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Definition of Motif
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the central themes of a book... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of... read full definition
Book 1: The Perforated Sheet
Explanation and Analysis—War and the Body:
Throughout Midnight's Children, Rushdie frequently uses the motif of war and fighting to describe characters' relationships with their own bodies. This category of metaphor is common in the English language: one might say, for instance, that a person "lost" their "battle" with cancer. If that same person successfully recovered from cancer, one might call them a "cancer survivor." When speaking figuratively, people often place the mind—or psyche, consciousness, will, etc.—in an adversarial relationship with the body.
Rushdie utilizes this motif in Book 1, Section 2—Mercurochrome to describe Aadam Aziz's war-like relationship with his future wife's ailments:
Far away the Great War moved from crisis to crisis, while in the cobwebbed house Doctor Aziz was also engaged in a total war against his section patient’s inexhaustible complaints.
Related Themes:
Book 1: Mercurochrome
Explanation and Analysis—Film Language:
Language and imagery associated with film form a motif in Midnight's Children. The use of such language works as an interesting tool for conjuring vivid sensory imagery, forcing the reader to visualize and even hear the story (like a soundtrack) as one might experience a film.
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Related Themes:
Book 1: Hit-the-Spittoon
Explanation and Analysis—War and the Body:
Throughout Midnight's Children, Rushdie frequently uses the motif of war and fighting to describe characters' relationships with their own bodies. This category of metaphor is common in the English language: one might say, for instance, that a person "lost" their "battle" with cancer. If that same person successfully recovered from cancer, one might call them a "cancer survivor." When speaking figuratively, people often place the mind—or psyche, consciousness, will, etc.—in an adversarial relationship with the body.
Rushdie utilizes this motif in Book 1, Section 2—Mercurochrome to describe Aadam Aziz's war-like relationship with his future wife's ailments:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Far away the Great War moved from crisis to crisis, while in the cobwebbed house Doctor Aziz was also engaged in a total war against his section patient’s inexhaustible complaints.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Film Language:
Language and imagery associated with film form a motif in Midnight's Children. The use of such language works as an interesting tool for conjuring vivid sensory imagery, forcing the reader to visualize and even hear the story (like a soundtrack) as one might experience a film.
Unlock with LitCharts A+
Related Themes:
Book 1: A Public Announcement
Explanation and Analysis—Indian Disease:
Saleem uses the motif of infectious diseases to refer to many different ideas, concepts, and movements throughout Midnight's Children. One example of this motif occurs in Book 1, Section 5—A Public Announcement:
Unlock with LitCharts A+But this was Delhi, and Lifafa Das had altered his cry accordingly. ‘See the whole world, come see everything!’ [. . .] (I am suddenly reminded of Nadir Khan’s friend the painter: is this an Indian disease, this urge to encapsulate the whole of reality? Worse: am I infected too?).
Related Themes:
Book 1: Tick, Tock
Explanation and Analysis—Umbilical Cord:
Throughout Midnight's Children, various physical objects represent the intangible concept of inheritance. One such recurring motif in the novel is the umbilical cord. Saleem describes the metaphorical passage of memories and heritage through the umbilical cord in Book 1, Section 8—Tick, Tock:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Through my umbilical cord, I’m taking in fare-dodgers and the dangers of purchasing peacock-feather fans; Amina’s assiduity seeps into me, and more ominous things—clattering footsteps, my mother’s need to plead for money until the napkin in my father’s lap began to quiver and make a little tent.
Related Themes:
Book 2: The Fisherman’s Pointing Finger
Explanation and Analysis—Umbilical Cord:
Throughout Midnight's Children, various physical objects represent the intangible concept of inheritance. One such recurring motif in the novel is the umbilical cord. Saleem describes the metaphorical passage of memories and heritage through the umbilical cord in Book 1, Section 8—Tick, Tock:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Through my umbilical cord, I’m taking in fare-dodgers and the dangers of purchasing peacock-feather fans; Amina’s assiduity seeps into me, and more ominous things—clattering footsteps, my mother’s need to plead for money until the napkin in my father’s lap began to quiver and make a little tent.
Related Themes:
