Midnights children Flashcards
(78 cards)
1
Q
What is magical realism?
A
Unrealistic or fantastical elements in an otherwise plausible story
2
Q
Who is the author of ‘Midnight’s Children’?
A
Salman Rushdie
3
Q
In which year was ‘Midnight’s Children’ published?
A
1981
4
Q
What narrative style is predominantly used in ‘Midnight’s Children’?
A
Magical realism
5
Q
True or False: ‘Midnight’s Children’ is set against the backdrop of India’s partition.
A
True
6
Q
What is the name of the protagonist in ‘Midnight’s Children’?
A
Saleem Sinai
7
Q
Fill in the blank: The novel begins at the stroke of ________ on August 15, 1947.
A
midnight
8
Q
What significant event does the protagonist, Saleem Sinai, symbolize?
A
The birth of India as an independent nation
9
Q
Which group of children are referred to as ‘Midnight’s Children’?
A
Children born at the exact moment of India’s independence
10
Q
What is the primary theme of ‘Midnight’s Children’?
A
The relationship between personal and national identity
11
Q
True or False: The narrative of ‘Midnight’s Children’ is linear.
A
False
12
Q
What is one of the magical abilities of the Midnight’s Children?
A
They possess special powers
13
Q
Which historical figure appears in ‘Midnight’s Children’?
A
Indira Gandhi
14
Q
What does Saleem Sinai’s nose symbolize in the novel?
A
His connection to the history of India
15
Q
What type of narrative voice does Saleem Sinai use?
A
First-person narrative
16
Q
What is the significance of the character Shiva in the novel?
A
He represents the violent and tumultuous aspects of India’s history
17
Q
Fill in the blank: The novel explores the theme of ________ through its portrayal of various characters.
A
memory
18
Q
What literary award did ‘Midnight’s Children’ win in 1981?
A
Booker Prize
19
Q
True or False: ‘Midnight’s Children’ was later awarded the Booker of Bookers.
A
True
20
Q
What does the character of Aadam Sinai represent?
A
A more hopeful and progressive vision for India
21
Q
What role does the concept of fate play in ‘Midnight’s Children’?
A
It intertwines with the characters’ lives and the history of India
22
Q
Fill in the blank: The narrative includes elements of ________, blending history with fiction.
A
fantasy
23
Q
What is the significance of the ‘midnight’s children conference’ in the novel?
A
It symbolizes the unity and diversity of the children with special powers
24
Q
What does the climax of the novel reveal about India’s future?
A
The struggles and complexities of the post-colonial identity
25
How does Rushdie use humor in 'Midnight's Children'?
To address serious themes and critique society
26
What event marks the beginning of Saleem's life story?
The moment of India's independence
27
What does the spittoons symbolise?
in Midnight’s Children, spittoons initially represent Old India but grow to also symbolize Saleem’s identity, which is intimately linked to his country given that he is one of the children of midnight.
28
What does the noses symbolise ?
Saleem Sinai’s large, bulbous nose is a symbol of his power as the leader of the Midnight Children’s Conference, which is comprised of all children born on the moment of India’s independence from British rule. His nose makes his power of telepathy possible, and this is how he communicates with the other children of midnight (who all have varied powers of their own).
29
What does the pickles symbolise?
Pickles are repeatedly mentioned in Midnight’s Children, and while they are often viewed as a phallic symbol, they are generally representative of the power of preservation within Rushdie’s novel. Saleem is the manager of a pickle factory, and he preserves pickles and chutneys each day. He also attempts to preserve his own life story like the pickles in his factory. Saleem largely manages to preserve his life through storytelling, offering a bit of immortality to a dying man, and he also labels and stores each chapter he writes in a pickle jar, so that they may be read later, by his son for example.
30
Who is Saleem Sinai
Saleem, the story’s protagonist and narrator, is the living embodiment of the newly independent country of India. Rushdie’s novel is largely allegorical, and the character of Saleem is the personification of his country
31
Who is Shiva?
