One literary device that Rushdie uses repeatedly throughout the book is foreshadowing. He constantly tells us what's going to happen, before it actually does happen. The most obvious example of this so far is when the seer Shri Ramram Seth foresees Saleem's birth. "A son" (96), he says, and goes on to prophecy Saleem's life for half a page, "A son, Sahiba, who will never be older than his motherland--neither older nor younger."(96). This will be a great passage to go back to at the end of the book so we can figure out what it means exactly.
Another literary device commonly used is alliteration. When Rushdie is describing action, he tends to use almost onomatopoeia-like descriptions, repeating words and putting them together. When Saleem talks about riding a bike, he says how the wheels go "roundandroundand" (213), and when describing how a monkey digs through bags of money, he says, "See him thear at them: rip! rap! rop!" (93). Rushdie uses devices usually reserved for poetry to call attention to various parts of his imagery. This makes the story come alive, because the reader can tell exactly what he's trying to say.
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I wonder what the meaning about the prophecy of Saleem's birth means. Especially that part about the knees and a nose. The nose part I guess I understand, but what does the knees mean?
ReplyDeleteYeah, I wasn't sure what a lot of parts of that prophecy meant. My other main confusion was the part that said he would die before he died. I was thinking that maybe it meant that India was going to lose it's independence again, but I don't remember that happening in my history class, so I'm not sure. Any ideas?
ReplyDeleteRushdie has inserted so many little pieces of foreshadowing throughout the book that I wonder whether he will actually fulfill them all by the end. I've also noticed the unusual onomatopoetic descriptions that Marcella pointed out. It reminds me of people I know who talk like that; they use sound effects to describe things when they can't come up with the right words.
ReplyDeleteI really like how Salman uses words to emphasize certain thoughts or other words. I like the onomonopia as well, it makes me feel as though I am inside Saleem's head because that is how people really think.
ReplyDeleterelating to the prediction that the son will be niether older or younger than his country. this means that he will be born exactly on the revolution
ReplyDeleteI really liked the onomonopia too. I think that it makes the story more fun to read when you come across the sounds, I can almost imagine him sitting there making the sounds to emphasize his point. I think from the onomonopia and the little comments that Saleem puts in his stories that he writes, we can infer that he's sort of a funny guy. As for the he will "die before he died" bit. I didn't understand that either, but I'm sure it'll become clear when we finish the book or when Saleem finally does die.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of literary elements in that part you described. While the fortune teller guy is foreshadowing, he uses a lot of riddles and rhyme to do it. This makes the reading more interesting, while also making the readers curious about what it all means. I know I sure am curious. I hope we find out what it means soon, while this passage is still fresh in my head.
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