smelling
successfully in the army. Saleem is driven to tell his story by the negative presentiment that
he will die as he approaches his thirty- first birthday; so he rushes with the storytelling. His
tale begins with presenting how his grandfather got to know his grandmother, thus
recording the lives of two generations before his own birth. Saleem doesn't only tell us his
private life- story; he also tells us the history of pre- and postcolonial India. The major
events of Saleem's and his ancestor's lives, coincide with important historical events in
India, which makes the narrator compare his story with some religious texts. Because he
possesses 'magical' powers, way beyond those of ordinary people, the prime minister of
India, Indira Ghandi wants to execute him along with the other midnight's children.
Saleem starts his story with telling the reader about his grandfather Aadam Aziz,
because that is the farthest he can trace back his family history. The figure of his
grandfather clearly refers to the biblical Adam, not only because the similarity of their
names. Adam was the first man on Earth according to the Christian bible, from whom all
mankind originates; while Aadam is the first founder of Saleem's family, from whom all
future generations descend. Also Aadam's hometown in Kashmir is presented as a
beautiful, paradisiacal place, which can be compared to the Garden of Eden in which the
biblical Adam lived with his companion Eve. Saleem uses the story of his grandparents,
Aadam and Naseem as a starting point to everything, from which he can trace the whole
evolution of his family and which gives meaning to his life. This biblical reference is
typical in Rushdie's style of writing. Rushdie in his books always portrays a multicultural
society, praises it and constantly tries to integrate the traditions of different cultures into his
own novels, by this elevating the value of his works.

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Many important themes and symbols in Midnight's Children are introduced to the novel
through the figure of Tai. As Aadam's friend we could say that he is merely a marginal
character, but in fact he is of great importance. Most of the citizens of Kashmir are
presented as being simple- minded; they often talk nonsense or behave stupidly, some of
them are even insane. Tai is an exception from them because he is wise. Tai is the one who
draws Aadam's attention to the importance of his large nose. He tells Aadam to trust his
nose and his instincts because it will tell what is right and what is wrong. He also foresees
that the nose will play an important role in Aadam's family and it will be inherited by the
upcoming generations. In his view one should trust his/her senses because it leads to an
instinctual behavior.
Near the nose, the knees are also important body parts, which repeatedly appear in
significant moments of the novel. The nose and knees either complement each other or
they appear as counterparts and together they are the most important symbols in Midnight's
Children. These symbols first appear when Aadam kneels down to pray, but ends up hitting
his nose into the floor. In this sense the nose and knees are symbols of humbleness, which
is later rejected by Aadam. The symbols also appear when Farooq, a soldier assigned to
work with Saleem in the army, dies. Farooq is shot to death by a sniper; he falls on his
knees and hits his nose in the ground. The scene is quite similar to that of the praying
Aadam; the difference is that instead of humbling to a god this is a symbolical submission
to death. Of course the most significant presence of the nose and knees symbols is in the
case of the two boys, Saleem and Shiva. In this case the nose carries the power of
knowledge and discovery, while the knees are symbols of power and destruction. It is like a
divine hand would have divided these abilities between the two boys, Saleem receiving the
capability to learn more about the world merely using his nose, while Shiva gained great
combat skills and power to destroy.
Saleem's telepathic powers originate from his nose. This becomes clear when after his
nose undergoes a medical surgery, he looses his powers of hearing other people's thoughts.
However, he gains a new power, a very refined sense of smell, by which he can sense
emotions. While Saleem's nose can be used for positive things, his counterpart and rival,
Shiva has his power to do negative things in his knees. Shiva's ability of destruction is also
suggested by his name, which he shares with the Hindu god of destruction. As the boy
receives his name he is in a way predestined for destroying things.
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Tai's comments upon Aadam's nose and its effect on the upcoming generations suggest that
personal and public matters collide, which is the most important theme in the novel. In the
book the personal lives of the characters are very closely linked to the main political events
in India. For example Aadam treated a woman called Naseem, who would later become
Saleem's grandmother. During the treatments Naseem's body would always be covered
with a large sheet, with a hole in it, to dispose only the small body part on which the
treatment was supposed to be made. This way it was possible for years to pass without
Aadam being able to see Naseem's face. The doctor was able to see his beloved's face at
the exact same day the First World War has ended in 1918. A positive global event is
reflected in the private lives of the characters. Sometimes the family history and world
history intersect directly too. Like for example when Aadam participates on a
demonstration demanding independence he is almost shot to death, but fortunately stays
alive thanks to his instincts.
Modern India is one of the newest and most rapidly developing countries of the
world. It really is the country of diversity, may it be ethnic, linguistic, cultural or religious.
It has 22 official languages, including the old Hindi, the new English and various
regionally used ones. In India there are also present all the big religions of the world, like
Hinduism, Buddhism, Islamic and Christianity. Indian culture has also become a very rich
and diverse one during the three thousand years of its existence. However this diversity has
enriched the Indian culture, it was also a source of conflict which finally resulted in the
separation of India and Pakistan. This conflict appears in the novel when the young
Saleem witnesses the attempt of people to divide Bombay along linguistic lines.
Saleem was born at the exact same moment India gained independence from Britain
and he claims that when he dies his body will fall into approximately 630 million
“anonymous” pieces of dust. The number roughly represents India's population at the time
Rushdie wrote the Midnight's Children. If we take these facts into consideration we

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can conclude that Saleem is the embodiment of the entire Indian population and
culture. The concept that a single person could contain such a large and rich nation as
India contains one of the most important themes of the novel, namely the relationship
between the individual and the world. The fact that Saleem's true father proves to be an
Englishman, William Methwold, makes the parallel between the protagonist and the
history of India even more evident. When Saleem was born India became free and at
the same day Saleem was switched with another baby by Mary Pereira. Even is Mary's
initial intentions were, to provide a poor child with the chance of growing up in a
prosperous family, Saleem looses his English father, as India looses Britain. However
both Saleem and his country still continue carrying the British heritage within them.
The close relationship between Saleem's life and the history of his country suggests
that distinct persons and the entire society will always influence each other, but it is
left upon the reader to decide which one is more powerful or more important than the
other. Throughout the novel, Saleem constantly tries to integrate India, to mix his life
story with the history of his country only to fall apart in the end.

Works Consulted:

Fenwick, Mac. "Midnight's Children". The Literary Encyclopedia. 25 January 2005.

<http://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=3591, accessed 30 June
2009. >
"Midnight's Children — Theme and Subject" Post- Colonial Web. 30 June 2009, I I :
45 EET. 25 June 2005.
<http://www.postcolonialweb.org/pakistan/literature/rushdie/mctheme.html>
"Midnight's Children" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 30 June 2009. 12:30 EET.
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 30 June 2009.
< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight%27s Children>
Rushdie, Salman. Midnight's Children. Penguin Edition. 1991
"Salman Rushdie" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 30 June 2009, I I EET.
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 28 June 2009.< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salman
Rushdie>
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