This paper discusses Arundhati Roy's post-colonial novel "The God of Small Things" based on themes and symbols reflecting the latent memory of India's experiences with British imperialism.
Abstract This paper explains that Arundhati Roy in her post-colonial novel "The God of Small Things" weaves in social and political theories based on the sociological work of Paul Gilroy's "The Black Atlantic", Homi Bhabha's "The Location of Culture" and Dipesh Chakrabarty's "Provincializing Europe". The author points out that the story gives prominence to the enduring caste system in a country, which outlawed caste discrimination in 1950 but ironically emerges in Roy's modern India, now harboring strong Indian values within a setting where colonial influences still remain. The paper concludes that, through her use of irony, contradiction, themes and symbols of ambiguity, sly civility, historicism and the deconstruction of an imperial language construct; Roy is able to not only provide a post-colonial narrative but also a truly satisfying work of literature.
From the Paper "In chapter 2, the family is in their Plymouth which has a plywood billboard attached to the roof rack, promoting the family business of pickles and preserves: there are painted pictures of jars juxtaposed with a kathakali dancer for "Regional Flavour." As the story unfolds, the reader is exposed to a description of a real kathakali dance, except it has been shortened from hours to a mere twenty minutes to accommodate the "short attention spans" of the foreign guests as they loll by the poolside at the Heart of Darkness Hotel (which is in itself an irony of "civilized" foreigners residing in a symbol of backwardness and primal roots). While one might see the truncated dance as Indian submission or alteration for the sake of the Western tourists, I believe it is in fact evidence of the opposite; a mockery of sorts of the foreigners. In a large sense, this is Bhabha's concept of hybridity in that the dumbed-down version of the play is a counter-narrative against the dominant culture, premised by the deconstruction of the very entry of the formerly excluded subjects."
Abstract This paper reviews the book "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy. According to this review, the "magical realism" and the "sound of small things" in the book are created by the perceptions of the characters themselves.
From the Paper "The mythical sound of history, although often constructed of child-like phrasing and odd word strings, reverberates from Roy's text to create an ephemeral world that is much less tangible than the hard imagery of other modern novels. Some fasten terms like "magical realism" to her text or blame it on culture, likening her to Indian literary icons such as Salman Rushdie (Reena). Roy herself denies this, saying: No, what I am writing is what the characters are experiencing. What the reader is reading is the character's own perceptions. Those images are driven by the characters. It is never me invoking magic! This is realism, actually, that I am writing (qtd. in Reena)."
Abstract This paper reviews the book "The God of Small Things" from a perspective of gender roles. The book's author, Arundhati Roy, focuses her story not on the major events that shape a society, but rather on the small daily events that shape a home. In this paper, the concept of "big things" is evaluated in terms of the adult world and male world, while the "small things" are the realm of children and women. The paper analyzes the characters in the novel in relation to this idea.
From the Paper "Arundhati Roy's book The God of Small Things has many instances where gender and the idea of "Big" and "Small Things" occur. In a society where there is caste system, political affliations, and marriage, she focuses on the "small things" which in turn can be taken with the gender roles of the novel. There are many characters such as Estha and Rahel that have strong personalities which play a distinctive role in the novel. Furthermore, the women characters in the novel seem to be transgressive of what seems to be acceptable. Roy forms her characters in a way where gender roles can be seen and political views can be taken."
Tags:Arundhati, Roy, Booker, Prize, India, society, gender
Abstract This paper reviews two books of the post-colonial genre: "Half a life" by V.S. Naipaul and "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy. It looks at the books? respective comments on the culture and values of the authors. The thematic commonality of culture acceptance in the books is explored, as is the phenomenon of the "push-pull contest" between cultures. The paper concludes with a list of similarities and differences between the two novels.
From the Paper "The post colonial era in most areas provided the residents with a confusing state of existence. The old cultures were still in force, with all the traditions, beliefs and values that they held in the past, however the new cultures also had their place among the people. The post colonial era was a push and pull styled existence with the people living them caught in the middle of the apparent tug a war between cultures. The opposites of the cultures were handled in postcolonial writing by displaying the constant push-pull contest that seemed to be the norm for the time. Two popular works of fiction provide classic examples of this phenomona taking place for those who embrace the area as their home. In "Half a life" written by V.S. Naipaul and "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy, the reader is treated to a wonderful comparison of ways that these opposite situations can be displayed and enjoyed through the way it is expressed by the author."
