Postcolonial Narrative in the Digital Era: Analyzing Midnight’s Children through AI and Hypertext

Abstract

Salman Rushdie's Midnight’s Children, an outstanding work of postcolonial literature, narrating India's journey towards independence from Saleem Sinai's perspective, a telepathic child born at the midnight on August 15, 1947. This study reinterprets the novel through the lens of artificial intelligence (AI) and hypertext techniques, providing a fresh approach in understanding its thematic and narrative complexities. Using AI algorithms, this paper analyses the patterns in Saleem’s “hearing” abilities, which map his intricate relationships with other characters, and discovers previously hidden layers of meaning. Furthermore, it explores how these insights can be adapted into an AI-powered hypertext narrative, allowing readers to interactively engage with the text. By introducing various reading paths, hypertext transforms the novel into a strong exploration of postcolonial identity, nationhood, and provides an interplay between personal and political histories. Saleem can also be examined as a metaphorical figure for the peril and promises of postcolonial nationhood. By employing the hypertext format the readers can delve into the complexities of identity, cultural memory, and historical narrative in a innovative, non-linear way. This enriches the understanding of Midnight’s Children by also highlighting the future of digital literature by making it a tool for reimagining literary learning. Through this paper, postcolonial studies and digital humanities can be merged together, which would demonstrate how AI and hypertext methodologies can completely transform the text, by paving way to new avenues for literary analysis and active engagement