Critical Literary Thoughts on Rushdie's Midnight Children Night and Whales

Critical disputes about the curious Salman Rushdie’s Midnight Children. Throughout the World people wish for something, someone with mystical powers. Powers that act for the good of the World, Rushdie has chosen the children born during the special hours that separate morning from night; a borderline concept. He gathers his mystical group together and begins to try and make a difference in the world. He displays a prominent figure trying to use the children for his political gain; someone possibly trying to make himself immortal.

Salman Rushdie’s involvement of a political figure Gandhi, draws attention. Irritated arguments flow from people who found Gandhi endearing. This is the political aspect of the novel drawing in the political views of the day. The time in India was a time of great stress, prejudice was rampant. The way out of the mental torture of servitude for some people is through imaginary means. With folklore and legend the timing of special people being born at a particular time crosses all social groups. Almost every culture has an issue with midnight. The English and Irish were afraid of the moors at night. The Russians had their midnight tales and America its late night folklores. However, brought from other lands and some developed later; all dealing with the late night hour of midnight.

It would seem the characters want to evoke change but fear doing so. Perhaps they do not have the capacity in the real world so are moving about in the dream of the Midnight Child, trying to get something done about the system. A racial overtone floats concerning the Midnight Children. The skin that is not white and the hair that is not blond; what is dark is considered inferior, less than; the Midnight Children. Through the mystical aura of the midnight child the inferior became superior.

The whimsical portrayal of the characters hit hard at racism, political characters and any feeling of superiority from both cultures. Whites were not superior, although they felt they were and Indians were not superior although they thought they were. But both groups were in fact equal, both groups lost in the political turmoil of the day. The writing of Rushdie mocks the establishment on both sides as he criticizes and dares the World to prove he has said anything derogatory.

The Midnight Children are closely watching the political machine of India, always in danger of being destroyed by the political powers of the ruler-ship, barely escaping destruction; their unusual gift always placing the children of the night in danger.

These gifts only operate through this terrible time of unfair distribution of power and oppression. In the portrayal, the question of Gandhi, possibly feeding off the oppression of the masses, creating for himself possibly a godlike image, Rushdie is able to go beyond using fictional characters to speak what might be a political opinion, without drawing the heated fire that could develop from an outright criticism of the way things were done. His combat troops were super special people, children which depict innocence, endowed with a power which superseded the establishment. Indicating political change always comes from the young; never from the status, established.

Rushdie realizes throughout history change has always come from the young and any established unit was never willing to change their way f doing things. Accusing Gandhi of possibly creating a godlike presence demonstrates Gandhi’s use of unity which in itself is power but possibly accusing him of leading a blind people who had no idea of the political turmoil they were dealing with. The children of the night, the dark children of India were enacting change. They were the innocent. The world gave these children no notice but they were slowly and carefully through their power of clear thought changing the face of a nation.

The writing of the whale is also set in a world that is not real where everything is swallowed b this massive beast. The whale has been endowed with this unknown power to eat and move about without being destroyed; as with the children. In both writings an unknown factor is at work. The cities are real place entangled in history but the people moving to make change are real yet their ability to make change is unreal as if they are moving but what they do has no effect.

The dark children of India have power because of their spirit, a combined determination to get from underfoot. The spirit gives them the power to do wondrous things, these natural characters. Normal people working to do things Rushdie might think must come from a higher power. Speaking with a loud voice in a playful manner Rushdie might be a comedian. Telling the truth under the umbrella of a joke, making the edge of what he has said more acceptable.

The Whale and the children of the night are on of the same. The characters are different but they all live in a special time period fighting in a strange existence of the mind for equality while moving through the real world undetected. These characters move quietly for change. No one knows they are there making change but things go on while the children of the night move the system in their favor by fractions, changing the world around without notice.

Innocent children, the nonthreatening, the untrained are making change in these books. The people never bother to look at them. They are dark uneducated uninteresting children of a dark race. They are invisible and not a part of the existence of the main body of the world. The children of the night, the existence in the Whale they are of no importance and should be given no platform. These innocent beings are nothing in the eyes of the system, Rushdie may not visualize the innocent children of the dark or the ones dealing with the chaos of the Whale as helpless or innocent. These being are a viable working part of society with an opinion and a spirit for change. If their need for change is not heard by the people with the ears to listen change will come slowly but surly and the people refusing to listen will be caught off guard. Surprised and not knowing where the change came from or who made the changes.

There are many children of the night, people living in Whales making change and there are those that are content to accept life without questions. Living with the view of others for their lives, acting as if they have no control; no say in the matter. In the Whale they are devoured by the Whale.

