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Literary Devices
Definition of Allegory
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and events. The story of "The Tortoise and The Hare" is... read full definition
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and events. The story of "The... read full definition
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and... read full definition
Book 1: A Public Announcement
Explanation and Analysis—The Perforated Sheet:
Saleem uses metaphor to describe the process by which Amina Sinai convinced herself to fall in love with his father, Ahmed Sinai:
Bringing her gift of assiduity to bear, [Amina] began to train herself to love [Ahmed]. To do this she divided him, mentally, into every single one of his component parts, physical as well as behavioral, compartmentalizing him into lips and verbal tics and likes . . . in short, she fell under the spell of the perforated sheet of her own parents, because she resolved to fall in love with her husband bit by bit.
In this section, the "perforated sheet" metaphorically connects the events of Aadam Aziz's courtship to his daughter's own romantic negotiations. Both Aadam and his daughter figuratively partition their spouses into parts and are seemingly only capable of loving them via this process. Where Aadam partitioned his spouse into parts physically, in order to modestly diagnose her ailments, Amina subdivides her husband psychologically, mapping him onto another man in order to better appreciate him.
This fragmenting process in the central characters' love lives serves an allegorical purpose, connecting the issue of romantic compatibility to that of cultural and religious compatibility—issues that would feature prominently during the British Empire's Partition of India in 1947.
Related Themes:
Book 1: Tick, Tock
Explanation and Analysis—Leaving India:
In Book 1, Ahmed Sinai and Mr. Methwold discuss the latter man's curious stipulations for selling his real estate in India. Namely, Methwold wants the new Indian homeowners to maintain his houses exactly as they are, with no changes made to any of the furnishings or grounds. The two men discuss this strange set of rules as an allegory for the British leaving India:
“It seems, Mr. Sinai,” Mr. Methwold is refilling the glasses as the sun dives towards the Arabian Sea behind the Breach Candy pool, “that beneath this stiff English exterior lurks a mind with a very Indian lust for allegory . . . . Oh, you know: after a fashion, I’m transferring power, too. Got a sort of itch to do it at the same time the Raj does. As I said: a game. Humor me, won’t you, Sinai? After all: the price, you’ve admitted, isn’t bad.”
Midnight's Children often touches on the idea of control: control of time, control of fate and destiny, control of the past. The allegory in the above passage engages with control on two levels: the first with regard to meaning and the second with regard to style. On the level of meaning, the above allegory undermines the controlling assumptions made by the British Empire. The British view themselves as forceful but benevolent rulers, controlling the course of India's history and "bettering" the country through infrastructural changes and Partition (which split India into two countries, India and Pakistan). However, like the furniture in Methwold's house, these "improvements" are largely unwanted by the oppressed Indian population.
On a stylistic level, this allegory is metafictional: Methwold and Ahmed Sinai speak explicitly about a literary device being utilized in the story, of which they are also a part. This meta-commentary on allegory—all while being in the midst of an allegory—subverts the normal order of control in narrative storytelling. Rushdie's choice to reveal the mechanics of his own storytelling shifts reader perception, making it appear as though his characters have more agency in the actual act of creating narrative.
Related Themes:
