While reading Midnight’s Children I actually found myself
thinking of the essay question that some of us answered in class on
Thursday. When Saleem is talking about
how he makes this conference with all the children of Midnight he talks about
being a member of a group and taking pleasure in the fact that he belongs
somewhere. But he also states that it is
difficult to distinguish all the voices from each either. They sort of become a collective identity to
him, “a sort of many headed monster” (Rushdie 262). HE himself holds himself as an individual
separate from the Conference but while he understands the other children are
also individuals he does not distinguish them as individuals. This poses an interesting question about being
a member of a group, a society, or retaining individuality. Saleem seems to feel that since he is the one
who put the Conference together that he should remain an individual, the “mascot”
of the group yet everyone else is simply “the group.” Individuality is okay for him and the other children
as long as they are not conferencing in the midnight hour. Once they reach that midnight hour everyone else
ceases to be individuals and becomes a collective entity. In a way, I cannot blame him; it would be
hard to give individual identities to over 500 voices. But at the same time, he is the one who
always retains individuality in these sessions so it does not seem entirely fair.
Perhaps Rushdie is suggesting that this sort of individuality is a problem since it is focusing on differences that makes the MC unable to do anything or make a change in India.
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