The story’s antagonist and Saleem Sinai’s alter ego. Like Saleem, Shiva is also born at the precise moment of India’s independence from British rule, and he is likewise endowed with a magical power, though
32
Who is Aadam Aziz
Saleem Sinai’s grandfather, Reverend Mother’s husband, and Amina Sinai’s father. Saleem’s story begins with Aadam thirty years before India’s independence, and he is a reflection of the many effects of colonialism on…
33
Naseem Ghani / Reverend Mother
Saleem Sinai’s grandmother, Amina Sinai’s mother, and Aadam Aziz’s wife. Naseem is first introduced when her father, Mr. Ghani, tricks Aadam into falling in love with her. Using the “magical and
34
Mumtaz Aziz / Amina Sinai
Aadam Aziz and Reverend Mother’s daughter, Nadir Khan and Ahmed Sinai’s wife, and Saleem Sinai’s mother. Mumtaz, an Indian of a darker complexion, is described as “a blackie,” whose skin tone makes
35
Nadir Khan / Qasim Khan
The personal secretary of the Hummingbird and Mumtaz Aziz’s first husband. Nadir, an amateur writer of little skill, is described as a “rhymeless poet” and a “verbless bard,” and he is a known coward
36
The Brass Monkey / Jamila Singer
Saleem Sinai’s sister and the daughter of Ahmed and Amina. The Brass Monkey is a feisty child who frequently sets fire to others people’s shoes (while they’re wearing them), and she forms a
37
Ahmed Sinai
Amina’s second husband and protagonist Saleem’s father. Ahmed is first introduced as the suitor of Amina’s sister, Alia; however, Ahmed quickly falls in love with Amina after she is divorced from her first husband nadir khan (quasim Khan)
38
Mary Pereira
Saleem Sinai’s ayah, or nanny, and his second mother-figure. Mary is initially employed as a midwife in the hospital where Saleem and Shiva are born, and in a testament to her love for
39
Parvati-the-witch / Laylah
Saleem Sinai’s wife and the mother of his son, Aadam Sinai. Parvati is a fellow child of midnight, and she is endowed with the powers of the illuminatus, or “the genuine gifts of
40
Padma
Saleem Sinai’s companion and his assumed lover, although he is impotent. Saleem reads his story aloud to Padma, and she is one of the strong and independent women working in Mary Pereira’s pickle
41
Aadam Sinai
Parvati-the-witch and Saleem Sinai’s son. Aadam, the biological son of Shiva, Saleem’s arch enemy, is born during Indira Gandhi’s Emergency, after which his mother is killed. Aadam is raised by his ayah
42
Major Zulfikar
Initially Brigadier Dodson’s A.D.C. (an official assistant to a high-ranking military officer), Zulfikar falsely suspects Nadir Khan of involvement in the Hummingbird’s assassination. Zulfikar falls in love with Aadam Aziz’s daughter, Emerald
43
Tai
The old boatman who ferries people and goods across Dal and Nageen Lakes in Kashmir. Tai is the personification of Old India, and he represents a time and place that is untouched by British colonialism
44
William Methwold
The former owner of Methwold’s Estate in Bombay, where protagonist Saleem Sinai grows up. Methwold sells the four mansions that make up his estate as the British begin to exit India in preparation for independence
45
Dr. Narlikar
A child-hating gynecologist, Ahmed Sinai’s business partner, and fellow resident of Methwold’s Estate. Narlikar owns a hospital in Bombay, and he delivers both Saleem and Shiva. With the help of Ahmed, Narlikar
46
Aadam Aziz’s Mother
A traditional Kashmiri woman who must exit purdah and support her family after the death of her husband, Aadam’s father. As the owner of a gemstone business, Aadam’s mother must work directly with the
47
Aadam Aziz’s Father occupation
The owner of a gemstone business who becomes housebound after a stroke, leaving his wife, Aadam’s mother, to tend to his professional affairs. Aadam returns to Kashmir after medical school to find his father
48
Rani of Cooch Naheen
A wealthy Muslim woman who finances the Hummingbird’s political campaign. Her name roughly translates to “the Queen of Nothing” in English, and she is Aadam’s close friend and intellectual ally when the Reverend
49
