1. How does Rushdie’s sentence structure characterize Saleem’s thought process? How does the formatting affect the reader’s perception of Saleem?

Quotes:

“In the brandy bottle of boatman Tai see I foretold, my own father’s possession by dinnj and there will be another bald foreign… and Tai gas prophecies another kind, which was the consolation of my grandmother’s old age, and taught her stories, too… and pier-dogs aren’t far away… enough. I’m frightening myself.” 12

“Close-up of my grandfather’s right hand: nails knuckles fingers all somehow bigger than you’d expect. Clumps of red hair on the outside edges. Thumb and forefinger pressed together, separated only by a thickness of paper. In short: my grandfather was holding a pamphlet. It had been inserted into his hand (we cut to a long-shot–nobody from Bombay should be without a basic film vocabulary) as he entered the hotel foyer.” 30

Approach:

This section’s fragmented thought process parallels with the fragmented effects of Rushdie’s narration tactics. It reveals that Saleem may be unreliable and unsure. What sort of changed would be visible in the text if the POV had shifted?

2. How does Rushdie’s portrayal of women and lack of education thereof, reveal aspects of the culture and what was going on during this time period?

Quotes:

“Padma- our plum Padma – is sulking magnificently. (She can’t read, and like all fish lovers, dislikes other people knowing anything she doesn’t.” 20

“Mary, tiny, plump, virginal, had revelled in his attentions; but not everything had changed.” 115

Approach:

Consider how much information and presentation of the women in the text is presented factually or from Saleem’s bias. How does this affect our perception of the female characters? Is it true to the time period or is it Saleem’s personal opinion?

3. Is the imagery presented in the text always relevant to its context, what does it add or take away from the text?

Quotes:

“…A Compound can be anything from a wasteland to a park. The largest compound in Amritsar is called Jallianwala Bagh. It is not grassy. Stones cans glass and other things are row alleyway between two buildings.” 33

“The lake was no longer frozen over. The thaw had come rapidly, as usual; many of the small boats, the shikaras, had been caught napping, which was also normal. But while these sluggards slept on, on dry land, snoring peacefully beside their owners, the oldest boat was up at the crack as old folk often are….” 7

Approach:

Consider what the text would be without such specific details and images. Would less creative language aid more to the plot and overall themes of the story? Or is the detail necessary for us to understand the location, time period, character’s, etc.