This paper is a personal book review of "Power Politics", a collection of non-fiction essays, by novelist Arundhati Roy that describes government corruption and corporate greed.
Abstract This paper reviews various essay topics such as nuclear armament and the economic repercussions of a river dam project in rural India but feels that "The Reincarnation of Rumpelstiltskin", is the heart of the book. The paper discusses Roy's dislike for American policy as she describes Rumpelstiltskin/America as having a ?bank account heart. The paper author feels that this book is well-argued and demonstrates that the lives of poor people are sacrificed to support the corporate interests of companies like Enron.
From the Paper "This complaint would be a major problem with this collection, were it not for Roy's sincerity. The last essay, On Citizens' Rights to Express Dissent, shows Roy practicing what she preached. She spent a night in jail in contempt of court because of her participation in an anti-dam demonstration outside India's Supreme Court. This essay, a reprint of her official reply to these accusations, shows Roy standing her ground. Its unexpected humor ? an attack on the accusers? understanding of democracy is followed by barbs about their spelling mistakes ? contrasts with the first chapter's earnest calls to activism, helping to dispel the image of the dour, frothing at the mouth activist."
Abstract This paper describes how Arundhati Roy demonstrates the theme of betrayal in her novel, "The God of Small Things". These acts of betrayal are detailed in the betrayal of children by adults, of individuals by society, of parents by children, and in the betrayal of history and tradition.
From the Paper "The impact of betrayal is seen throughout the differing settings of the book; both when the twins are seven years of age in 1969 and when the twins have reached 31 years of age in 1993. Betrayal involves most of the characters in the novel: Rahel, Baby Kochamma, Estha, Chacko, Ammu, Mammachi, Sophie Mol, Murlidharan, and Velutha. As such, betrayal is an important theme within The God of Small Things."
Abstract The paper explores sibling relations in Arundhati Roy's novel "The God of Small Things." The paper discusses the novel's theme of the intimate relationship between the characters of the twins.
From the Paper "Sibling Relations in "The God of Small Things." In "The God of Small Things" Arundhati Roy says that there are things that you can't do, like writing letters to a part of yourself. This statement emerging from the mind of the female twin named Rahel establishes the theme of the novel with respect to the intimate relationship between twins."
Tags: The God of Small Things, literature, siblings, twins
Abstract This paper compares the themes in two novels - "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy and "Housekeeping" by Marilynne Robinson. It focuses on the themes that these two books share - those of the restrictiveness of conformity and what happens when these confinements are broken. The paper then looks at the negative consequence on the characters in the novels as a result of breaking out of their confinements.
From the Paper "It is apparent through these two books that once rules and conformities are broken, chaos or some sort of disorder ensues. What is similar from these two books is that it is always the community around them that gives the families grief. Whether it be death or separation, it has been acknowledged that "it is a terrible thing to break up a family." The consequences for breaking laws and conformities in God of Small Things is the death of Velutha, banishment of Ammu, and separation of Estha from his mother. This all result in the breakup of an entire family. The consequence for breaking conformities in Housekeeping is the threat of having a family separated and the wipeout of one's identity. Sylvie and Ruth are dead to the people of Fingerbone now because they have chosen to live a life of their own. Perhaps these two authors are suggesting that society will always win regardless. It is useless to fight the rules because doing so will result in tragic endings."
Abstract This paper explains that postcolonial literature, such as Salman Rushdie's "Midnight's Children", deals with transculturation and the incredible and complicated processes, which lead to hybridity of the colonizing and the colonized cultures. The author points out that Arundhati Roy's "The God of Small Things" and Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Books" both represent the deeply rooted differences between the cultures of the West and the East. The paper also looks at Brian Friel's "Translations", Tsitsi Dangarembga's "Nervous Conditions" and Achmat Dangor's "Bitter Fruit" to illustrate that cultural translation is a potent metaphor for the way in which one civilization may try to interpret another through its own terms.
Table of Contents:
Transculturation and Hybridity: Salman Rushdie's "Midnight's Children"
Orientalism: Arundhati Roy's "The God of Small Things" and Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Books"
Cultural Translation
From the Paper "Not accidentally, in "Midnight's Children", Saleem revises his own ancestry along with the historical past. The stories of his grandfather Aziz, a young doctor who is educated in Britain and thus already a hybrid himself, are very relevant at this point. Thus, his love story with Naseem is very interesting because it tokens the conflicting cultural attitudes between the Indian and the British cultures. While the Western civilization requires and allows a thorough physical examination of the body before establishing a diagnosis in case of an illness, the Oriental culture denies the propriety of this direct contact between a young man and a young woman outside marriage."
