The God of Small Things

As Neo93 commented, the final chapters reveal how one event can affect so many peoples’ lives. The title is strongly represented in this thought. One small thing continues to grow until it becomes a big thing. One must not turn away from these events with the belief that they do not matter. That is a very important aspect I have learned from GoST. Everything matters!

I agree with Neo93 on the train station scene. After these life-altering events have taken place Estha and Rahel are forced to be separated. This is the time they need each other the most! They could have comforted one another and helped each other get through these hard times. Rahel might have even been able to keep Estha’s voice alive. Also this chapter is foreshadowing what will happen in the future. Estha has already determined that Ammu will never come get him. At the time, he did not mean never to signify not ever, but he will soon discover this is the truth. This is yet another thing that Estha can blame himself for. If he had stayed optimistic about the situation maybe things would be different, or maybe he jinxed them with saying this. Estha needs to realize none of this is his fault! He is innocent! Baby Kochamma is the one to blame for everything!!

I also thought it was very interesting that when Ammu turns on her music, which in a way is her escape, she hears a song about dreams. This is perfect timing! She has begun to give up all hope for her life and dreams. This song inspired her to act on her feelings. She knew that she could not be truly happy if she was not with Velutha. She makes the decision to travel to a better, happier dreamlike area, where love laws do not matter.

I was also absent on Monday. So here are just a few of my thoughts from chap. 12-16.

Chapter 12
I was a little confused by the story at the beginning of this chapter. I could tell it was very symbolic, but of what, I wasn't quite sure.
Like L'EngleLover, I thought the description of these legends was very symbolic of and similar to the way Roy tells this story. Although "you know who lives, who dies, who finds love, who doesn't...you want to know again" (218); you keep reading.
I also thought there were some interesting similarities between Karna and Ammu. On p. 220 it talks about how he performs for nothing. He is not a "rich pretender" or "an actor playing a part." And if he was, his stories may lose their effect, possibly because if he didn't perform them in a certain manner he may lose his job or part of his compensation. He can instead act freely, perform the way he sees best. these stories are his life. He acts from his soul, not from a script. Like Ammu he is "dangerous" because he has nothing to lose (44, 220).
Another similarity I saw between these legends and Estha and Rahel's story was the role of the mother. On p. 221, the quote in italics shows the disappointment the child feels in his mother. Like this child, Estha becomes discouraged because Ammu "never" comes to get him while Rahel becomes disappointed in the women Ammu becomes.

Chapter 13
At the beginning of this chapter when Margaret Kochamma's story is told, i saw several similarites to Ammu's life/love story. Just like Ammu, Margaret sacraficed acceptance in her family for love. Her mother won't look at her and her father didn't even attend her wedding. Also like Ammu, after she leaves home, "she continued to lead the same small, tight life that she imagined she had escaped" (229). then on p235, you see how disappointing marriage was for margaret. although ammu doesn't continue to live her old life, she still did not experience freedom in her new life with her husband. In fact, it seemed like life only got worse for Ammu. For both women, not only did marriage not provide the passion and freedom they desired, but it was worse than their previous situation. Therefore, both marriages end in a divorce.
Another interesting aspect of this chapter was the discussion of smells. "With that olfactory observation, that specific little detail, the Terror unspooled" (244). I though this quote was very important because it stresses the importance of smells in this novel. The Terror, which is such an important event in this novels, begins with a smell. Smells are linked with nearly every story that is told or memory that is had. Just as colors are vital to this novel, smells too play a key role.
As i discussed earlier, although we know the outcome of this story, we still keep reading. For me, this is because although i know the effect, i cant predict the cause. This idea is linked interestingly to the river. It is wrong for a "fisherman to believe that he knows his river well. No one knows the Meenachal. No one knows what it may snatch or suddenly yield. Or when. that is what makes fishermen pray" (245). No matter how sure you are of how life is going to end, you can not predict how you are going to get there.

