NationMaster - Encyclopedia: The God of Small Things

The God of Small Things (1997) is a semi-autobiographical, politically charged novel by Indian author Arundhati Roy. It is a story about the childhood experiences of a pair of fraternal twins who become victims of circumstance. The book is a description of how the small things in life build up, translate into people's behavior and affect their lives. The book won the Booker Prize in 1997. Image File history File links Thegodofsmallthings. ... Suzanna Arundhati Roy[1] (born November 24, 1961) is an Indian novelist, writer and activist. ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... This article is about the literary concept. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... Hardcover books A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) is a book bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with cloth, heavy paper, or sometimes leather). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... â€œISBNâ€ redirects here. ... Suzanna Arundhati Roy[1] (born November 24, 1961) is an Indian novelist, writer and activist. ... Fraternal twin boys in the tub The term twin most notably refers to two individuals (or one of two individuals) who have shared the same uterus (womb) and usually, but not necessarily, born on the same day. ... The Man Booker Prize for Fiction, also known as the Man Booker Prize, or simply the Man Booker, is one of the worlds most important literary prizes, and awarded each year for the best original novel written by a citizen of the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland in... For the band, see 1997 (band). ...

The God of Small Things is Roy's first book, and as of 2006, is her only novel. Completed in 1996, the book took four years to write. The quality of the writing was first recognized by Pankaj Mishra, an editor with HarperCollins, who sent it to three British publishers. Roy received half-a-million pounds (approx. $970,000 USD) in advances, and rights to the book were sold in 21 countries. 2006 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Pankaj Mishra is a novelist, literary critic and essayist. ... HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. ... â€œGBPâ€ redirects here. ... USD redirects here. ...

Plot summary

The story primarily takes place in a town named Ayemenem now part of Kottayam in Kerala state of India. The temporal setting shifts back and forth from 1969, when Rahel and Estha, a set of fraternal twins are 7 years old, to 1993, when the twins are reunited at age 31. Much of the story is written in a viewpoint sympathetic to the 7-year-old children. Malayalam words are liberally used in conjunction with English. Prominent facets of Kerala life that the novel captures are Communism, the caste system, and the Syrian Christian way of life. , For the district with the same name, see Kottayam district. ... , Kerala ( ; Malayalam: à´•àµ‡à´°à´³à´‚; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of southwestern India. ... Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Malayalam (à´®à´²à´¯à´¾à´³à´‚ ) is the language spoken predominantly in the state of Kerala, in southern India. ... Communism is an ideology that seeks to establish a classless, stateless social organization based on common ownership of the means of production. ... The word Caste is derived from the Portuguese word casta, meaning lineage, breed or race. ... A Nasrani (also called as a Syrian - Malabar Christian) is a type of Christian from Kerala, South India who follows the earliest form of Christian-Jewish tradition of the early Christians. ...

Ammu's father Papachi (meaning grandfather) was an imperial entomologist. He was bitter because the credit for his discovery of a new species of moth went to someone else. Though in public he played the part of the perfect husband and father, in truth he was abusive towards his family, especially to his wife, Mammachi (meaning grandmother). One night while Papachi was beating his wife, Chacko, Ammu's brother, a Rhodes scholar home from Oxford University stops him and tells him to never do it again. From then on, till his death, Papachi never hit nor spoke again to Mammachi. He also refused to let Ammu continue with a college education. Ammu was forced to return home to Ayemenem. Rhodes House in Oxford Rhodes Scholarships were created by Cecil John Rhodes. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ...

Ammu was desperate to escape the house. She finally convinced her parents to let her spend a summer with an Aunt in Calcutta. There, she fell in love with and married a man who was managing a tea estate. She gave birth to 2 children, dizygotic twins - Estha and Rahel. She later found out that her husband was a heavy alcoholic and left him. Fraternal twin boys in the tub The term twin most notably refers to two individuals (or one of two individuals) who have shared the same uterus (womb) and usually, but not necessarily, born on the same day. ...

Ammu came to live with her mother and brother in Ayemenem. Also living at the house was Baby Kochamma (Kochamma is a honorific name for a female), the sister of Papachi. As a young girl, Baby Kochamma had fallen in love with Father Mulligan, a young Irish priest who had come to Ayemenem to study Hindu scriptures. In order to get closer to him, Baby Kochamma became a Roman Catholic and joined a convent. She quickly realized the futility of her plans though, and returned home, though she never stopped loving Father Mulligan. Because of her own misfortunes, Baby Kochamma delights in the misfortune of others.

While studying at Oxford, Chacko had fallen in love and married an English women - Margaret Kochamma. After the birth of their daughter Sophie Mol (Mol means girl), Chacko and Margaret were divorced. Unable to find a job, Chacko returned to India to teach. Chacko never stopped loving Margaret, and the two of them kept in touch. When Papachi died, Chacko returned to Ayemenem to expand his mother's pickling business into an eventually unsuccessful Pickle Factory called Paradise Pickles and Preserves.

Margaret remarried, but her husband was killed in an accident. The grieving Margaret and Sophie were invited by Chacko to spend the Christmas in Ayemenem. On the way to the airport, the family encounters a group of communist protesters. Rahel claims to have seen Velutha, a man from the factory, in the crowd. Velutha is an untouchable (the lowest caste), a paravan. His family had been working for Chacko's family for many generations. Velutha was extremely gifted with his hands, and was an accomplished carpenter and mechanic. Unlike other untouchables, he had a self-assured air. Unable to conform to his father's idea of the proper behavior for an untouchable, Velutha disappears. However, when his brother becomes paralyzed from an accident, Velutha returns to work at the pickle factory. He becomes an indispensible, the one who fixes all the machinery. Because of his easy-going nature, Velutha was great friends with Rahel and Estha. Paravan is a subdivision or caste in Hinduism. ...

A group of protesters surround the family car and force Baby Kochamma to wave a red flag and chant the communist slogan. She is deeply humiliated and begins to harbor a deep hatred towards Velutha. At around the time of Margaret and Sophie's arrival, Ammu became attracted towards Velutha.

When their intimate relationship is discovered, Ammu is tricked and locked in her room and Velutha is banished. When the twins ask their mother why she has been locked up, Ammu, in her rage, blames them as the reason why she cannot be free. She screams at them to go away. Rahel and Estha are deeply wounded, and decide to run away. Sophie convinces them to take her along. During the night, while trying to reach an abandoned house across the river, their boat capsizes and Sophie drowns. The twins search all night for Sophie, but cannot find her. Wearily, they fall asleep at the abandoned house. They are unaware that Velutha is here as well, for this is where he meets secretly with Ammu.

When Sophie's body is discovered in the morning, Baby Kochamma goes to the local police station and accuses Velutha for Sophie's death. She claims that Velutha attempted to rape Ammu, threatened the family, and kidnapped the children. A group of untouchable policemen are sent out to look for Velutha. When he is found, they savagely beat him, for he has crossed the caste lines. The twins witness his terrible injuries.

When the truth of Sophie's death is revealed by Rahel and Estha, the chief of police is alarmed. He knows that Velutha is a communist, and is afraid that his wrongful arrest and likely death will cause a riot amongst the local communists. He threatens Baby Kochamma that unless she gets the children to change their story, she will be held responsible for falsely accusing Velutha of the crime. Baby Kochamma tricks Rahel and Estha into believing that unless they accuse Velutha of Sophie's death, both them and Ammu will be sent to jail. She tells them that Velutha will not live through the night anyways. Eager to save their mother, the childern testify against Velutha. Velutha dies from his injuries.

Baby Kochamma has underestimated Ammu's love for Velutha though. Hearing of his arrest, Ammu comes to the station to tell the truth about their relationship. She is told by the police to leave the matter alone. Afraid of being exposed, Baby Kochamma convinces the grieving Chacko that Ammu and the twins are responsible for his daughter's death. Chacko forces Ammu out of the house and forces the twins to separate.

Ammu, finding employment difficult, was forced to send Estha to her divorced husband. Not able to make ends meet, she dies a few years later alone in a hotel room. The church refuses to bury her corpse.

Rahel when grown up leaves for the US, gets married, divorced and finally after several years working as a waitress in an Indian restaurant and as a night clerk at a gas station returns to Ayemenem. Rahel and Estha, who are both 31 at that time, are reunited for the first time since they were 7 years old. By this time Estha had become perpetually silent, because of his traumatic childhood experience.

Characters in "The God of Small Things"

â€œNephewâ€ redirects here. ... Pedophilia (American English) or paedophilia / pædophilia (British English), from the Greek παιδοφιλια (paidophilia) < παις (pais) boy, child and φιλια (philia) friendship, (ICD-10 F65. ...

Contents

Plot summary

Characters in "The God of Small Things"

See also

External links

Contents

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Characters in "The God of Small Things"

See also

External links

Plot summary