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Definition of Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like" or "as," but can also... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often... read full definition
Book 1: Hit-the-Spittoon
Explanation and Analysis—Bloody Hand:
In Book 1, Section 3—Hit-the-Spittoon, Saleem describes a spittoon that has been upended in the street by British military commander Brigadier Dodson. This seemingly innocuous upending of the spittoon is accorded great symbolic meaning, however briefly. Saleem utilizes both personification and simile to meditate on the spittoon and its narrative significance:
A dark red fluid with clots in it like blood congeals like a red hand in the dust of the street and points accusingly at the retreating power of the Raj.
The description of "a dark red fluid with clots in it like blood congeals like a red hand" is a simile, as the red fluid from the spittoon "congeals" like blood. The passage also contains personification, as the "red hand" formed by the blood points accusingly towards the Raj, implicating him in the bloodiness of British colonialism in India.
The simile comparing spittoon liquid to blood can be interpreted in a variety of ways. In addition to forming a bloody hand to implicate the Raj, this spittoon liquid also resembles blood flowing in the street as it might during a violent revolution. Aadam Aziz himself saw firsthand the violence meted out by British imperial soldiers against Indian protestors, whose blood flowed in the streets after the British murdered them. The spittoon liquid calls readers back to this event, reminding them of the sustained violence dealt to Indian people at the hands of the British Empire.
Related Themes:
Book 1: Under the Carpet
Explanation and Analysis—Silence:
The following passage from Book 1, Section 4—Under the Carpet blends sound and scent descriptors in an unconventional way, generating vivid imagery:
The smell of silence, like a rotting goose-egg, fills my nostrils; overpowering everything else, it possesses the earth . . . While Nadir Khan hid in his half-lit underworld, his hostess hid too, behind a deafening wall of soundlessness.
In the fictional, magical realist world of Midnight's Children, silence has a smell. This passage utilizes simile to compare that smell to something rotten, which is a curious and effective way of characterizing silence. In the absence of sound, other senses enter in and become more keen. This particular silence is so complete, so insurmountable, that its absence heightens the other senses by proxy. This allows the stink of the corrosive, negative emotions fueling Naseem's silence to shine through, revealing their rottenness.
Rushdie's specific word usage to describe silence's "scent" should not be overlooked. Naseem's silence is "rotten" because it originates from a lack of willingness to change or compromise. She remains stagnant, decaying and left behind. This stagnancy stems from a clash of values between herself and Aadam, who represents a more modern and Westernized India. Naseem, when contrasted with her husband, holds traditional religious and cultural values. She resents Aadam for his modernity—and it is her reticence to change, in the end, that brings about a silent rot.
Related Themes:
