Mythology and the Epic Story
Hindu, Christian, Greek, and other religious mythologies are Saleem’s props that lend credence to his elaborate tale of India’s creation. He sets his grandfather up as a progenitor by comparing him to the first man in Christian mythology, Adam. With respect to his “evil” counterpart, Shiva, he conjures the Hindu god to compare Shiva’s position as a major player in the story with the god’s own influence on people’s lives. The same goes for Parvati, who represents the caring and motherly form who has a strong control over Shiva as well as everyone else in India. Throughout his story, Saleem makes connections between himself and Scheherazade, the storyteller from One Thousand and One Nights. To set up his story as an epic adventure, he uses classic traditions from Homer’s The Odyssey as a way to draw further parallels to his own journey to find himself.