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This is a list of characters in ''Midnight's Children'', a 1981 prize-winning novel by Salman Rushdie. ''Midnight's Children'' is an epic book about India's transition from British colonialism to independence. It is notable for the large number of characters, many are introduced and then reoccur much later in the narrative. Some change their names and some are referred to by nicknames. The story is expressed through a wide range of fictional characters and is set in context by actual historical events. None of the fictional characters are based on real people, but historical events and real personages are mentioned and occasionally given a voice. This list contains only principal named characters, and may be incomplete. *Saleem Sinai is the protagonist and narrator; a telepath with an enormous and constantly dripping nose, who is born at the exact moment that India becomes independent and who is of complex and confusing parentage. He is referred to variously as The Nose, Snotnose, and Sniffer referring to his nose; Stainface, Mapface and Piece of the Moon referring to his birthmarked face; Baldy referring to the bald patch on his head where the hair was pulled out by a violent school teacher; and the buddha during the time he loses his memory. He later develops a hyper-sensitive sense of smell. He is deaf in one ear from a blow received from his father, and has lost the tip of one finger in a bullying incident at school. *Padma Mangroli is Saleem's lover and, eventually, his fiancé. Padma plays the role of the listener in the storytelling structure of the novel. She is described as plump, muscular and hairy. ==Characters introduced in Book One== Characters introduced in Book One (approximately 1915–1947) in approximate order of appearance: *Aadam Aziz is a doctor and the father of Amina Sinai, or Mumtaz, Saleem's mother. He has many children with Naseem Ghani, and struggles with questions of the existence of God throughout the novel. He is a "half and halfer", an Indian with a western education and outlook. He narrowly survives death in the Amritsar Massacre of 1919. *Tai is a boatman on Dal Lake and a friend of Aadam Aziz. At times he demonstrates an ability to predict the future and, while most people consider him insane, he makes several insightful remarks, the most important of which is his advice to Aadam Aziz to "follow his nose." *Naseem Ghani is the daughter of the wealthy landlord Ghani. She is first Aadam Aziz's patient and then becomes his wife. She is the mother of Mumtaz Aziz who later becomes Amina Sinai. She is dramatic and strong-willed, possessing a lot of power in her relationship with her husband Aadam Aziz. Later referred to by Saleem as "Reverend Mother". She has two large moles on her face referred to as witches nipples. *Ghani the landowner is Naseem's father. He owns a lot of property around Dal Lake in Kashmir. * Oskar Lubin is a German anarchist friend of Doctor Aziz from his student days in Heidelberg, Germany. He is killed in a road accident while demonstrating outside an army barracks in Germany in 1919 during the German Revolution. *Ilse Lubin is Oskar's wife and another anarchist friend of Aadam Aziz from his student days in Heidelberg. After Oscar's death in 1919 she visits Aadam in Srinagar and drowns herself in Dal Lake. *Ingrid another anarchist friend in Heidelberg. *Brigadier R. E. Dyer, an officer in the British army and Martial Law Commander of Amritsar who orders his men to fire on an unarmed crowd. An actual historical event and personage, see Reginald Dyer. *Alia is the eldest daughter of Aadam and Naseem Aziz; she is the sister of Amina Sinai (Mumtaz) and Emerald. Together they are known as the "Teen Batti" or three bright lights. Alia suffers from a lifelong love for Ahmed Sinai, whom her sister Mumtaz marries. Her resentment toward her sister manifests itself in the meals she cooks, and therefore affects those who eat what she prepares. She is described as clever and plump. She becomes an unmarried school mistress in Pakistan. *Amina Sinai (a.k.a. Mumtaz) is the middle daughter of Aadam and Naseem Aziz. The sister of Alia and Emerald. She is described as dark skinned, in later life she becomes plump and suffers from facial hair and verrucas. She has her name changed to Amina when she gets married. Rushdie repeatedly describes Amina Sinai as "assiduous" in her wifely efforts. By sheer willpower, she forces herself to love her husband Ahmed Sinai. However, during her marriage to him she also has an affair with Nadir Khan, to whom she was married for two years in her youth, although they never consummated the marriage. *Mian Abdullah (Also known as the Hummingbird) is a pro-Indian Muslim political figure, who dies at the hands of assassins. *The Rani of Cooch Naheen a wealthy Muslim woman who sponsors the political campaign of the Hummingbird. She is the intellectual friend of Aadam Aziz. Her name is funny, in that it literally translates to "The Queen of Nothing" in English. *Nadir Khan is Mumtaz's first husband. He is "the Hummingbird's" personal secretary, and is known for his rhymeless poetry. After the Hummingbird's assassination, Aadam Aziz agrees to hide Nadir in the Aziz basement. Naseem is so infuriated by Aadam's decision that she vows silence, which lasts for three years. Mumtaz falls in love with Nadir, they marry privately, and live together in the basement. Aadam discovers that the marriage has not been consummated after two years, Naseem breaks her silence berating her husband and Nadir, and Nadir summarily divorces Mumtaz and flees the household. He changes his name to Nasir Qasim and rekindles their relationship in clandestine meetings some ten years later. *Rashid the rickshaw boy is a boy who informs Doctor Aziz that Nadir Khan needs a place to hide. He later teaches the young Saleem how to ride a bicycle.