On Storytelling & Magic Realism in Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, Shame, and Haroun and the Sea of Stories

ABSTRACT: Salman Rushdie‟s novels are humorous books about serious times. His cosmopolitanism andhybrid identity allowed him access to multiple cultures, religions, languages, dialects, and various modes ofwriting. His style is often classified as magic realism, blending the imaginary with the real. He drawsinspirationfrom both English literature and Indian classical sources. Throughout his works, there is a lineage of„bastards of history‟, a carnival of shameful characters scrolling all along his works. Rushdie intertwines fictionwith reality, incorporating intertextual references to Western literature in his texts, and frequently employingmythology to explore history. This paper focuses on Rushdie‟s three novels: Midnight’s Children, Shame, andHaroun and the Sea of Stories,analyzing his postmodern storytelling techniques that aim to explore human vicesand follies while offeringsocio-political criticism.

KEYWORDS :Magic Realism,Rushdie, Satire, Storytelling,Transfictional Identities