Critical Analysis of Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children
Midnight Children is a book written by Salman Rushdie in 1981. It explores the story of the protagonist named Saleem Sinai and his family’s migrations. The character is presented having an extraordinary gift of telepathic powers along with a very sensitive sense of smell. What is interesting in this novel is that the author aligns his main character’s life story with the different political, social, and cultural events of India. And within these narratives, Rushdie used important themes which helped him communicate the story’s main message. The themes employed in this novel include the concept of single and many, history, as well as the concept of destruction and creation.
Upon reading this book, one of the most prominent themes present is the idea of single and its relationship to many. This is particularly evident in how Saleem narrates the moment of his birth and connects it with the independence of an entire country of India. Through his character, the author communicates the message that an individual and ordinary person could encapsulate the struggles and successes of many. The relationship between an entire nation and the protagonist’s individual life indicates that both public and personal life is one and the same. This means that individual experience affects and influences the entire population. Perhaps this is best explained in a quotation found on the third part of the book:
“Who what am I? My answer: I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done, of everything done to me” (Rushdie 90).
This passage is the perfect expression of the idea that everything and everyone is connected. More particularly, the author conveys the idea that a single person can fully impact a nation, in the same way that an entire country can affect the experiences and life of an individual (Kortenaar 45).
The relationship between memory and history is another important theme used by the author in this novel. In fact, dubious claims are an important part of the entire narrative. For example, he acknowledges that Gandhi’s death was misplaced in his memory despite the fact that it was an important event in the history of India. Alternately, he claims that the does not remember the date of election. Throughout the story, it is clear that the character worries over the accuracy of the history that he is relating. But despite of this, he sticks with his version of the story. He does this because he believes that the truth is nothing more than verifiable fact. And at the same time, he maintains that genuine truths about history simply depend on a particular perspective as well as the willingness to believe. Hence, he notes that memory builds its own version of truth; and that history books are believed as truths because they have been accepted over time (Schurer 100).
An equally prominent theme here is the concept of destruction and creation. These two concepts are evident in the battle between Shiva and Saleem. The reference to the Hindu god of both creation and destruction underlines the fact that in nature the two always goes together. This means that in order for one to exist, the other one must first occur.
Based on the points provided, it can be argued that the author employed three important themes that were central to the narrative. The themes include the concept of one and many or the idea that an individual can affect an entire nation and verse; the idea of memory and its relationship with history; and finally the relationship of creation and destruction and how one is dependent with the other.
Works Cited
Kortenaar, N. Self, Nation, text in Salman Rushdie’s Midnight Children. NY: McGill Press, 2005
Rushdie, S. Midnight Children. NY: Random House Publishing, 2010
Schurer, N. Salman Rushdie’s Midnight Children. NY: A&C Black, 2004