In the story “The Perforated Sheet,”
Salman Rushdie sets the premise for his novel Midnight's Children.
In the novel, all of the children born at midnight on August 15,
1947, the date of India's independence from British rule, have a
special connection. The children can telepathically communicate with
each other and their destinies are intertwined with India and
Pakistan. As with any story written with a magic realism theme, the
special powers and abilities of the characters do not seem out of
place or overly mystical.
In
“The Perforated Sheet,” Rushdie introduces the grandfather of the
main character, Saleem, from Midnight's Children.
In this flashback, Saleem provides back story for his grandfather,
Aadam Aziz, and his experiences as a young doctor with a particularly
unique patient. The story begins with Aziz and a boatman, and the
boatman's age is a particular mystery throughout the story. Even his
wife admits that he was “already leathery when they married”
(Rushdie 1715). The mystery of the boatman's age continues on, with
no answer ever given. This implication that the man was very old,
even older than would be possible, is a good example of the use of
magic realism that Rushdie utilizes. Rather than give the man a set
age, he allows the reader to wonder whether or not the character is
mystical or special.
The
description of Aziz's nose is another use of this magic realism.
Saleem describes Aziz's nose as “nostrils flaring, curvaceous as
dancers. Between them swells the nose's triumphal arch, first up and
out, then down and under, sweeping in to his upper lip with a superb
and at present red-tipped flick” (1715). This description could
also be used to describe the curves of the country of India. Given
the main character's destiny later in the novel, it is fitting that
his grandfather has such a shape for his nose, especially since
Saleem mentions inheriting this oddly-shaped nose.
Although
“The Perforated Sheet” could be rewritten with a more realistic
tone and with the elimination of these elements, it is precisely this
hint of mysticism in the work that gives it much of its charm. The
characters are endearing and memorable because they have each been
given these slight augmentations, while the lack of focus on these
traits allow them to add to the story rather than detract from it.
Works
Cited
Rushdie,
Salman. "The Perforated Sheet." The
Norton Anthology of World Literature.
Ed. Martin Puchner. Shorter 3rd ed. Vol. 2. New York: Norton, 2013.
1711-23. Print.