Chapter 14
Something that really stuck out to me from the events at Comrade Pillai's house was the "funnel of mosquitoes, like an inverted dunce cap [that] whined over" the adults' heads (255). When the flying "dunce cap" forms over Lenin, the child's head, however, he claps the insects in his hands, destroying the mark of stupidity (265). The child is the only character with sense in the room...interesting :)
Another event i found interesting in this chapter was Velutha's visit to Comrade Pillai in his hour of need. As he is begging for assistance, Comrade Pillai is "small and far away, behind a wall of glass" (271). His reponses to Velutha's cry for help are short and apathetic: "It is not the Party's interests to take up such matters. Individual's interestis subordinate to the organization's interest..." (271). When he tells her what the trouble was all about, Comrade Pillai's wife responds, "Is that all? He's lucky..." (272). This apathetic attitude is very representative of the "God of Small Things" mentioned on p.20. There are always Bigger issues. Others are not going to stop for one's minor, personal dilemmas. Just like Comrade Pillai had Bigger things to worry about.

Chapter 15
The fact that Veluthat leaves "no footprints on the shore" or "ripples in the water" (274), further emphasizes that he is an untouchable. At the end, we again see him associated with The God of Loss and The God of Small Things.

Chapter 16
In this chapter I thought it was neat how the children find comfort in the darkness when darkness is usual an ominous symbol. It goes along with the dark tone of their life and the novel. You find comfort in what you are familiar with, especially when you are a child. The children are familiar with the darkness, not only literally, but figuratively as well (the "dark" events in their lives).

Ok IBREAL, now that you've finished reading the novel, has your opinion changed? Or is it only strengthened by the events of the last two chapters?

I think that in this day in age that no one would really have a problem with this being in a novel, except for maybe my grandmother. I think that the detail might be a little much, but overall necessary to the novel. We know pretty much from the get go that Ammu and Velutha have had "relations", but we do not KNOW exactly how it came about until these last chapters. I think it is really important that these are the last chapters. This gives us a better ending after going through the depressions of the entire family. It gives a chance to see that even though all this bad stuff did happen that Ammu at least had some happiness and love in her life. The fact that it was "a Small Price to Pay" on the other hand is not so true. The price that Ammu and Velutha paid for having this relationship was tremendous. Velutha paid with his death and his betrayal, while Ammu had a short life and saw through her kids at what a tramatic life they have and will have. I think that the twins are the ones who really pay for their mother's sins. Their family treats them terribly and all other realationships seem to either fall apart and or not exist entirley.

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Originally Posted by mhamley

Ok IBREAL, now that you've finished reading the novel, has your opinion changed? Or is it only strengthened by the events of the last two chapters?

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If you are referring to me thinking that Ammu's parenting skills are becoming worse I think that the end of the book strengthens it. I think that sense Ammu is being so careless and frequently being with Velutha she is putting the whole family at risk. I also think that that is hypocritical because she use to get on to the twins for hanging around him. She also knows that she is not supposed to be associated with an untouchable. With Ammu being an adult she is being irresponsible in following her passions.

After reading the last chapters of the book my opinion did change. In the beginning I thought that this was a good book. I would have agreed with you on taking this book to a desert island. I thought it had all the qualities of a good but until I read the end of the book. The closer I got to the end of the book the more I felt that the book got worse even though I thought that it couldn't get worse. I also thought that all the description in the last chapters was a little unnecessary. I was also highly disgusted which didn't help. I thought the ending was a bad way to end the book because the ending chapter seemed almost as if it was put there randomly because Roy thought Oh I didn't put any sex in the story so I guess I will add it all in the end to make up for it.

