The narrator, Salim, is definitely illustrated as someone who identifies and feels the suffocating grasp of his own community’s traditions and expectations for the life he is meant to live. There is a prescribed hierarchy in which master and slave conform to (the house slaves), particular unspoken arrangements of future marriage (between Nazruddin’s daughter and Salim), and an overarching sense that things will conform to traditions indefinitely. Of course, the narration describes Salim’s awareness of an impending end to his family’s way of life, though despite this consciousness of his place in the scheme of things, there are certain contradictions within Salim’s character. He seems completely ready to set out for adventure and escape the imminent collapse of his way of life on the coast, though once outside, he appears less intrepid as he might be; particularly when compared to Metty and Ferdinand. Further, Metty, Salim’s “slave” creates a much broader and immersed life for himself once outside of the east coast. One other aspect of Salim’s character seems to be the faithfulness that is perceived in him by Nazruddin that Salim himself does not believe he possesses. It is unclear exactly with this “faithfulness” is that Nazruddin believes Salim to have and that Salim denies, though despite this there are instances where Salim appears to exhibit a kind of “faithfulness” in the forests and rivers of Africa and the villagers who make their lives there. Salim at times seems to see a kind of eternal and calming quality within the natural African world while at others he appears to recognize this very same thing as an impossibility in the face of European colonialism and the kind of savagery he sees in the villagers who occupy the land.
That's a response to Question #1. I forgot to put that at the start.
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