The Satanic Verses: Part 1, Chapter 4 Summary & Analysis

While traveling to London on Flight 420, Saladin sees a woman on the plane who he thinks he recognizes from one of his dreams. In the dream, the woman is a suicide bomber with a Canadian accent. The woman on the plane is holding what looks like a child so close to her chest that Saladin cannot tell if it is really a child or a bomb. After seeing the woman, Saladin takes a brief nap. When he opens his eyes again, he sees Gibreel Farishta. Although Gibreel looks different in person than on the movie screen, Saladin recognizes him immediately.

Seated next to Saladin on the plane is a man named Eugene Dumsday, an American with a Southern accent. Eugene tells Saladin that he traveled to India to spread word about the dangers of Darwinism. Eugene is a highly religious man who believes the teachings of Darwin will disrupt the spiritual lives of anyone who comes across them. Saladin asks Eugene how the Indian people received him. Eugene admits that people were not particularly receptive to his message, much to his dismay. Saladin chuckles in response, which makes Eugene angry. Then, Saladin goes back to sleep.

When Saladin wakes up, Sikh terrorists are in the process of hijacking the plane. There are four terrorists in total, three men and one woman. The woman, Tavleen, is the same woman Saladin noticed before. Additionally, she has a Canadian accent, just like she did in his dream. Tavleen has explosives strapped to her entire body and threatens to explode them if her directions are not followed. Saladin can tell that Tavleen is more serious about her mission than the other terrorists and reminds himself not to take her lightly. Tavleen and her comrades order the pilot to land the plane, which the pilot does.

Then, slowly, the terrorists begin releasing hostages until they get down to a reasonable number. Women, children, and Sikhs are released first. For the most part, all of the men are forced to stay on the plane with the exception of Dumsday, who accidentally bites off his own tongue after one of the terrorists hits him in the head with the butt of a gun. The terrorists decide it would be best for Dumsday to go free as well because they do not want to have to deal with a wounded man.

As the hostage negotiations transpire, Saladin and Gibreel form a sort of friendship, which Gibreel initiates. Gibreel tells Saladin about his life, and Saladin listens to him reluctantly. In particular, Gibreel is eager to tell Saladin about the strange dreams he has been having since eating pork. In his dreams, he is an archangel. These dreams have given Gibreel a positive outlook, and, even while everyone else is terrified for their lives, Gibreel assures them that everything will be fine. He knows that—one way or another—they will be left off the plane, at which time they will be “born again.” Gibreel also tells Saladin that he boarded Flight 420 because he is chasing after Alleluia Cone, with whom he is still desperately in love.

After 111 days of being held hostage on a tarmac, Tavleen decides to kill a hostage—whom she chooses because he is a religious apostate—since her demands have not been met. After killing the hostage, the terrorists order the pilot to take off again, which he does. In the air, the terrorists begin fighting with each other. As a result, Jalandri detonates her explosive vest, and the plane explodes.