A pro-Indian Muslim politician who creates the Free Islam Convocation, a gathering of Indian Muslims who disapprove of the dogmatism and intolerance frequently present in many traditional practitioners Islam. Also known as the Hummingbird, Abdullah…
Mian Abdullah / The Hummingbird
50
Alia Aziz
The “wise child” of Aadam Aziz and Reverend Mother. Alia initially falls in love with Ahmed Sinai early in Midnight’s Children; however, Ahmed avoids proposing to Alia and ultimately leaves her for her
51
Mr. Ghani
A blind landowner in Kashmir and Naseem’s father. Ghani tricks Aadam Aziz into falling in love with his daughter by setting him up. He repeatedly summons Aadam, a doctor, to his home under the
52
Evie Burns
A fellow resident of Methwold’s Estate and Saleem Sinai’s first love. Evie is an American who represents the European presence in postcolonial India. She is aggressive and mean, and after getting into a
53
The Widow / Indira Gandhi
The former Prime Minister of India and an actual historical figure. Gandhi is a corrupt leader, and she declares a state of emergency throughout the entire state of India simply to locate and destroy the
54
Brigadier R. E. Dyer
A European officer in the British Indian Army, and an actual historical figure, responsible for the massacre in Amritsar. Dyer orders a squad of fifty troops to open fire in the middle of a peaceful
55
Lafifa Das
A young Hindu boy who makes a living pushing a peepshow through the streets of Agra. Lafifa is rescued by Amina Sinai when she stops an angry mob of Muslims from attacking him by announcing
56
Dr. Narlikar’s Women
The female heirs to Dr. Narlikar’s fortune. After Narlikar’s death, the women move into his apartment and take over his businesses, and begin buying up all of Methwold’s Estate. The women intend to
57
Rushdie has said that his original draft of the novel did not include
Saleem as a first-person narrator. What does Saleem’s storytelling
voice add to the opening of the novel? How would this section (and
indeed the whole novel) be different if told by a third-person,
omniscient narrator?
* Why does the novel begin with Saleem’s birth and then travel back
in time (using analepsis) to tell the story of his family? How is his
family history relevant?
58
* Saleem uses the same phrase “there’s no getting away from the date”
to talk about births other than his own (eg. at the beginning of
“Drainage and the desert” and the closing section of “A wedding”).
What does this phrase signify about the novel’s attitude to history?
* Why does the first line of the novel recall the fairy-tale opening,
“once upon a time”?
59
What was the Armitsar Massacre 13 th april 1919?
The Amritsar Massacre of 13th April 1919 was one of the bloodiest
acts of violence committed under British colonial rule. British forces,
led by Brigadier General Reginald Dwyer, fired on thousands of
civilians at the Jallianwala Bagh public park in Amritsar. Martial law
had been declared earlier in the city to suppress political gatherings
and public demonstrations. The British soldiers entered the garden
through a narrow passage and blocked the exits, then Dwyer gave
orders to fire into the crowd. They shot at the civilians for ten
minutes, until their ammunition ran out. The death toll is still
disputed: at the time, the colonial authorities gave a figure of 379
people, but Indian sources suggest the number of people murdered
was closer to 1000
60
What is revisonist history?
Historical revisionism is the means by which the historical record, the history of a society, as understood in its collective memory, continually accounts for new facts and interpretations of the events that are commonly understood as history
61
What is analepsis?
Retrospection or flashback. Analepsis allows a storyteller to fill in background information about characters and events.
62
The closing pages of “Mercurochrome” describe the Amritsar Massacre, events which
were very well known in the context of the history of Indian independence. It is likely
that readers (particularly in India) would have been very familiar with the date of the
event: April 13th 1919. How do the closing pages of the chapter present the dates of
events to the reader, and what might the emphasis on dates signify?
