History: Validation of Form and Content

Historical events are a unifying force by which people identify with each other. The question of “where were you were when Kennedy was shot?” was posed for decades during the baby boomer generation and, for the younger generations, the question has become “where were you on 9/11?”  This query is employed as an anchor of identification, with others and with the individual's relationship to the external, iterating that “yes, I was there when this took place and here is my piece of the story” Rushdie utilizes this method of historical identification in Midnight’s Children for a twofold purpose; first, as a linear backdrop which allows him to make sudden temporal shifts without alienating the reader and second, on a individual level, validating the narrator’s tale as meaningful in conjunction with these historical events.

The novel opens with an explanation of the title; the narrator Saleem Sinai is born on 15 Aug 1947 at midnight, the day of India’s Independence from the British Regime. This reference anchors the reader for the temporal shifts that quickly unfold, specifically, a retreat back thirty years to the story of the narrator’s grandfather Dr Aziz. Despite this sudden shift, we are given another historical event to straighten out the narrative chronologically, 11 Nov 1918, Armistice Day. Along the way we pick up other historical events such as the 1918 flu pandemic (“European curse called King’s Evil”) and the 13 April 19 Jallianwala Bagh, or Amritsar, massacre. This construct allows Saleem’s story to fluidly intersperse between decades in his own journalistic conception of the events while maintaining the strong, linear structure provided by history. In comparison, this technique is often used to estrange the reader, as seen in works such as Slaughterhouse Five, where the goal is replicate the amnesia and confusion of its protagonist Billy Pilgrim. Although based around historical events, these events serve to be more fleeting contrasts to the cloudy reverie in which the reader is immersed. This is a strikingly more appropriate use of the form, as these shifts cause discomfiture in Rushdie's text which his ellipses may forewarn but not necessarily overcome (see JDS entry for a more thorough explanation) Nevertheless, by opening with Saleem's birth and immediately reverting back to his familial history, he creates a dimensional intimacy to this character with minimal (but perhaps necessary) disorientation.

The second purpose of these historical events unveils itself on the individual level; as a means to validate a single human existence in the midst of world catastrophe. Saleem Sinai confides in the reader that he intends “to end up meaning –yes, meaning--something” for he “fear (s) absurdity” The correlation between his personal story and the monumental events which occurred in his nation’s history is no coincidence (despite the fact that Saleem writes them off as such) He aligns important events in his personal history, e.g. his grandfather seeing his grandmother for the first time and thus setting into motion Saleem’s own existence, with an historical counterpart, e.g. Armistice Day. Another example would be Aziz’s contribution in the Amritsar massacre, which is argued to be a catalyst for India’s independence, another indelible connection to Saleem’s birth.

One can see the way in which Rushdie employs history to illuminate his character’s story rather than overshadow it, especially by focusing on the events of Dr Aziz in 1918. In an era that left men overwhelmed and anonymous in the face of World War, Rushdie insists that his characters’ stories are meaningful to tell because of their correlation with these historical events and not in spite of them. Their existence is bolstered by riding the coattails of history rather than being dragged along, mute and forgotten, in light of the unconscionable events. He writes, “time settles down and concentrates on the importance of the moment” which diverges radically from the general sentiment of that period, as described by Eliot, “Those who have crossed/With direct eyes [...]As the hollow men/The stuffed men.” Rushdie seeks to lend a voice to the masses of people who were to go out, not with a bang, but a whimper, by realligning the way in which the individual’s narrative corresponds with the international narrative. As the book progresses, it seems clear these events will continue syncopate with Saleem’s story, as he warns the reader “such historical coincidences have littered and perhaps befouled my family’s existence in the world” So it goes.

Random Thoughts;

-Tai’s resentment towards Aziz’s training in Germany symbolizes more than Aziz being from “abroad, full of foreigner’s tricks” and his seeming rejection of his own upbringing but a rejection of his national conscience, as India mobilized over a million troops in the aid of the British in WWI.

-Tai contracts the “King’s Evil” which is possibly a reference to King Alfonso XIII of Spain, who also recovered from it during this time period and was the most well known figure to ail from it as other countries refused disclosure of who was affected

-Omission of India’s aid in WWI in Dr Aziz’s story is interesting as it is considered a precipitating factor for India’s independence. As the background of Saleem’s grandfather seem to be leading up to India’s independence and, consequently, Saleem’s birth, it would seem to be a natural addition.