ENG2602 ASS01
A. Prose: Fiction Assignment
Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie. Born at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, the day of India’s independence from British rule, Saleem’s life is a microcosm of post-Independent India.
The Title of this text, Midnight’s Children, gives the reader a broad idea of what the text is about: It gives the time and where the setting may play off. This text dominates the theme of identity that breaks down colonial constructs of Western dominance over Eastern culture, hence Salman Rushdie position as a prominent Anglo-Indian postcolonial writer. In this paragraph of Midnight’s Children, we are able to see the psychological effects of colonial domination.
An author is often influenced by his or her historical and cultural context. The text explores the ways in which history is given meaning through the retelling of individual experience “I was born...” History is seen subjectively through the eyes of the protagonist Saleem Sinai, therefore the retelling of history is fragmented and, at times, erroneous. For Saleem, born at the instance of India’s independence from Britain, life becomes inextricably linked with the political, national, and religious events of his time; his life parallels that of postcolonial India.
By paralleling Saleem’s life with the events following India’s independence, Rushdie ties the identity of the postcolonial country directly to the individuals that are products of it. In this text Rushdie`s main character states about the time of his birth that he “was left entirely without a say in the matter” yet only a few make an input in history, have the ability to manipulate or change the course of History. Anglo-Indian relationships worked as an immense moveable force affecting all the Indians` live; they also gave rise of great figures such as Gandhi, who taught his people to stick to their own roots and values.
Salman writes this paragraph on a casual and relaxed way “No, that won’t do,” the reader then feels
Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie. Born at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, the day of India’s independence from British rule, Saleem’s life is a microcosm of post-Independent India.
The Title of this text, Midnight’s Children, gives the reader a broad idea of what the text is about: It gives the time and where the setting may play off. This text dominates the theme of identity that breaks down colonial constructs of Western dominance over Eastern culture, hence Salman Rushdie position as a prominent Anglo-Indian postcolonial writer. In this paragraph of Midnight’s Children, we are able to see the psychological effects of colonial domination.
An author is often influenced by his or her historical and cultural context. The text explores the ways in which history is given meaning through the retelling of individual experience “I was born...” History is seen subjectively through the eyes of the protagonist Saleem Sinai, therefore the retelling of history is fragmented and, at times, erroneous. For Saleem, born at the instance of India’s independence from Britain, life becomes inextricably linked with the political, national, and religious events of his time; his life parallels that of postcolonial India.
By paralleling Saleem’s life with the events following India’s independence, Rushdie ties the identity of the postcolonial country directly to the individuals that are products of it. In this text Rushdie`s main character states about the time of his birth that he “was left entirely without a say in the matter” yet only a few make an input in history, have the ability to manipulate or change the course of History. Anglo-Indian relationships worked as an immense moveable force affecting all the Indians` live; they also gave rise of great figures such as Gandhi, who taught his people to stick to their own roots and values.
Salman writes this paragraph on a casual and relaxed way “No, that won’t do,” the reader then feels