Reading of Reading Salman Rushdie & Midnight & Children Through Reader Response Theory

One of the techniques evident in Midnight’s Children is reader response theory which is successful in creating enough suspense. The present paper will focus on Reader Response theory. It will also share some information about the writer and the novel Midnight's Children. It will elaborately discuss the character named Padma. She is a surrogate listener who represents the partial and but obvious behaviour of an ordinary audience of Midnight's Children. Salman Rushdie has intentionally depicted Padma’s character so that she can become an audience to Saleem Sinai (protagonist) for his narration. Saleem Sinai is the lead character of the novel who is blessed with telepathy and also has an uncommon or unnatural severe sense of nose to find other midnight's children to form midnight conference. Another interesting thing in the story falls at the point when Saleem’s birth is switched with another character named Shiva who later as the story develops becomes his rival. At times we find Padma as an impatient listener who is mainly interested in the main plot. Rushdie as a narrator raises question through Padma to which Saleem Sinai has to satisfy and likewise the chain of narration moves on.