So, in class we've discussed how the river is a key symbol in the BIG scheme of things. This is true because the river is representative of Estha and Rahel's life: "SO this first third of the river they knew well. The next two-thirds less so. The second third was where the Really Deep began....The third third was shallow again. The water brown and murky" (Roy 194). Looking into the different parts of the river can provide one with a reflection of the twins' life. For the first 7 years of their lives (before the "Terror"), the twins knew their home, family, and more specifically each other quite well. However, over the next few years of their lives, the twins are separated and thus have a really deep barrier between each other. However, the twins are reunited again in the last third of their lives (we are only introduced to twenty-something years of their lives) yet, their relationship is murkier and more mysterious than the first third of their lives. This is demonstrated by the fact that they connect in many different ways such as the showering incident. However, the river changes over the time the twins are separated and "the water [becomes] thick and toxic" (119). This could be symbolic of the different perspective of the twins' (not just Rahel's angry colored outlook) outlook on the world. The world to them after the terror had become corrupted and mysterious (for things can change in a day) because they realized even those closest to you could trick you as did Baby Kochamma at the police station. Also, I found it interesting that "Years later, when Rahel returned to the river.....it was no more than a swollen drain" even though "it was June, and raining" (118). The swollen figure of the river can be a figurative demonstration of Rahel having "a hollow where Estha's words had been" (20).

To my knowledge Arundhati Roy wrote God of Small Things (a book I have not read myself) and then launched her career as a political activist and activist writer. The one book I have read by her is An Ordinary Person's Guide to Empire, which is absolutely brilliant. So to say she has disappointed is to overlook her significant contributions to activist literature. And if she writes her fiction with as much poetry, passion, clarity, lyricism, concern, brilliance, and skill as her nonfiction, she has no reason to be concerned about her career.

The god of small things is really a very touching book and the writer has very flashily used language. The English language she used is enigmatically beautiful.

Could anyone explain to me the symbolism of the kathakali performance that Rahel watches? What is that play about and in what relation does it stand to the rest of the novel? I'm not familiar with Indian tradition and culture, so this chapter had me a bit mystified.
Also, why does Comrade Pillai want to get rid of Velutha? Why is Velutha the reason he can't organise the workers of Paradise Pickles & Preserves in a union and encourage them to rebel against Chacko's management?

Hm. I don't fully understand it, but the kathakali dancers are a revered part of Indian culture. They do dance, but it's not just entertainment purposes. It's much deeper than that. Roy explains that they tell a story through their performance, and the stories are their precious children. That is all they know, and it is a sacred part of their life. Roy envelopes you in the beauty of the culture and history of kathak, which is an actual style of dance. After you're entranced, she tells you the reality. These people have been forced to sell out. White influence corrupts the beauty and culture until it is a mockery.

I think Pillai tells Chacko to fire Velutha because other workers in the PPP factory resent him and have strong prejudices toward him (b/c he's an Untouchable). The other workers are less obedient to Pillai, and if Velutha leaves, Pillai can successfully create a revolt? The workers don't like that Velutha is in the communist party with them, and if he is forced to leave, they don't have to deal with ugly social problems. They can say that they are tolerant and equal to all without having to be just. Does that make any sense?

God of Small Things was very beautiful. It captured the element of passion, change, and love.

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Originally Posted by IBREAL

If you are referring to me thinking that Ammu's parenting skills are becoming worse I think that the end of the book strengthens it. I think that sense Ammu is being so careless and frequently being with Velutha she is putting the whole family at risk. I also think that that is hypocritical because she use to get on to the twins for hanging around him. She also knows that she is not supposed to be associated with an untouchable. With Ammu being an adult she is being irresponsible in following her passions.