In the essence of the books Whale and Children of the Night, each group fond a way to feel superior although they were equal, the darker race found a way to ignore the power race completely on another realm. These books are about politics, the struggle for power, food, recognition and love. All of the things people of every race creed and color struggle for. There is no difference in what anyone wants. There is no difference in what people are willing to do to get what they want. Some yell from the house top other sneak through alleys, yet all are after the same thing; survival. Rushdie’s way of putting the world together in a story of strange items is seriously comical. Listening to a comedian tell the tragedy of his life in a joke may seem funny at first but then it takes a serious and realistic turn. This is something that happened to someone and suddenly it is no longer funny.

Rushdie has taken those things no one wants to hear or do anything about and written them in a manner that has forced the world to take notice. His way of forming a character makes the reader think about every aspect of the being. Where did it come from who is it what will it do. His characters take on a form that remains in the mind long after the book is read. Over and over again these characters come into play. Never leaving the arena. This is because Rushdie’s characters are everyday people. The grocery clerk the school girl the kid on a bike. When times are critical they change into a special being, changing the circumstances of the world making things better for others no matter how difficult things may be. They change one little bit at a time no matter what. A meal on wheels here a donation there a hello to a stranger.

Special people in Rushdie’s story found a way to make change but in the real world there are billions of children of the night. Working undercover some not willing to bring out all of the things they do for change. These books make people aware there is a possibility for change no matter how bad if they will make a small effort. Little steps turn into big ones, a small push may prompt another to join and the effort grows. In India change was not easy. The world looked on in the visibility of the Whale. In reality people see the ugliness of starvation, war and poverty they sit and watch the news or read a paper and feel helpless and no concern at all they live in the Whale, having the life sapped out of them each day. Watching others suffer while feeling they can do nothing.

Critical disputes about the curious Salman Rushdie’s Midnight Children. Throughout the World people wish for something, someone with mystical powers. Powers that will be for the good of the world, Rushdie has chosen the children born at the hours that separate morning from night; a borderline concept. He gathers his mystical group together and begins to try and make a difference in the world. He displays a prominent figure trying to use the children for his political gain; someone possibly trying to make himself immortal.

Salman Rushdie’s involvement of a political figure draws attention. Irritated argument flows from people who found Gandhi endearing. This is the political aspect of the novel drawing in the political views of the day. The time in India was a time of great stress, prejudice was rampant. The way out of the mental torture of servitude for some people is through imaginary means. With folklore and legend the timing of special people being born at a particular time crosses all social groups. Almost every culture has an issue with midnight. The English and Irish were afraid of the moors at night. The Russians had their midnight tales, America its late night folklore, however brought from other lands and some developed later; all dealing with the late night hour of midnight.

t would seem the characters want to evoke change but fear doing it or do not have the capacity in the real world so are moving about in the dream of the midnight child trying to get something done about the system. A racial overtone floats concerning the midnight child. The skin that is not white and the hair that is not blond; what is dark is considered inferior, less than; the midnight child. Through the mystical aura of the midnight child the inferior became superior.

The whimsical portrayal of the characters hit hard at racism, political characters and any feeling of superiority from both cultures. Whites were not superior, although they felt they were and Indians were not superior although they thought they were. But both groups were in fact equal, both groups lost in the political turmoil of the day. The writing of Rushdie mocks the establishment on both sides as he criticizes and dares the world to prove he has said anything derogatory.

Midnight Children are closely watching the political machine of India, always in danger of being destroyed by the political powers of the ruler-ship, barely escaping destruction; their unusual gift always placing the children of the night in danger.

These gifts only operate through this terrible time of unfair distribution of power and oppression. The question of Gandhi, possibly feeding off the oppression of the masses, creating for himself possibly a godlike image, Rushdie is able to go beyond using fictional characters to speak what might be a political opinion, without drawing the heated fire that could develop from an outright criticism of the way things were done. His combat troops were super special people, children which depict innocence, endowed with a power which superseded the establishment. Indicating political change always comes from the young; never from the status establishment.

Rushdie realizes throughout history change has always come from the young and any established unit was never willing to change their way f doing things. Accusing Gandhi of possibly creating a godlike presence demonstrates Gandhi’s use of unity which in itself is power but possibly accusing him of leading a blind people who had no idea of the political turmoil they were dealing with. The children of the night, the dark children of India were enacting change. They were the innocent. The world gave these children no notice but they were slowly and carefully through their power of clear thought changing the face of a nation.

The writing of the whale is also set in a world that is not real where everything is swallowed b this massive beast. The whale has been endowed with this unknown power to eat and move about without being destroyed; as with the children. In both writings an unknown factor is at work. The cities are real place entangled in history but the people moving to make change are real yet their ability to make change is unreal as if they are moving but what they do has no effect.