Rushdie's treatment of the Amritsar Massacre avoids directly naming April 13, 1919, signaling a move away from official historiography and toward personal, fragmented, and emotional modes of remembering. This reflects a broader theme in Midnight’s Children: that history is not just what happened, but how it is felt, narrated, and passed on.
63
Halfway through “Snakes and ladders” Saleem describes the family receiving the news of Gandhi’s
assassination. Why might it be significant that they are watching a film when they hear the news?
(You might want to consider this in the context of Saleem’s assessment that life was “acquiring the
colouring of a Bombay talkie” [148/203].)
Is is significant that they are watching a film when the news of Ghandi's assasination breaks because it says something about facts and fiction.
64
Why is the religion of Gandhi’s assassin significant in the text and in the context of the period?
A hindu man kills Ghandi, because he is angry about Ghandi' s sympathy for muslims. It might be important because the assassin does not have symphaty for muslims.
65
Later in the novel (on page 166/230), Saleem confesses that he has made an error in reporting
Gandhi’s death (“in my India, Gandhi will continue to die at the wrong time”). How does his
explanation for this error (given early in “All-India Radio”) shape your understanding of the whole
novel?
That reality is a question of perspective. The further you get from the past, the more concrete and plausible it seems- but as you approach the present, it inevitably seems more and more incredible. The illusion itself has become reality.
The further you get from the past, the more concrete and plausible it seems, the nearer you are to the present, it seems more incredible. The illusion itself has become reality.
66
“Snakes and ladders” sees Saleem begin to acknowledge that readers might be incredulous about
some of his claims. In what ways does the chapter balance extravagant claims about fantastic and
unlikely events and the readers’ disbelief?
In “Snakes and Ladders,” Rushdie balances the fantastic and the believable by:
Letting Saleem admit his unreliability and embrace subjectivity.
Using symbolic metaphors (like the board game) to explain life’s randomness.
Grounding magic in real historical context.
Inviting the reader to value memory and emotional truth over literal accuracy.
This chapter helps redefine the idea of “truth” — not as what happened exactly, but as how people remember, interpret, and live through what happened.
67
What might the game of snakes and ladders warn against?
Upcoming troubles of social unrest
68
The second half of “How Saleem achieved purity” focuses on the India-Pakistan War. Saleem
emphasises the “fuddled haze of unreality” and characterises his adolescence in Pakistan as full of
“falsenesses, unrealities and lies” (326/453). How and why do you think the chapter emphasises truth
and untruth? In what ways does this chapter offer an explanation for the whole novel’s use of an
unreliable narrator?
69
Saleem asserts his belief that the war with Pakistan happened in order to wipe out his family
(338/469). Why do you think he makes this claim? In what ways does the whole novel explore the
relationship between the individual and the nation, or between the individual and historical events?
70
Compare this chapter with “In the Sundurbans”, at the end of which Saleem suggests the purpose of
the Indo-China war was “to re-unite [him] with an old life” (373/521). How do the chapters construct
an air of unreality and unreliability around Saleem’s narration of historical events?
71
In what ways does Saleem’s narration record the difficulty of telling this part of his story? Can you
use the stylistic features of trauma to describe this chapter?
72
Rushdie edited the closing paragraph of “A wedding” (the chapter before “Midnight”) after being
threatened with a defamation suit by Indira Gandhi. The original contained allegations that she had
killed her husband. What aspects of the portrait of Indira Gandhi are supported by historical
evidence, and what aspects are exaggerated or based in Saleem’s fantasies and nightmares?
73
How
does Rushdie draw on popular culture to create this portrait? (You might look later at some of his
writings on The Wizard of Oz, which he loves!)
What relevance does the slogan “India is Indira and Indira is India” have for understanding Saleem’s
story of his own life?
74
Saleem questions the construction of his story and identifies this chapter as the climax, writing “this
is not how a climax should be written” (426/596). In what ways does this chapter bring together the
threads of the whole story? How does the novel undermine the idea of a climax or a final revelation
75
Aadam Aziz is saved by an opportune sneeze. Does the physical comedy strike you as
disrespectful or out of place? How does the whole novel blend serious historical events
with absurd or comic elements?
This chapter uses a lot of film language (“we cut to a long shot”; “no close-up is
necessary” 32/36). Why do you think that might be? What effect does it have on your
interpretation of this section of the novel?
Padma is introduced at the beginning of the chapter – what is her role in the novel?
What effect does Saleem’s first-person narration have in this section?
The whole novel blends serious historical events with absurd comic elements trughout the novel by blending them into the narrative.
By using film language, we don't take the novel all that serious. We wonder if it has happend at all. But it also easier to swallow the stories in this novel, which can be rough at times. Reading it becomes a douable task.
Padma is Saleems confidant and critical listener, probably lover.
Saleem telling the story in first person, we get to see the story from his viewpoint.
76
What do you understand by Rushdie’s image of British racism as the tip of an
iceberg? What kinds of things does this metaphor imply?
Rushdie suggests that many people believe that it is not worth thinking about
the British Empire because it is in the past. What are the aftereffects of Britain’s
imperial past that he wants to make his audience notice
What does he have to say about nostalgia in this section? How is it connected to
the quotation he cites from the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher?
The metaphor implies that there are so much more British racism seeding under the surface.
The aftereffects of Britain's imperial past Rushdie wants his audience to notice is what it has done to the future generations. How it has altered future generations and nations.
Saleem refers to a statement made by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher:
"The facts of the past are not subject to revision; the past is what it is and it cannot be changed."
Saleem responds to this claim with outright rejection. His entire storytelling method is about rewriting and reshaping the past. He blends fact with fantasy, emotion with history, insisting that:
“Reality is a question of perspective.”
He challenges Thatcher’s rigid, objective view of history, proposing instead that memory, myth, and personal experience reshape the past constantly — which is what nostalgia does. He rejects Margaret Thatcher’s idea that the past is unchangeable.
For Saleem, rewriting the past is essential to understanding personal and national identity in postcolonial India.
77
India is described in “Tick, tock” as “the new myth – a collective fiction” (112/150). In
what other ways does this section of the novel investigate the idea of nation-formation?
Can you connect this with ideas we’ve talked about to do with history and narrative?
Why do you think Saleem’s concern with his parentage (and his “gift of inventing new
parents”) might be relevant in thinking about the idea of an emerging postcolonial
nation?
Saleem asks of his family and heritage, “Indian or Kashmiri?” (107/143). Why is his
family’s personal history relevant in thinking about the events of Partition in India?
What was significant about the status of Kashmir?
The opening sections of this chapter contain a speeded-up summary of the preceding
chapters. Why does the text so often repeat itself
1. East India Company, Metworld vision of British Bombay.
2.Jinnah who wants to form Pakistan
3.Independent India
I think Saleems concern wih his parentage and his gift of inventing new parents might be a metaphor for envisioning a new India without the restraints of the old parents "the british rule".
When you partion India, you also partion a family, they will have to choose, Indian or Kashmiri?
Saleem Sinai's roots are in Kashmir. And Kashmir is the section that they they cannot agree upon. It is divided between Pakistan, India and China.
The story repeats itself to illustrate that oral storytelling changes from each time someone tells a story, memory is unrelible, history repeats itself,
Memory is recursive and unreliable. Trugh is constructive
.
78
What does Rushdie say here about British stories of national “greatness”?
What do you think Rushdie means by “the rise of Raj revisionism”? You may need
to look up the term “revisionist history”.
What do you understand by Rushdie’s final argument that “there is no
consensus about reality” between nations in the north and the south? How
might this idea about reality and truth shape your reading of Midnight’s Children
That the British nation is not so great
Rushdie criticizes “the rise of Raj revisionism” as a dangerous distortion of colonial history. In his view, it:
Glosses over the violence, exploitation, and racism of British rule
Romanticizes empire to preserve national pride or justify modern-day politics
Erases the trauma and resistance experienced by colonized people
When you cannot agree about what is true and what is not it questions everything, you no longer know what is true or not.
