God Of Small Things By Keralite Arundhati Roy

Great Essays
The novel The God Of Small Things, written by Keralite Arundhati Roy, follows two twins living in Kerala, India. The twin protagonists, Estha and Rahel Ipe, face many tribulations such as love, abuse, death, and complex family relationships, most of which are caused by the social stratification in India. Based on the words of Roy, it is imperative to understand that these norms in Kerala created social boundaries surrounding the romantic and agapic love the Malayali people could share. This was demonstrated in the treatment of paravans (also known as “untouchables”) in the 1900s, perspective on the family’s marriages, and the forbidden romance between the protagonists’ mom, Ammu, and Velutha.
The harsh, dehumanizing treatment of the untouchables
…show more content…
This is evident in the general way paravans were treated, as they were subjected to horrific conditions, making it unthinkable to associate with an untouchable. Worse, marrying a person from a lower caste or divorcing a man would degrade social status, tarnishing a reputation even in the eyes of one’s own family. In The God of Small Things, this system created prejudice among members of the family, making agapic relationships difficult to form. Finally, because Ammu and Velutha were romantically involved, the social system lashed at them. They were punished according to their social status, Ammu being locked in isolation and Velutha left in conditions on the brink of death. Social stratifications, norms, and caste systems are still prevalent in all corners of the world, especially in India. Conditions for paravans have hardly improved, as they are still relegated to low jobs, such as collecting human fecal matter (Campbell, “India’s ‘Untouchables’”). As Roy emphasizes throughout her novel, this divide does not only harm them physically and mentally, but it takes away from even the most innocent of relationships. Because of this, it is essential to raise awareness and improve these conditions around the world, especially

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Memories act as the gateway between the past and the present, whether a gateway to pain or a gateway to happiness. Yusef Komunyakaa’s confrontation of the Vietnam Memorial opens a gateway of misery and confusion for him. In his poem, “Facing It,” the poet relives his painful memories from the past, coming from early experiences in racism and later on in his life in the scarring events of the Vietnam War and Komunyakaa must learn to cope with these heavy memories without letting it destroy him. In his poem, “Facing It,” the dark slab of granite wall reflects the narrator’s attitude and memories towards the Vietnam War and all of its attached memories.…

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “My son, Wind-Wolf, is not an empty glass coming into your class to be filled. He is a full basket coming into a different environment and society with something special to share”(Lake p. 75). These are the dying words of Robert Lake’s essay, An Indian Father’s Plea, regarding his son who was viewed as a slower learner by his teacher. This is one of the many scenarios people face everyday when dealing with one’s culture. The country people are born, the traditions people contain, and the new environments people encounter all contribute to the way people view others and the world.…

    • 1087 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The God of Small Things (TGOSM) by Arundhati Roy and Barbara Mutch’s The Housemaid’s Daughter (THD) explore an individual’s changing perception of themselves within a corrupt society during the 1960’s Communist era in India and the Apartheid era. TGOSM is set in Kerala, India and revolves around the traumatic childhood of two twins and THD is set in Cradock, South Africa where a black girl is raised within a white family, both facing adversity. They explore the lack of proper familial relationships that create a foundation for one’s values at a young age. This results into a loss of their innocence as the values taught are compromised and changes their self-perception when facing injustices. For these reasons, both texts reflect that an individual’s familial relations and loss of innocence affects their sense of self due to discriminatory and oppressive cultural expectations.…

    • 1652 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    "For a revolution to succeed, the entire population must help it" (Perseplois 17). In this quote, the author argues that she should be allowed to attend revolutionary demonstrations with her parents but her parents refused because, she was too young to face violence. " The reason for the Revolution is the same: the difference between social classes" (Persepolis 33). The author feels great sense of dissonance because of her social class after reading the book.…

    • 820 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Consequences In the heart-rending story of a young girl 's struggles to survive, the novel Sold illustrates many important ideas, from the significance of loving relationships to the impact of poverty, and everything in between. Through the character of Lakshmi, an innocent girl stuck in poverty and a world of dishonesty, Patricia McCormick tells a story about the dehumanization of people, and the different struggles that are faced around the world. Lakshmi takes a journey through the life of being a sex slave in India and shows how cruel some people can be. The story is eye opening on several levels, but the primary point being made is that horrific events occur, and no one tries to make a difference.…

