Midnight's Children

As Saleem states in the opening passages of Midnight’s Children, his story is “handcuffed to history” (15). His family’s story is tied into the birth of India as a modern independent state, to the point where Saleem’s own birth is timed perfectly with the exact moment of Indian independence. For Saleem, history is not a large, unknowable abstract idea. Instead, history is an intensely personal concept tied to moments from his life and his family’s life. Marriages are timed to end with wars, births are timed with independence, and Saleem recalls these important events in the lives of the individuals by tying them to events from global, national, and regional history. In this fashion, Saleem heightens the importance of the people. People are not just powerless pawns who are subject to the ineffable passage of time. Instead, people are in constant dialogue with the events of the world around them. Saleem’s birth and his country’s birth are both important events, and, as he grows up, he shapes the history of his country just as his country’s history shapes him.

Saleem is not unique. As well as being a member of the Midnight’s Children and a rich family, other characters in the novel show they are equally in conversation with the history of India.