Orison Swett Marden once said: "Whatever our creed, we feel that no good deed can by any possibility go unrewarded, and no evil deed unpunished."
So, is there a reward for every good deed and a punishment for every misdeeds? Or, are such results just consequences of choices people make? In Midnight's Children , author Salman Rushdie makes use of the choices made by characters to illustrate their influence upon others as well as themselves. The characters of Saleem Sinai, the protagonist, Amina Sinai and Mary Pareira are excellent examples that showcase this idea. Rushdie points out the non-success of good intentions, the appropriate rewards and punishments to actions, and the incredible effect the choice of one person can have on several others.
In life, there are some situations when even the purest of intentions lead to unfortunate incidents. "In Midnight's Children", Saleem Sinai is endowed with the supernatural ability of reading the minds of people.
saleemUsing his "telepathic powers" , he learns of Lila Sabarmati's extramarital affair and tips off Commander Sabarmati about this. This causes Lila to be shot and Homi, her lover, to be killed at the hands of Commander Sabarmati. But, it is not what he had wanted. "[Saleem] hadn't meant it! [He] didn't think he'd ... [He] only wanted to ... a scandal, yes, a scare, a lesson to all unfaithful wives and mothers, but not that". He had intended this to be a strong message to his mother, Amina, who is also having an affair with her ex-husband. His mother does stop, but the destruction of so many lives is not what Saleem had in mind. The supernatural ability of Saleem can be considered the perfect gift from God, but even this brings about negative reverberations owing to his making use of the...