    • 1549 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the book, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, the focus is on two girls growing up in Afghanistan during the last thirty years. It begins with their separate stories, but eventually these girls come together in a devastating turn of events. I do not personally identify with this culture, but I have been curious about this since my cousin was deployed to Afghanistan. He always explained the culture to be so interesting whenever he was allowed off base, and I believe it would be intriguing to learn more about. Khaled Hosseini, the author, was born in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1965.…

    • 889 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Culture is something we all have, it runs between countries and people. People have different ideas and beliefs. This, however, causes people to view others as “inferior” or not as well off or as good as them. The ideas of people differs from others. Culture always affects the way people view the world.…

    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Kamala Markandaya’s Nectar in a Sieve, amidst the ideas of poverty and suffering, she also portrays an idea of change and hope of a better future for the lives of those in the novel through Kenny. Kenny does his best to bring some western ideas into India’s traditional culture and provide a means of help for the Indians, while also encouraging them to rise up against their suffering and injustice. Additionally, Kenny also provides insight to the readers about the differences between Western and Eastern culture by showing their opposing cultural views. Kenny is very opposed to the easterners’ way of life, as they dwell in their suffering without no cries for help and he feels that they should fight injustice and stand up for what is right,…

    • 537 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The presence of these garments in different stories create a visible contrast between Western and Hindu culture. One character in particular draws attention to this divide, Mrs. Das. In the short story “Interpreter of Maladies”, Mrs. Das and her family are visiting India. While there, her outfit is described as “ a red-and-white-checkered skirt that stopped above her knees… and a close-fitting blouse” (46). The image of Mrs. Das wearing far more revealing clothing than any other previous character further develops the wall of cultural divide as she is an American vacationing in India.…

    • 1072 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Violation of women rights The evidences of violating rights of women are evident in this novel. The three incidents show the conditions of women in those days. The rights of women were violated in the form of molestation in Ondrumatti. Those incidents are:  One day Madiga Nallodu’s wife Rahelu went to work as usual.…

    • 1842 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Introduction: Arundhati Roy, the first Indian woman writer to have won the Man Booker Prize in 1997 for her debut novel The God of Small Things, has chosen to employ language psychologically, typographically, structurally, and culturally in order to create characters and represent the Indian sensibility in all its cultural dimensions. Language is not only employed to mean the spoken or written words but also the way cultural groups understand and communicate to one another through customs and traditions in the novel. Roy has employed the language in such a way throughout the novel that helps the reader better understand complexity of characters, most importantly Estahappen and Rahel, the seven year old twins who are most affected by the…

    • 1071 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Firstly, we have socially untouchables or Parvan, who are not at all, permitted fundamental human rights. Secondly, we have emblematic untouchables in high castes. Here prejudice articulates itself in marginalizing the women in their personal and public life. In God of Small Things, the rules of India's caste system are wrecked by the characters of Ammu and Velutha, an Untouchable or Paravan. The whole episode in novel takes place in the southern Indian state of Kerala, and circles around an outlawed relationship between a Syrian Christian divorcee and mother of two children, Ammu, and a low caste carpenter, Velutha.…

    • 1313 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Midnight’s Children The history of India and its neighbouring countries, Pakistan and Bangladesh, is a rich and luminous tale as it encompasses the countless successes and hardships each country experienced during its development as independent entities. In 2012, Deepa Mehta, an Indo-Canadian film director with a screenplay by Salman Rushdie, a British Indian novelist, produced the film “Midnight’s Children.” Together they brought to the screen a magical yet historical tale on the partition of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The basis of the film is how the life of Saleem is inseparably linked to the history of India which carries him through a journey full of trials, triumphs and tragedies.…

    • 2040 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Here the author brings our attention to the irony of the word attributed to people belonging to the lower caste, the “untouchable”. The irony is how far the “untouchables” are untouchable. Roopa’s body is regarded as soulless object that can be exploited by the watchman. As Dewnarain said, “there are two ways to read politics: first in the sense of state and national politics and the second in terms of cultural which focus on the role of the individual within the family , the community and the nation” (Bhautoo-Dewnarain2007, p.64).…

    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    This is only an impression of the general populace where dalit lived. Both these books manage the subject of dalit, untouchability, mishandle, destitution, hunger and the agony of the dalits. The purpose of anguish brought on by horrifying conditions in life has been sensibly portrayed, and the defeat clash of the focal figures, against huge shots, raises the books to the lifted statures of an…

    • 1042 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays