That’s
basically what Saleem implies throughout all of Midnight’s Children. While other kids in the Midnight Children’s
Conference (aka the Indian X-Men) can walk through walls, fly, and travel
through time, Saleem considers himself superior because of his telepathic
powers and the fact that he was born EXACTLY on the stroke of midnight. Even
beyond his own abilities, Saleem seems very focused on himself. He loves to
mention how many women he’s slept with (Parvarti the Witch, the girls during
his army days, etc.) and how in love Padma is with him, which is kind of
remarkable considering he describes himself as “bald, blotch-faced, missing
part of a finger, and big-nosed” (I would just like to point out that Professor
Xavier was also the leader of his mutant team, telepathic, and bald, thus
proving hair impedes our true superhuman and leadership abilities).
Saleem also considers himself the
primary cause for many major events in not only his family, but all of India, (the
1957 riots in Bombay being caused by him falling off his bike into a protest
for example). His reasons for considering himself the catalyst may just be a
reflection of Rushdie’s attempt to turn an individual’s life into the history
of India, but it still gives us the impression that Saleem is arrogant to think
so in the first place.
Maybe I’m just skeptical of
autobiographies (in this case, fictional). I mean, if your story’s so great,
why are you the one having to write it down? In any case, Saleem thinks pretty
highly of himself for being the baby who got mentioned in the paper next to the
cut-out coupons for laundry detergent…
