dnight’s Children made references to the social structure in India, the crucial conflicts of the time, and the influences Britain had on India. As the novel progressed, Saleem Sinai grew both physically and mentally to deal with the changing face of India. His growth coincided with the maturing of India as an independent nation. We first see India as an infant through the eyes of a child followed by an adult look at the mature state of India twenty-one years later. 3. What does the novel show about Indian (or Pakistani) social structure and customs? About family life? Are the male or female characters more fully/better drawn? Are women described as active or passive participants? What about conflicts between men and women and conflicts between generations?- Throughout his book, Rushdie examined the social structure of India, the political strife in India, and the earlier influences on India.- Saleem Sinai was a human map of India. His face resembled distinct areas of India and its neighbors. He described himself stating, "Fair skin curved across my features – but birthmarks disfigured it; dark stains spread down my western hairline, a dark patch coloured my eastern ear"(Rushdie 144). Saleem’s face represented the map of India directly after partition. Saleem was born exactly one day after the independence of Pakistan. The dark stains down his western hairline represented newly formed Western Pakistan while the dark patch over his eye represented Eastern Pakistan. - In addition to his face corresponding to the political map of India, Saleem’s face also demonstrated the physical features of the country: Baby-snaps reveal that my large moon face was too large; too perfectly round. Something lacking in the region of the chin. . . . And my temples: too prominent: bulbous Byzantine domes. . . . Baby Saleem’s nose: it was monstrous; and it ran(Rushdie 144-145).- The shape of his face including his narrow chin res...
