Rushdie meticulously describes the lives of Saleem's grandfather and father as he builds up to the main action of the story. After 100 pages, he has hardly gotten to the main character's birth. Why did the author choose to write such a long exposition?
I think Rushdie has such a long exposition so that the reader can understand Saleem better. By learning about Saleem's family we can understand more about him. Also, by having the exposition so long it could make the reader understand the importance of Saleem's birth. Also the reader can become more familiar with the setting and how India is changing. It allows us to know more about the cultural conflicts of India and perhaps that will help us understand more about why Saleem is falling apart.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point. Supposedly Saleem's destiny is closely connected with India's. So I suppose it is important that we know a lot about the conflicts within India, and how Saleem's family relates to them.
ReplyDeleteI also think it's to help the reader to get to know Saleem better as he tells his story. However I also think it's to build suspense. Even when it gets to the day of his birth its still 30 pages or so before he is actually born.
ReplyDeleteI see what you mean about creating suspense. Since Rushdie has been building up to Saleem's birth for so long, I'm really curious about what will happen. I just hope the actual event is interesting enough to be worth all the anticipation.
ReplyDeleteI think that Rushdie is doing more than just creating suspense. He's building up the entire background for Saleem's story, by telling the history of his family and of India's fight for independence. I agree with Christin that spending the entire first section of the book on the past helps us understand how important and influential Saleem's birth will be. The things that happened in that first section will affect the entire course of the book and of Saleem's life. I think we're all noticing this pre-Saleem section so much because we were expecting the story to be about Saleem's life, and weren't expecting such a complicated building-up to it.
ReplyDeleteI agree that most of us probably where expecting the story to be about Saleem's life and not what happened before Saleem's birth. I also agree that it helps build up to Saleem's birth, because Saleem's birth is supposed to be a big thing, so the reader should experience that sense of importance.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone about how he wanted to build the suspense about Saleem's life and I thought it was a cool way to do it because not many authors that I've read have done a whole 100 page background on the main character. However I also think that the main reason why he did it was to help us understand the culture and ways of the people in India better and what the people of India have been through. Therefore the first 100 pages also helps us understand what a big deal Saleem's birth is.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Marcella. I was expecting a story about people with special powers and the havoc they would cause and what not. The background wasn't what I expected but it really helps the reader understand Saleem.
ReplyDeleteThe description on the back of the book is rather misleading, if you ask me. The book is totally not what I was expecting, but I really enjoy Rushdie's writing style. It would be interesting to see if he has any other books, and if he does the same sort of thing in them, building up a complicated history before getting to the main plot.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to see if this style is reflected in his other books. It's not what I was expecting either. I had thought the book would be more action-packed and focused on the actual "midnight's children"... I guess I have to be patient and keep reading.
ReplyDeleteI also thought the book was going to be about a bunch of super-heroes and super-villains with these strange powers they got from being born at midnight after the revolution in India. However this book so far has been a lot tamer than what I expected. So far it's more about his past than his magical gift.
ReplyDeleteI also thought that the book would be focused on the midnight's children more. I also wonder if Rushdie's other books have such long expositions.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting how many people (myself being one of them) thought that this book would be a more fantastical story about children with magic powers. I'd also be curious to see how many people would still read the book after knowing its true contents. I think that Rushdie chose to expand upon Saleem's past because it has key connections to what is going to be read later on. I also think it is because he wants to play a slight trick on the readers (in other words, irritate them) like Saleem does to Padma by going on and on and taking forever to get to the main part.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I agree with Christian. Rushdie gives us a chance to create our own theory or image of Saleem from the story telling of his family. Through the exploration of his past we can predict what future events the novel holds. Although nothing really too exciting happens in the plot so far. Other than India's independence and the birth of Saleem. I mean nothing that causes suspense has happened so far (if that makes sense). We capture the time and have a proper understanding of it, but the subject matter (at least I thought) of the novel is his gift and how he uses it. Yet as Greer said, we haven't even gotten a sample really of it. And that's probably ahead now that we've cleared up his past.
ReplyDeleteI am really excited to actually learn about Saleem's powers and what he is doing with them and what the other midnight's children can do. I would also like to learn more about Padma, we really don't know much about her character, like why is she with Saleem? or what was her life like?
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, all of Rushdie's other novels are equally as descriptive, therefore withholding long expositions. He writes the most controversial novels known to the South Asian community. Which is why he included such significant and touchy historical subjects. For instance, he references the murder of prime minister Indira Gandhi. And often includes the silent battle between the Muslims and the rest of India. And more prominently, the revolution of India; the finality in the ousting of the British. All of these issues are incredibly significant to Indians and their history. Of course he would add such a long exposition in. He had to include all of the political matters as well, even if it is about a "super hero". Otherwise, it wouldn't be a Salman Rushdie novel.
ReplyDeleteI'm also interested to learn about Padma. She seems like a funny little character and in many ways her thoughts are similar to mine (ex. when she gets frustrated that Saleem won't get to the bulk of the story). I do understand why he is telling all of this extra side detail, though. He is, after all deteriorating or whatever, so it needs to be documented! I disagree that there is not suspense. It may not be this raging suspense that aches inside of you where you just HAVE to know, but while I read I get a tad bit of suspense in the form of curiosity.
ReplyDeleteI agree Christin. I'm excited to meet the other children. Are they like him? Do they all have specific powers for a reason? Does it have anything to do with another significant event in history? A lot more lies ahead, we'll just have to wait.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if any of the other children will have distinct characteristics like their families, such as the infamous nose. Also, I'll be curious to see how he tells the stories of the other children. Will we be able to gain as much from the other children without knowing their pasts extensively like we know Saleem's?
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