67 pages • 2 hours read
Salman RushdieMidnight’s Children
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1995A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 2, Chapters 1-8
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary: “The Fisherman’s Pointing Finger”
Saleem wonders whether a person can be “jealous of written words” (107). After bickering with Padma about the definition of love, Saleem turns back to the story. When he was a baby, a painting of the Englishman Sir Walter Raleigh hung over his crib. A fisherman in the painting points at something unseen, and Saleem has always wondered what caught the fisherman’s attention. He admits that he was “not a beautiful baby” (109). When his parents returned from the hospital, his family assumed that his “monstrous” (109) nose and unblinking blue eyes came from his grandfather Aadam Aziz. The people living on the Methwold estate treat Saleem with doting affection, including Mary Pereira, who quit her job as a midwife to become Saleem’s nanny. Saleem is a quiet baby, and he rarely blinks, even during his circumcision. Due to the nature of his birth, Saleem is something of a celebrity even though no one knows he was switched in the crib with the son of a beggar. Mary sings to him, telling him that he can be whatever he wants to be.
Related Titles
By Salman Rushdie
East, West
East, West
Salman Rushdie
Fight of the Century: Writers Reflect on 100 Years of Landmark ACLU Cases
Fight of the Century: Writers Reflect on 100 Years of Landmark ACLU Cases
Michael Chabon, ed., Ayelet Waldman, ed., Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, Meg Wolitzer, Louise Erdrich, Héctor Tobar, Neil Gaiman, Jacqueline Woodson, Rabih Alameddine, Ayelet Waldman, Brenda J. Child, Michael Chabon, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Salman Rushdie, Jesmyn Ward, Aleksandar Hemon, George Saunders, Scott Turow, Timothy Egan, Steven Okazaki, Sergio de la Pava, Andrew Sean Greer, Geraldine Brooks, Anthony Doerr, Brit Bennett, Yaa Gyasi, Moriel Rothman-Zecher, William Finnegan, Marlon James, Morgan Parker, Jennifer Egan, David Cole, Lauren Groff, Ann Patchett, David Handler, C.J. Anders, Dave Eggers, Jonathan Lethem, Michael Cunningham, Elizabeth Strout, Li Yiyun
Good Advice is Rarer than Rubies
Good Advice is Rarer than Rubies
Salman Rushdie
Haroun and the Sea of Stories
Haroun and the Sea of Stories (Khalifa Brothers, #1)
Salman Rushdie, Paul Birkbeck, Paul Brickbeck
Imaginary Homelands: Essays and Criticism 1981-1991
Imaginary Homelands: Essays and Criticism 1981-1991
Salman Rushdie
Joseph Anton: A Memoir
Joseph Anton: A Memoir
Salman Rushdie
Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder
Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder
Salman Rushdie
Quichotte
Quichotte
Salman Rushdie
Shalimar the Clown
Shalimar the Clown
Salman Rushdie
Shame
Shame
Salman Rushdie
The Enchantress of Florence
The Enchantress of Florence
Salman Rushdie
The Golden House
The Golden House
Salman Rushdie
The Ground Beneath Her Feet
The Ground Beneath Her Feet
Salman Rushdie
The Moor's Last Sigh
The Moor's Last Sigh
Salman Rushdie
The Satanic Verses
The Satanic Verses
Salman Rushdie
Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights
Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights
Salman Rushdie
Victory City
Victory City
Salman Rushdie
Featured Collections
Asian American & Pacific Islander...
View Collection
Colonialism & Postcolonialism
View Collection
Colonialism Unit
View Collection
Family
View Collection
Indian Literature
View Collection
Magical Realism
View Collection
Poverty & Homelessness
View Collection
Religion & Spirituality
View Collection
Required Reading Lists
View Collection
School Book List Titles
View Collection
The Best of "Best Book" Lists
View Collection