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I'm not agreeing or disagreeing, but just to play the devil's advocate on Ammu's parenting skills...
I don't know how we can expect Ammu to be a good parent. Don't we learn through experiences? What kinds of things does Ammu learn? Her father beats Mammachi and herself, not to mention the boot incident. He acts as an honorable member of society, but he reveals his cruel nature in his house.
[[Partial tangent: I've grown up in an Indian household, and I see Indian society through the media. One thing that is very strong that is different from American society is the mentality. And I hope no one takes offense to what I am about to say. It might sound bad, but I'm presenting it as a fact, not a judgment. Indians tend to have a strong nature to keep family problems within the family. Yes, this is present in American culture as well, but it is much... STRONGER in Indian culture. You don't take your problems out of the house. If you have a problem with your mother/father/sibling, it's taboo to even talk about it with a close cousin. Therefore, it might be surprising to some how Papachi can be a model citizen and a horrible father and husband. It might seem out of place that the kathakali dancers are enveloped in their religious dances, but they still go home to beat their wives. Unfortunately, repressing bad things is part of the culture. It's subtle, but it's there. End.]]
So Ammu has this part in her personality. She doesn't grow up in an ideal environment. Her past creates her personality. Roy says she's an "unmixable mix. the tenderness of a mother and the volatility of a suicide bomber" something along those lines.. She reacts to her past in two ways. And we know these ways by her actions
1) She rebels. She goes off to marry a tea farmer (I think?). Love marriage. It's shunned upon. Her family does not even acknowledge the marriage when she tells them.
2) She vows to be better. To rise above what fate has dealt her. We see this through the promise she makes to Estha&Rahel. She tells them that she is their mother and father and that she loves them twice as much.

So she's not abusive. she tries her best. it's not like she has a a model to follow. she's making things up as she goes.
About Velutha. yeah, she does put her family at risk. however, it's love. it's her redeeming quality. if you accuse her for falling in love and having the courage to act upon it, then you're saying that history, culture, tradition is right. things shouldn't change. it's too hard. just give up.
~~One thing I noticed... Love between white and brown (tehe) people was unacceptable perhaps 50 or 60 years prior to the setting in this book (don't quote me on the date exactly. I do know that it was most def frowned upon in the 1800s). It was exactly liek the Touchable/Untouchable situation. The Touchables were the whites, and the UT were the Indians. (surprised? prolly not.) that kinda flew out the window. Social class differences don't mean anything. They are just obstacles to determine who is strong enough&lucky enough to overcome them. Touchables vs UT: there's a really strong religious force that acts as a barrier. What i found funny (in a humorless way) was that the Kochammas are Syrian Christians. They aren't even Hindu. They don't believe in the religion behind the caste system. It's easier to justify what they do if it's based on religion... you don't wanna go to Hell, do you? But the Kochammas didn't even have religion to back them up!

So I don't blame Ammu. I feel pity and remorse. She had a horrible childhood. And I don't even think we realize the whole of it. On some level, we are desensitized to the concept of abuse. We see it on TV and hear about it. It's a lot more common. Yes, we are shocked when we hear of an abuse case, but we don't fully realize what it entails. Being physically beaten the crap out of you on a daily basis. Emotional scarring for the rest of your life. Believing something that an abusive parent told you when you were young.
I just think we tend to gloss over the more gruesome details.

Back to Ammu.. IBREAL said that she is irresponsible. Having to deal with an abusive father. an abusive husband. that's hard. that's humiliating. and she's expecting a child, but she gives birth to twins instead. that should be a joyous occasion, but who does she have to celebrate with? Husband? no he's a compulsive liar and alcoholic. Any other family? No they all look down upon her for running away. Friends? Doubt it. Maybe she should go to her husband's boss. he seems to be the most interested in her. (sarcasm, in case that was not evident..) Do you see what I'm talking about? Yet she does not abandon her twins. She takes them with her.

Yes, she calls them (E&R) millstones around her neck. guess what. if you were to take the worst thing a person has said and attach that phrase to the person, only taking into account that one phrase, there would not be a lot of "good", "responsible" people.
Look at the other actions. She dies trying to earn enough money to support her kids and herself. She buys Rahel a present and Estha one as well, even though she cannot give it to him. Her only light, Velutha, is gone, but she's living because of her responsibilities: Estha and Rahel. Without them, I truly believe she would pull a Juliet and commit suicide because her Romeo is beaten to death.

