Midnight’s children by Salman Rushdie

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Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
Midnight’s Children revolves around the life of Saleem, a man with mystical powers. Saleem and other 1001 children born around midnight of India’s Independence Day are powerful and control the events of the novel. However, the novel travels back and forth in time documenting the activities of Saleem’s grandparents 32 years before his birth and ends when he is about to celebrate his 31st birthday. The novel encapsulates significance information about the narrator including the fact that he was swapped at birth, his grandparents’ and parents’ troubled marriages, his career in the army which is akin that of a sniffer dog, Marriage to Parvati and his allusions to his impending death once he celebrates his birthday. The story is narrated by Saleem to his patient and companion, Salma.
Considering that the book relays events of about 60 years, many themes are used. For instance, the theme of the magical realm is particularly important. Major characters including Saleem and Shiva are among the people with magical powers. They fall in the category of the 1001 children born on India’s Independence Day and own special powers to the extent that they threaten the prime ministers rule towards the end of the book. War is also an important theme as demonstrated through the two World Wars, India’s war with China and India and Pakistan war where Saleem’s parent die. The midnight children including Saleem, Shiva and Parvati are involved in these wars.

The family is also an important theme in the essay. The families in the book are non-traditional to a greater extent. They are fragmented in such a way that children are switched at birth, others are born under drunken stupors, and others are born through charms to foster attraction such as the case of Shiva and Parvati. Love is not a necessity in relationships with a vivid example coming from Saleem who marries Parvati to protect her from her public shaming for having an illegitimate son.
The novel revolves around the life of Saleem. Every character in the story exists to tell us more about Saleem, through history or reality. As the narrator, the book is, therefore, coined in the imagination, thoughts, beliefs, and assumptions that he makes. It is a matter of convenience since he relays to the audience what he thinks suits the situation best. He is telepathic, and thus some of the parts of the story seem surreal to the readers. Moreover, Saleem exhibits numerous undesirable characters which the readers can openly see. Further many characters in the book including Shiva do not like him. He has characters such as arrogance, is self-centered, and ultimately realistic. He shows little empathy or emotions to situations that require him to do so, but that is just his nature. While the readers appear to disagree with the narrator’s position at times, they slowly fall in tow and start seeing things in his perspective. By making Saleem the narrator, Rushdie enables the readers to associate with him vividly and understand his point of view following all that happens in her life. The point of view is important as it helps us understand how Saleem arrives at his assertions, beliefs, thoughts and conclusions over the course of the novel.
The novel is autobiographic in nature. It means that it captures most historical events that happen in the narrator’s life. It captures the events that also take place in the life of his parent and grandparents before he is born. For instance, it captures all the wars the characters of the novel have been involved in or witnessed including the two world wars, Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing, Pakistan Coup D’état, India’s Independence struggle, Indira Gandhi’s assassination amongst others. The novel also alludes to other authors work including Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and The Tempest, Alice in Wonderland, Paramahamsa, and One Thousand and One Nights. The works are used by the narrator mostly to describe the happenings or other characters in the novel. Finally, the novel also exhibits numerous religious assertions including many from Islam and the Quran. For instance, important Islamic holidays such as Eid-al-Fitr and Ramadan are celebrated in the novel. Further, Hindu is also invoked in the book. For example, Hindu gods and goddesses are numerously mentioned in the work. The Bible and its characters, as well as the Greek Mythology characters such as Hercules and Olympus, are also alluded in the novel.
Conclusively, the characterization in the novel is superb. Saleem is the narrator of the events as they unfolded in his life. He does this to the Padma who is his companion and caretaker. She is calm and composed unlike Saleem and listens to his story attentively. She, however, criticizes some of the assertions prompting the narrator to expound on confusing parts of the story. Later on, she becomes Saleem’s fiancée towards the end of the novel. Shiva was born alongside Saleem and switched at birth. The two were switched at birth which cast Shiva into poverty. As an aggressive war hero, he is the contrast of Saleem and antagonizes him until he captures him alongside other Midnight children to be sterilized under the order of India’s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Jamila Singer, previously known as ‘The Brass Monkey’ is Saleem’s talented sister who becomes the best singer in Pakistan, she is an important character as she goes along her brother Saleem who talks much about her. All the other characters in the book including the Saleem’s parents, grandparents and other interactions are introduced to move the plot of the novel ultimately making it a good read.