〔page 261〕 *Emerald the youngest and prettiest daughter of Aadam and Naseem Aziz; she is Saleem's aunt, the sister of Mumtaz. She marries General Zulfikar. *General Zulfikar is the husband of Emerald, who is involved with Pakistani political events. Is described as having a face like Pulcinella. He becomes a father figure to Saleem during his stay in Pakistan. He is killed by his own son in the end. *Ahmed Sinai is Saleem's father and Amina's husband. He is originally a dealer in leathercloth, but becomes a property speculator when he moves to Bombay. He dreams of reordering the chapters of the Koran in a true chronology. After Saleem is born, his wife loses interest in him and he becomes an alcoholic. He is also involved in the tripod business with Dr. Narlikar. *Lifafa Das is a peep show street man who leads Amina to Shri Ramram Seth in gratitude after she saves his life from a Muslim mob. *Shri Ramram Seth is a Hindu seer, a cousin of Lifafa Das. Amina visits him while pregnant and he makes prophecies on the future life of her yet unborn son, Saleem Sinai. *William Methwold is an Englishman from whom the Sinais buy their house in Breach Candy, Bombay. When selling his housing estate, (known as Methwold's Estate) he stipulates that all buyers must live exactly as their previous English occupants did until the hour of independence. Methwold invites Wee Willie Winkie and his wife, Vanita to perform for him. He sends Winkie out on an errand, and seduces Vanita, resulting in Vanita becoming pregnant. Methwold is Saleem's biological father. He is said to be a direct descendant of William Methwold (c 1590- 1653) the historical Englishman who planned the city of Bombay. *Wee Willie Winkie is an accordionist and entertainer. He is Shiva's father, and Vanita's husband. *Vanita is the wife of Wee Willie Winkie; she is revealed to be Saleem's biological mother, who dies during labor.〔page 149〕 *Mary Pereira is a midwife and servant, who switches Shiva and Saleem at birth in an attempt at impressing her sweetheart Joseph D'Costa. She is consumed by guilt by her action and offers her services as Saleem's nursemaid to try to make amends. She is a Christianised Indian. After confessing her crime she flees to reemerge later as the owner of a pickle factory with the name of Mrs Braganza, a name she borrowed from Catherine of Braganza, the Portuguese princess who gave Bombay to the English in 1662 as part of her dowry.〔page 460〕 *Joseph D'Costa is Mary Pereira's sweetheart, a hospital porter, a communist political radical and a most wanted man by the Indian police. He is cornered by police, bitten by crait, and shot close to the Methwold Estate, only to re-emerge as a ghost. *Doctor Narlikar is a child hating gynecologist and businessman, who lives on Methwold's Estate in Bombay. He owns the nursing home where both Saleem and Shiva are born at midnight on 15 August 1947. He forms a business partnership with Saleem's father, Ahmed Sinai, to reclaim land from the sea. He is killed by a mob of language marchers in 1957. *Doctor Bose is the doctor who delivers Saleem. He works in the charity ward of Doctor Narlikar's nursing home. *Ibrahim Ibrahim a next door neighbor in Sans Souci villa on Methwold's Estate in Bombay. He elderly and owns sisal farms in Africa. He lives with his sons, Ismail and Ishaq. *Ismail Ibrahim' a neighbour to the Sinai's who is a crooked lawyer. Amina asks him in secret to act for the family to recover Ahmed Sinai's frozen assets. *Nussie Ibrahim, Ismail's wife, who is nicknamed The Duck because of the way she walks. She is the mother of Sonny Ibrahim.〔Random House anniversary edition 2006, p129〕 *Ishaq Ibrahim, a hotel owner lives with his father and brother on the Methwold's Estate.〔page 177〕 *Adi Dubash A nuclear physicist who works on India's nuclear program. Killed by choking on an orange pip.〔 * Mrs Dubash, his wife who is a religious fanatic. They are the ground floor neighbors to the Sinai's in the Versailles Villa on the Methwold's Estate in Bombay. Their son is called Cyrus the Great by the children of Methwold's Estate because of his intelligence. *Cyrus the Great the Dubashes only son and childhood friend of Saleem's. After his father's death through choking on an orange pip his mother grooms him to become the guru Lord Kushro Khusrovand.〔page 566〕 *Sonny Ibrahim is Saleem's neighbour and friend. His forceps birth has given him a misshapen forehead. *Eyeslice one of Saleem's childhood friends on the Methwold estate, the son of Commander Sabarmati and his wife Lila. He is blinded in the right eye by a stone thrown by Shiva after he had taunted him about his poverty.〔page 176〕 *Shiva is a boy who is born at the same moment as Saleem. He is the true biological son of Ahmed and Amina Sinai, but is raised in poverty in the Bombay slums as he was switched at birth with the baby Saleem. Shiva possesses an amazing ability to fight. Shiva is the knees in the prophecy of "knees and nose" and is the possessor of abnormally large knees. His fighting skill makes him a war hero and gets him promoted to the rank of major in the Indian army. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「List of Midnight's Children characters」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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