In addition to the color symbolism sprinkled on nearly every page of Arundhati Roy's novel, cleanliness is a very profound theme in The God of Small Things that Roy uses to further develop characters and symbols of the novel as well as provide detailed descriptions of setting. Most apparent in Chapters 3 and 4, cleanliness, in terms of character significance, is mostly related to Estha. Chapter 3 begins with a detailed description of the "present-day" Ayemenem house. The utter filth and ruin that is causing the overall decay of the home is arguably symbolic of the decay of the family itself. Roy uses alot of symbolism with her description of different homes in the novel - the home of Kari Saipu, for instance, is recognized by Estha and Rahel as the physical manifestation of the "History House" that Chacko speaks of in Chapter 2 and is compared to the Heart of Darkness of Ayemenem (clearly a throwback to Joseph Conrad's novella and a huge foreshadow of darkness to come in the plot). With its white walls "turned an uneven gray" and "giant cockroaches that scurried around like varnished gofers on a film set"(84), the Ayemenem house is the physical manifestation of the decay of love and relationships in the family inhabiting the house (sort of a throwback to Edgar Allen Poe's "House of Usher", in which the house ultimately dies with the family). The exception to this is Estha, "the obsessive cleanliness" of his room being the only sign of a found purpose in Estha. Estha kind of strikes me as a Boo Radley for the "present-day" Ayemenem house; his inpenetrable silence and routine way of life (so much so that Baby Kochamma gloats in her ability to predict his every move) make him not only an outcast in his community but also in his own family. Estha has been neglected in this way all his life, along with Rahel; both of them are passed along and avoided because noone knows exactly what to do with them. It is their twin connection that gets them through EVERYTHING, especially all of the emotional neglect they experience at age 7. Rahel reaches out to Estha in his clean space in the crumbling Ayemenem home, but instead of recieving her he shrinks inwards like a porcupine in reverse and proceeds to wash his clothes. This occurence at the end of Chapter 3 sets the perfect stage for the detailed description of the trauma Estha experiences at Abhilash Talkies. His obsession with cleanliness keeps him from being able to fully connect, but more than that it is the symbol of the moral decay of the family that has overtaken the house and severed the twins' relationship. I believe Estha depends on his ability to keep things clean. It is more than "just the whisper of an unwillingness to subsist on scraps offered by others", it is Estha clings to as his one redeeming quality. Much like Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible, all of the characters in the book are questing for redemption, and Estha's atonement for what has been done to him, he believes, is his ability to keep clean everything placed in his care and his going silent, which contrasts with his personality at age 7 dramatically - as he was not as shy and lost his innocence, Estha now possibly believes that being silent will help him hold on to what little innocence he has left. In these two aspects of his existence, Estha also finds a way to take control over his life, which is no doubt valuable to him after the events of Chapter 4. In Chapter 4, Roy often uses color symbolism and the cleanliness theme in tandum to illustrate both the big and small pictures of the novel, especially in character development. Estha is obsessed with his appearance on his quest to manhood at age 7, as in the HIS bathroom scene he carefully cleans himself and primps his Elvis puff. He is the epitome of innocence, being sent out of the theatre for singing along with the movie. His song, however, awakens the Orange drink Lemon drink man, who is betrayed as a wolf in sheep's clothing. Though he is wearing white clothes and lots of gold and jewels, there is a constant filthiness about him. The duality of the man's appearance clearly illustrates the predator - prey relationship that Roy establishes between the man and Estha. After the traumatizing sexual act that Estha is forced to do, the "jeweled bear", with his yellow "piano key teeth", wipes Estha's hand "with his dirtcolored rag"(99). The rag is mentioned just-so over four times in the chapter, its dirtcolored appearance never forgotten. The way the Estha reacts to his "Other Hand" after the event symbolizes the mark/ wound placed within him. The nasty drink man wiped his hand to clean off the semen, but ironically he left a stain of sin and shame so deep within Estha that he cannot even use the hand for the rest of the night. The most profound use of the cleanliness themes comes in Estha's own debates in his mind over whether or not he can be loved by Baron von Trapp after touching the man's "so-so". In a very Anglophilic way, both Rahel and Estha look to Baron von Trapp as a potential answer to the love from a father figure that they have never had, and resolve to try and be good enough to win his love and their mother's, Ammu, by being as much like the clean and white von Trapp children as possible. Estha's conclusion then that Barron von Trapp "cannot love them. I cannot be their Baba. Oh no"(102) is a very big thing that happens as a result of many small things. Estha feels vommity after the sexual encounter with the man, but is not able to purge himself until he is alone in the clean blue-lit bathroom of the Hotel Sea Queen. His expulsion of "the acrid aftertaste of a Little Man's first encounter with Fear"(113) however, doesn't cure him of the uncleanliness he still feels well into adulthood, and makes him obsessively clean his surroundings, and the fear of being "love less" for it that silences him. Estha is frozen by his uncleanliness, made into a Little Man that cannot ever scrub away enough for his sins and has never known the kind of love that frees him from scrubbing at all.