The dark children of India have power because of their spirit, a combined determination to get from underfoot. The spirit gives them the power to do wondrous things, these natural characters. Normal people working to do things Rushdie might think must come from a higher power. Speaking with a loud voice in a playful manner Rushdie might be a comedian. Telling the truth under the umbrella of a joke, making the edge of what he has said more acceptable.

The Whale and the children of the night are on of the same. The characters are different but they all live in a special time period fighting in a strange existence of the mind for equality while moving through the real world undetected. These characters move quietly for change. No one knows they are there making change but things go on while the children of the night move the system in their favor by fractions, changing the world around without notice.

Innocent children, the nonthreatening, the untrained are making change in these books. The people never bother to look at them. They are dark uneducated uninteresting children of a dark race. They are invisible and not a part of the existence of the main body of the world. The children of the night, the existence in the Whale they are of no importance and should be given no platform. These innocent beings are nothing in the eyes of the system; Rushdie may not visualize the innocent children of the dark or the ones dealing with the chaos of the Whale as helpless or innocent. These being are a viable working part of society with an opinion and a spirit for change. If their need for change is not heard by the people with the ears to listen change will come slowly but surly and the people refusing to listen will be caught off guard. Surprised and not knowing where the change came from or who made the changes.

There are many children of the night, people living in Whales making change and there are those that are content to accept life without questions. Living with the view of others for their lives, acting as if they have no control; no say in the matter. In the Whale they are devoured by the Whale.

In the essence of the books Whale and Children of the Night, each group fond a way to feel superior although they were equal, the darker race found a way to ignore the power race completely on another realm. These books are about politics, the struggle for power, food, recognition and love. All of the things people of every race creed and color struggle for. There is no difference in what anyone wants. There is no difference in what people are willing to do to get what they want. Some yell from the house top other sneak through alleys, yet all are after the same thing; survival. Rushdie’s way of putting the world together in a story of strange items is seriously comical. Listening to a comedian tell the tragedy of his life in a joke may seem funny at first but then it takes a serious and realistic turn. This is something that happened to someone and suddenly it is no longer funny.

Rushdie has taken those things no one wants to hear or do anything about and written them in a manner that has forced the world to take notice. His way of forming a character makes the reader think about every aspect of the being. Where did it come from who is it what will it do. His characters take on a form that remains in the mind long after the book is read. Over and over again these characters come into play; never leaving the arena. This is because Rushdie’s characters are everyday people. The grocery clerk the school girl the kid on a bike. When times are critical they change into a special being, changing the circumstances of the world making things better for others no matter how difficult things may be. They change one little bit at a time no matter what. A meal on wheels here a donation there a hello to a stranger.

Special people in Rushdie’s story found a way to make change but in the real world there are billions of children of the night. Working undercover some not willing to bring out all of the things they do for change. These books make people aware there is a possibility for change no matter how bad if they will make a small effort. Little steps turn into big ones, a small push may prompt another to join and the effort grows. In India change was not easy. The world looked on in the visibility of the Whale. In reality people see the ugliness of starvation, war and poverty they sit and watch the news or read a paper and feel helpless and no concern at all they live in the Whale, having the life sapped out of them each day. Watching others suffer while feeling they can do nothing.

The children of the night see the world in a different light. These special powers are given. In his book only to a certain few but the change brought about in India was clearly brought about by the spirit of many. The book might be stating the children’s abilities are a spirit of positive movement. The spirit of believing they could accomplish something and the majority only takes this as wishful thinking. Many people are afraid of change and if others try they will give them a very hard time. Perhaps this is why the children worked discretely without fuss or fanfare.

Living in the eyes of the world with their views is difficult when you are accepted but is extra hard if you are not a member of the acceptable group. Most never know what it feels like if you never have one of your own shunned. The pain they feel you feel but only through love can you experience this pain. Is this the reason so may refuse to get involved with people not accepted by main society. They do not want to feel the pain.

There is power in people when they ban together to try. The Whale was a group that wanted to go along to get along. The Children of the Night formed a special group to make change happen although they were not willing to be singled out but they were willing to try to do something. Most do not want to be place under the microscope drawing attention to themselves , making things uncomfortable for themselves and their families.

Once the problem was better the powers went dormant. India knew change happened but because if her refusal to hear she had no one to blame, no one to put in prison or not the right ones. Change had come in quiet increments. The noise makers were snuffed out but change had come. Quietly with accurate definition, India was free.

Human nature is very interesting. The world is ever closer with the internet and transportation. Sit in America and chat with some one in Australia, India or Iceland but fighting is all over. People are strange. If one person gets lost the world will struggle to find them. People never want to be out of reach of others, should they want to have a conversation; yet people are at odds. Curious, if two enemies were alone in the world, who would they talk to? Just wondering.