Skip to main content

How would you characterize the narrative mode of Midnight's Children?

Salman Rushdie’s seminal Man Booker Prize-winning novel Midnight’s Children is written as a first-person memoir from the perspective of Saleem Sinai, a man born at the exact moment that India became independent of British imperial rule. Rushdie upsets the conventions of typical memoirs by presenting readers with a distinctly unreliable narrator and incorporating elements of magical realism throughout Midnight’s Children. Indeed, Saleem acknowledges his way of incorporating details into his narrative:


“Most of what...

Salman Rushdie’s seminal Man Booker Prize-winning novel Midnight’s Children is written as a first-person memoir from the perspective of Saleem Sinai, a man born at the exact moment that India became independent of British imperial rule. Rushdie upsets the conventions of typical memoirs by presenting readers with a distinctly unreliable narrator and incorporating elements of magical realism throughout Midnight’s Children. Indeed, Saleem acknowledges his way of incorporating details into his narrative:



“Most of what matters in our lives takes place in our absence: but I seem to have found from somewhere the trick of filling in the gaps in my knowledge, so that everything is in my head, down to the last detail... everything, and not just the few clues one stumbles across” (14-15).



Rushdie uses Saleem’s inconsistent narrative style to disorient readers who are accustomed to trusting narrators. Saleem is unable to provide a wholly trustworthy account of his own life, let alone the historical events that inform his Indian heritage.


Thus, Rushdie writes Midnight’s Children through a first-person perspective, but includes unusual elements such as an unreliable narrator and elements of magical realism in an effort to have readers question the validity of the text.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Can you analyze the poem "Absolution" by Siegfried Sassoon?

Sure! Siegfried Sassoon fought in World War I and was wounded in battle; he spent much of his life speaking out against war, and these pacifist feelings are easy to see in his poems. This one, "Absolution," was published in 1917, the same year that Sassoon was hospitalized for what we know today as post-traumatic stress disorder. "Absolution" is a short poem that contains three stanzas of four lines each. The word "absolution" means "forgiveness," and... Sure! Siegfried Sassoon fought in World War I and was wounded in battle; he spent much of his life speaking out against war, and these pacifist feelings are easy to see in his poems. This one, "Absolution," was published in 1917, the same year that Sassoon was hospitalized for what we know today as post-traumatic stress disorder. "Absolution" is a short poem that contains three stanzas of four lines each. The word "absolution" means "forgiveness," and the v...
Post a Comment
Read more

How and why does James Gatz become Jay Gatsby? Describe the young Gatsby/Gatz.

James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune,... James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune, whereas they arose from well-to-do families. Gatz became Gatsby through determination and discipline. At the end of the novel, the narr...
Post a Comment
Read more

In chapter one of The Great Gatsby, what advice does Nick's father give him? How does this make him a good person to tell this story?

Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches... Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches into a discussion of how pe...
Post a Comment
Read more