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Originally Posted by Aiculík

Um...er... what? What else did she write? I thought this was still her only novel? Or had she finishd and published her second novel already??? :eek2:

I know she published some scripts and political essays, but I'm not really interested in drama and even less in politics, so I didn't read those, so she certainly didn't disappoint me by that. :) But did I miss another prose she wrote?

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Arundhati Roy was a writer of great repute and with her first and I suppose her last novel she earned everything beyond her imagination in point of fact. She has been an epitome of hope for Asian writers writing in English and opened a door for the rest of new comers in the domain of English works in India in particular. This suddenly instigated new hope amongst the new generation who has studied in English medium schools that writing in English is not something unworkable in India not withstanding the fact that to write in the spirit and rhythm of vernaculars is still a far cry. Yet getting to start writing in English is what many thought up. Whereas she imbibed new interests in the youths of India by doing some exemplary works – by writing a book that earned her international acclaim and great repute that hooked the west to award her one of the most prestigious international awards, but by limiting herself to that novel she thwarted the hopes she had generated once among the budding Indian writers. Not that she was incapable of writing another novel and also not that she had no stories to write and also not that novels must be plotted or written in a conformist way.

She could indeed have written wonderful novels rather than shining short-termly writing a series of articles on political issues. An artist can come up with greater works of art if they distance them from politics. That said it does not mean that writers should completely detach themselves from politics and as long as man is in society he must take a little interest in politics also but not to the extent of Roy has been doing.

Vellya Paapens decision to give up his son shows just how deeply ingrained the caste system is in everyone's minds. Who would be willing to kill such a talented son? I wonder if he would have reached this decision if he were not drunk. Also, the fact that he comes when it is raining symbolizes the fact that he wants to cleanse himself of impurity.

Chacko's relationship with Margaret Kochama shows how spoiled he is. He likes her because she is self-sufficient and does not dote on him like his parents did. The division of parental attention between boys and girls is actually quite shocking. Chacko could not have been a Rhodes Scholar and gone to Oxford without intense parental support, whereas Ammu was received not even the slightest bit of encouragement in her childhood from her parents. No one is expected to treat their daughters or wives fairly. Even the Kathakali men go home to beat their wives. I am somewhat glad that modern culture is creeping into India so that it can replace the social system of castes and male dominance. However, whether this balances the negative effects of modern technology and values such as TV's and pollution is very hard to judge.

Chacko's visit to Comrade Pillai's was interesting. They both had hidden reasons for everything they did. Comrade Pillai wanted to seem busy and important and asked for two other people who had been waiting to speak with him to come. Chacko's excuse for coming is to make sure Comrade Pillai can make the advertisement signs for the pickles factory, but the real reason is to ask about the march and Velutha. One thing about the visit that seemed contradictory was that it first mentioned that Pillai didn't even acknowledge his wife when he entered, but then he said that his wife was the boss at home. This viist shows the relationship between man and woman in India in a long term relationship. Kalyani is like a slave waiting on Pillai, always ready to serve him and his guests food.

Also, on another topic, I think Ammu has not considered her parenting skills enough. If she does not feel like she had someone who truly loved her when she was little, why does she not provide the twins with the open love she lacked? If she wants to toughen them up in their family and the world, I think it would be much easier for a seven-year old to face the world with someone who loves your dearly supporting you all the way.