The paper presents a book review of this non-fiction work that critically examines the massive dam projects and the detonation of India's first atomic bomb.
Abstract The paper analyzes the work, which claims that although these two projects were intended to bring India into the modern age; they exposed arrogance and corruption on the part of the Indian government. The paper gives a brief biography of Roy, mentions her most famous literary work, "The God of Small Things" and lists her essays. It discusses public support for "The Cost of Living" and looks at the controversy surrounding the work. Next follows a synopsis of each of the two essays that make up the work. The strengths of the work (such as the combination of intellectual rigor with an engaging personal style and a fusion of imagery and lyricism of poetry with a tight, engaging journalistic style) are highlighted and the paper concludes with the political and social messages contained in the work.
From the Paper "In the two tightly woven essays, Arundhati argues that both projects were lauded by the government to be initiatives that would pull India, willing or not, into the modern age. Instead, Arundhati argues that the dam projects have displaced millions of Indian people, and that the cost of the nuclear bomb. The two essays tell a terrible story of the arrogance, corruption, idiocy, and high-handedness of India's government."
Abstract "The God Of Small Things", a Booker Prize winning novel by Arundhati Roy, is a tragic story that renders rich psychological insights into the effects of India's political and social problems on an everyday family in their everyday lives; and illustrates in a powerful fashion the ways in which these problems can destroy both rich and poor people alike. This paper attempts to interpret the multitude of psychological meanings in "The God of Small Things".
Abstract This paper answers several specific questions regarding the construction of big dams in India. The paper explains that the big dam projects in India are especially contentious to the author, and as she writes about her opposition to the projects, it becomes quite clear she is passionate about her country and what happens to it in the future.
From the Paper "As with any controversial large project, there are people who oppose the building of Big Dams in India, and people who support the construction and both have a variety of reasons for their opinions. Those who support the building of the Big Dams include power companies, who hope to generate more power from turbines in the dams, and of course, the construction companies who are going to build the dam. Anyone who stands to reap profits from the dams sees them as progress India vitally needs, especially since they can harness the power for their own uses, such as the trash-incineration company who wants to build one of the Big Dams, with no prior dam building experience. Those opposed to the building of the Big Dams cite most often the environmental costs to India as millions of acres of viable lands are flooded by the backup behind the dams, and the human cost."
Abstract This paper analyzes the story and the characters of Roy's novel about castes in Indian society and explains how the book is about the norms and laws of society that stand as barriers to love.
From the Paper "Roy refers to the social norms that control sexual behavior as the Love Laws. They indicate "who should be loved and how. And how much" (311). There are a number of "love laws" that are broken in the story; however, Roy presents these socially unacceptable or barely tolerated instances in an existential light where they appear more as barriers than as crimes and, or, sins. Divorce, although socially frowned upon, is tolerated to a certain degree and sanctioned by social response. Sexual coercion is given greater negative response but is treated more as a "misstep" or "mistake" than the crime it would be in other, less patriarchal, societies. Incest is forbidden according to the moral parameters of the Indian society but is treated, by Roy, as a natural outcome of an intimacy derived from being twins. By far the "worst" of the transgressions that occur in the book is the affair between an untouchable and a respectable woman of the trader caste."
This paper compares the family's post-colonial experience in two novels Chinua Achebe's"Things Fall Apart" and Arundhati Roy's "The God of Small Things".
2,250 words (approx. 9 pages), 3 sources, 2005, $ 89.95
Abstract This paper is an analysis of how families were fragmented or even destroyed as part of the post-colonial experience as expressed in two novels "Things Fall Apart" and "The God of Small Things". The author points that, in each book, the experience is quite different. The paper relates that Achebe's book uses a mixture of destruction and potential; whereas, Roy focuses on instability.
From the Paper In both Things Fall Apart and The God of Small Things, the same patterns are observed to be transmitted through the family over generations. However, whereas hatred for the parent and a refusal of identity with him are seen in Achebe's novel, in Roy's work the pattern manifests itself in dysfunction, alienation from self and social problems. The source of these patterns is located in transgressions of the most crucial cultural norms and the price to be paid. Family composition in the two novels is diametrically opposed in terms of visibility of gender.
