The Relationship Between Saleem And Shiva In Midnight's Children

In the novel Midnight’s Children, the relationship between the characters Saleem and Shiva is a very important and recurring theme. The relationship affects the narrative in many different ways. To understand this influence on the narrative, the relationship between Saleem and Shiva has to be described and explained. Saleem and Shiva are both born at the exact moment of India’s independence and their future lives are strongly related to that of the independent India. The children, and thereby their identities, are switched when they are born. This leads to Saleem taking Shiva’s life and being raised by a successful, wealthy family in Bombay. Shiva, on the other hand, grows up in a poor environment, raised by a single father. In many ways, Saleem and Shiva are on the one hand related and the other hand opposed to each other. This is seen in recurring themes, motives and symbols of the novel. These elements are very important for the narrative, as they guide the storyline of the novel and clarify important (historical) events in the novel. By doing so, these elements significantly clarify the antithetical and corresponding relationship between Saleem and Shiva and they show how they influence the historical events and the lives of

With their matching, but very antithetical personalities they reflect and influence many (historical) events and lives of others in the novel, such as the competition between Saleem and Shiva and similarly, the competition in India in that period. Moreover, the two different sides of India are reflected by the relationship between Saleem and Shiva and “the two of them demonstrate the post-independence Indian intellectual’s love for ideas and ideals moved by the attraction of wealth and power” (Mitra 94). Either way, it is very clear that Saleem and Shiva play an extremely important role for the narrative of Midnight’s