Great literature is simply language charged with meaning to the utmost possible degree. Ezra Pound
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Quotation analysis - The God of Small Things
Choose a short quotation from the novel. Give a little context (speaker, situation), then explore the meaning and significance of the quotation (how it reveals or develops elements such as plot, character, atmosphere, theme...). Be literary!
One of my favourite quotation is from Chapter 8 on top of page 176 : ''She hoped that under his careful cloak of cheerfulness, he housed a living, breathing anger against the smug, ordered world that she so raged against.'' This quotation expresses Ammu's thoughts when she sees Velutha playing with Rahel after they all came back from the airport with Sophie Mol. I feel these words express as well the growing love we foreshadow between Ammu and Velutha, and their anger against the society they live in, though they don't belong to the same social class at all. This quotation gives the reader a new view on Ammu, who realises she is not only a single loving mother fighting against the view of women's place in society, but she is also a woman in love with an 'untouchable man.
My favourite quotation (and we will all agree that it's hard to pick just one!) from the novel is : "If only they could have worn, even temporarily, the tragic hood of victimhood.”. It’s on page 191, chapter 12 (‘Mrs Pillai, Mrs Eapen, Mrs Rajagopalan’). It’s part of what the narrator says about the twins’ feelings of guilt and lack of understanding of the events that will haunt them throughout their lives. I absolutely love this quote, first of all because of the way it expresses the unfairness of what happened and the consequences they have for Estha and Rahel, for their innocence and childhood. The themes of guilt and responsibility are very important in The God Of Small Things, as well as that of wasting one’s life. I think this is well illustrated by this quotation. It is also a great example of Roy’s style, the way she plays with words and their meaning (“hood” as a cloth and also as the ending of many nouns in English), and how she twists the English language in order to create not only a beautiful sentence, but also to emphasize the idea of bearing (wearing!) responsibility.
The quote I chose, although it wasn't my favorite one but one I found very relevant and significant in the novel is: "(a) Anything can happen to anyone. and (b) It's best to be prepared." These are Estha's "Two Thoughts", after the tragic episode he encountered with the Orange Drink Lemon Drink man at the cinema. It relates to a theme I find omnipresent throughout the novel: the children's loss of innocence. Indeed, in ths situation, we learn more about Estha's character. He was confronted with an event of the adult world, which deprived him from an ounce of innocence but forced him to understand the world and take responsability for what happens to him. However, we could link these "thoughts" with any other event in the novel symbolizing the loss of innocence and tragic events, such as Sophie Mol's death, Velutha's death... It is also a clear-cut example of Roy's style. Indeed, unsual construction of prose, with parenthesis and little letters. This is what I found amazing about Roy's style. Sometimes, her writing is so complicated, filled with details and rich imagery, while sometimes it is simple, clear-cut, and still very efficient, like the form of these 2 Thoughts. It catches the reader's eye, and coincides with the fact that they are pronounced by a child, so nothing is embellished and uselessly complicated. Still, the reflexion it provokes is profound and the idea conveyed, universal.
The quotation I chose is on page 32 at the end of the first chapter: “Little events, ordinary things, smashed and reconstituted. Imbued with new meaning. Suddenly they become the bleached bones of a story.” This quotation comes with the questioning of whether the cause of the following family drama should be traced back to Sophie Mol’s arrival in Ayemenem or back to the making of the “Love Laws”. What I find particularly meaningful in this quotation is that it announces the way the story is going to be told and significantly introduces the themes of the small things and already addressing the issue of responsibility, both motifs being central to the novel. Roy does not present the “Small Things” as such yet but as “little events, ordinary things”. This can be explained by the fact that the meaning of the title is unraveled gradually in the novel; we are thus merely introduced to the idea but not clearly enough to be aware of the direct link to the title. I found the words “smashed” and “reconstituted” very effective to describe the way Roy brings fragments of a story together to construct a powerful and thought-provoking plot. The phrase “bleached bones” also emphasizes the idea of making seemingly irrelevant “little events” pivotal elements of the plot. The importance she installs on those “small things” is put forward as well with the phrase “Imbued with new meaning” which can also be linked to her postcolonial aim of reclaiming the worth of the underrated Indian culture, society and outcasts. Elsa
I chose a quote page 214: "He tried to hate her. She's one of them, he told himself. Just another one of them" from chapter 10, The River in the Boat. Velutha is at home with his brother Kuttapen after the visit of the twins who asked him if he could fix the boat, and he is thinking about Ammu. First this quote comes at a turning point in the novel, when the twins consider crossing the river, an event that will later be the tragedy of the plot. Velutha helps them and thus could be held as much responsible as the twins in the death of Sophie Mol. Besides, this quote dwells on an important issue of post colonialism: hegemony. Indeed, Ammu is "just another one of them", a touchable, whereas Velutha is an untouchable and thus not on the same social level. Ammu is part of the rich indian middle class that goes to the cinema while Velutha is only a Paravan attending communist marches. According to the indian traditional social order, there should be nothing but hatred between the two characters, however Roy points out a real contradiction in the caste system: love goes beyond than classes, castes, or origins. Therefore it is also perhaps a criticism of the colonizers who settled in india (and anywhere else) and oppressed the natives and stole their land instead of considering them as equal human beings and trying to understand them to begin with. This quote also makes me think of the "Love Laws" and "who should be loved and how. And how much" because it clearly deals with the idea of a forbidden love that will bring them serious troubles, as well as the fact that they're aware of the danger of their relationship, and they fail to fight against it.
One of my favourite quotations can be found in Chapter 2, on page 53, when Chacko develops a reflection on History, comparing it to a house. He is explaining to the twins why they cannot enter it : “Our dreams have been doctored. We belong nowhere. We sail on unanchored trouble seas. We may be never allowed ashore.” As far as characterization is concerned, this quote underlights Chacko’s intelligence, as well as his extreme lucidity reflected by his capacity to put into words India’s wounds. But it above all shows how the man is affected by colonization, and, in a certain way, we can feel as though it was Roy herself saying it, which may be revealing of her own feeling. Secondly, those four short statements oblige the reader to pause each time a sentence ends, emphasizing the words’ weight and gravity, and therefore creating a tragic tone. The atmosphere is even more tragic given the fact that Chacko is addressing the young twins. Moreover, Roy chose to quote Chacko, using the 1st person plural point of view : a choice which effectively pushes her readers to identify with him and to face colonization’s damages. Indeed, as a consequence of the English imperialism, it seems like Chacko and his whole family hold themselves back from living their lives and do not allow themselves to exist, as though having been dominated by a “superior” people for so long left their colonizer’s shadow above their heads. Here, the questions of Belonging and starting over a new life after having been oppressed are raised, two essential issues in post colonial literature. Aside from displaying the effects of imperialism, this quote also broaches the theme of Dreams, which have been ‘doctored’. I found this verb very telling for its various meanings. Indeed, it means “falsify” (The English would have made them believe in false hopes), “fix” (The Indians are now trying to rebuild their dreams with what’s left), but also “castrate” (The Indians have lost the ability to dream because the English deprived them of this right). Also, the phrase ‘unanchored trouble seas’ sounded ironic to me because it echoed Sophie Mol’s drowning in the unpredictable river ; Sophie being herself the outcome of a mixt heritage. Finally, the extended metaphor of the family being lost at sea once more highlights Roy’s ability to deal with grave subjects in such a poetic way.
I have decided to speak about a quote I already had to present, but this had to be in one sentence and, as I really liked this one, I wanted to explain it further. So this quote is at top of page 20: “That the emptiness of one twin was only a version of the quietness in the other. That the two things fitted together. Like stacked spoons. Like familiar lovers’ bodies.” Thus, this quote is an embodiment of Estha and Rahel’s relationship. It shows how one thing affects the other but in a different way. Thus, we understand that each one has a different character but at the same time is linked to the other. Here, Roy presents the twins as two peace of the same puzzle that ‘fit[s]” in each other, thus one completing the other. Therefore, they are interconnected. This is clearly showed with “the emptiness” of one; which is traduced by the “quietness” in the other. Then, Roy compares the twins to two spoons that “fit together”, thus one is the continuation of the other. Hence, Roy explains the twins’ complex relationship by creating an analogy of it with common everyday objects. Finally, the construction of this passage emphasizes also this idea with the three last sentences that are nominative and thus that cannot be separated of the first one because it would lose all sense. Therefore, each of these three last sentences completes the first one as the twins complete eachother. Overall, this quote could also be a foreshadowing of what will happen between the two.
"Their Work, abandonned by God and History, by Marx, by Man, by Woman and (in the hours to come) by Children, lay folded on the floor." This quote describes the policemen staring at the body of Velutha that they have just beaten in front of the twins (chapter 18, p210). What I like about this quote is the fact that it is very complete to illustrate themes of the novel such as History or childhood and that it is quite ambiguous. Firstly, what is being referred to by "Their Work" is arguable. It can at the same time be what they have done to Velutha, what they do as policmen, or just Velutha himself. I could characterizes Velutha himself, since Arundhati Roy adds that the children will abandon him in a few hours, which could refer to Estha answering yes to the policemen in order to save Ammu. However, in the sentence before, Roy compares the Policemen to "Craftsmen assessing their work", so here their work seems to refer to what they have just done, which is beating an innocent man. Velutha himself is the result of their work rather than the work itself. Secondly, it enhances the atrocity of the crime commited by the policemen. The accumulation shows that no one can tolerate what they have done. They are abandonned by all of the humans, whatever their age or gender, in addition to abstract representations. Neither their religion, nor their political party can accep what they have done. Moreover, the idea of being abandonned by History is a surprising concept. It means perhaps that what they have done will forever be remembered as something negative, since History is what has happened, but more precisely what we remember of what has happened. Here, what is likely to be remembered is the beating of an innocent and not the circumstances of this error. What is sure is that this unexpected association makes the reader reflect on what has happened and why ithas happened.
The quote I chose "Silent hung in the air like a secret loss". It appears in the middle of the third chapter. It's about Estha's room which is excessively clean and tidy unlike his confused state of mind. The description of Estha's room is very significant to the novel and helps understand the character of Estha to the extent that it reflects on his personality. The room is obbiously silent as EStha doesn't speak anymore. But the word silent is relevant because it sees that silence is a theme in the novel which appears several times and that ties in with denial. Also, the fact that the silent "hangs" in the air gives a very heavy effect: like Estha's bad state of mind and the wight of his traumatizing memories. The reader can feel a sort of pressure and almost a suffocating atmosphere which is kind of unpleasant. What is important in this quote is that the silent is described as a "secret loss". In fact, the theme of loss is so recurrent and strong in The God of Small Things that this quote makes a lot of sense. Not only human lives are lost in the novel but also feelings as well as abilities (e.g. the incidents that happened to the family have terrible consequences on the twins lives and the way they act: they have lost their abilities to act like humans and seem soulless). This "secret" here reflects the messages Roy expresses throughout her novel: the fact that only the small things are ever said but the big things lurk unsaid. Here we can see that loss is associated with the words "secret" and "silent" which shows how they try to hide, forget the big, important things that do latter and act as if they didn't even exist. Here it refers to the fact that Estha's lost his ability to speak as a consequence of all the incidents which have happened to him and to his family.
"They would try to tell themselves that in terms of geological time it was an insignificant event. Just a blink of the Earth Woman's Eye" (Chapter 2, p.55). This quotation comes after the passage where Chacko compares the whole of history to a woman, called the Earth Woman.The twins try to put into perspective the trauma that they experienced by telling themselves that it was nothing compared to what has already happened and what will happen. The personification of the woman is re-used here to explore the theme of perspective, which is a major theme of The God of Small Things. The use of the word "blink" emphasises the idea of quickness and insignificance of the event. Moreover, Roy's use of the word "geological" is very interesting because it denotates a sense of pragmatism to the sentence and conveys a detached tone. It gives the impression that the twins try to rationalise and to diminish what has happened to them in the aim of reducing their pain. This quotation touches on the opposition between the "Big Things" and the "Small Things" but also the opposition between society as a whole and individuals : the history of a society or of the whole of mankind will always be more important than personal histories. Lucie
My favorite quote from the The God of Small Things is probably “Perhaps it’s true that things can change in a day. That a few dozen hours can affect the outcome of whole lifetimes.” which appears in the first chapter, page 32. The narrator illustrates this by saying that everything important that happened in Rahel’s and Estha’s lives began when their cousin Sophie Mol came to Ayamenem for the first time. Firstly, this quote emphasizes the idea of small things to the extent that it says little details can have a huge impact on the rest of your life and change it in a way you didn’t expect at all. We can obviously link that idea to the title seeing as it truly pays attention to the events that seem insignificant at first but in fact change your life forever. It also means that the most important events in someone’s life can happened in a brief lapse of time that we don’t see coming. In a few minutes, or eve in a few seconds, something really tragic can happened and change somebody’s life forever. This quote shows the lack of power of the human over their future which they can’t control. As a consequence, it explores both the themes of destiny and control we have over our life. Secondly, I think that the death of Sophie Mol really illustrates this book. In fact, it was supposed to be a normal day and the twins regarded what they were doing in the most innocent way. However, something tragic happened and changed almost all the characters’ lives forever. Another striking example is what happened between Estha and The Orangedrink Lemondrink man. Indeed, it was a banal outing in a theater which actually changed Estha’s mind for the rest of his life since he has been molested this day.
« Father Bear beat Mother Bear with brass vases. Mother Bear suffered those beatings with mute resignation. » (page 180) These sentences are placed after Roy unfolds the story of Ammu's childhood, one of a brutal and rejecting father and a helpless mother. This powerful quotation denounces women's treatment in society saying that the man can be violent towards his wife, and she has to accept this injustice in silence. The choice of a personification, using animals (bears) to replace people, and the use of the simple past verb tense gives the impression that the story is recounted for children, making it more appealing, pleasant and 'fun' for them. Indeed, it seems that this short story is written for children to inform them on how to act in society, by explaining to them the Indian values and morals : the man dominates the woman. The two last words 'mute resignation' emphasize the idea that women aren't allowed to express their opinion, they aren't allowed a say in matters in society. This quotation, reflecting Roy's strong feminist perspective, reveales Ammu's background, giving insight into her personality by showing Pappachi's betrayal of his role in his raltionship with his wife and with Ammu. Moreover, this quotation relates back to the inconsistency or disillusionment that many characters felt about love.
The quote I chose to focus on appears at the end of the 13th chapter, ‘The pessimist and the optimist’. There is half page that deals with the fact that Margaret Kochamma did not remember Velutha after she went back to England and it is said about him that ‘’He left no footprints in sand, no ripples in water, no image in mirrors.’’ I find this quotation particularly significant firstly because it addresses the theme of perspective as it is linked to Margaret Kochamma’s point of view, a perspective that we do not get many opportunities to explore throughout the book. It stresses the idea that even though we, as readers, got attached to Velutha, he is only significant to a tiny group of people. This quote raises questions concerning the importance of individuals, no matter how tragic their story is. Also, I think that it sums up really well the atmosphere of the book in the passages about the twins’ adult life. It sheds light on the fact that the struggles they encounter when they grow up is closely linked with the fact that what they went through as kids was never clearly addressed and dealt with. They never got a chance to express what they felt and those things left unsaid explain their profound wounds. This quote is powerful because of the accumulation of images used to describe Velutha’s insignificance. It sounds like an accumulation of missed opportunities to try and make sense of what happened. Also, both nature and man-made elements are used in the images and this creates the impression that the possibilities of Velutha leaving some sort of mark were everywhere. However, Roy’s choice to use exemples of things that never last anyway (ripples in water or images in mirrors) shows that there was no hope of remembrance for Velutha, because the whole society he evolved in was created with the idea that he had no significance.
“ Because they knew, those clever Hotel People, that smelliness, like other people’s poverty, was merely a matter of getting used to. A question of discipline. Of Rigour and Air-conditioning. Nothing more.
While giving a revealing and horrific description of the Hotel People’s nature and mindset, this passage explains the manner in which the entrepreneurs rescue the tourists from having to escape their bubble of happiness and simplicity. The quote is in chapter 5 page 126
At first I felt a sense of disdain about this quote, that it was just an other unpalatable way of disregarding fellow human beings which we are confronted with numerous times in this novel. But then it struck me, the way the words were emphasized with capitalisations and very abrupt sentences, they seemed meticulously chosen to create a distinct effect on the reader which of course captivated my attention especially with the theme of inequality. There’s an opposition between the people’s poverty and the hotel people’s attitude, the hotel people see it as a challenge to tolerate the village’s misery and this really emphasizes the indifference towards the inhabitants of Ayemenem. Unfortunately, this passage contributes very little to character development and from the point of view of the plot it only gives a description of what Ayemenem has become since Rahel left 25 years ago.
The quote I chose is on page 279 (chapter 14 – Work is Struggle) : (“But frankly speaking, Comrade,”) “Change is one thing. Acceptance is another.” when Chacko visits Comrade Pillai's house to approve a new label for the factory's new product. Comrade Pillai tells Chacko that Velutha will cause him troubles because he is Paravan and Chacko defends Velutha. First we can easely notice Roy's usual capitalization of Change after a comma, which put an emphasis on this quote. The two clauses are distinctly separated by a period to highlight the opposition between the two ideas. As far as postcolonialism is concerned, the ideas of changing and accepting are really important in this novel, both being totally different : the colonizers can obviously change anything they want in a country but it does not mean that the colonized accept this new culture. For instance, Comrade Pillai's wife in this chapter does not allow any Paravan in her house and speaks only her native language, but it is said that she clearly understands English. Antoine
I chose a quote from the beginning of the chapter 19 ‘Saving Ammu’, when the twins are at the police station. Inspector Thomas Mathew sends a ‘servile constable’ get two Coca-Cola for the children.
« So once again, in the space of two weeks, bottled fear for Estha. Chilled. Fizzed. Sometimes Things went worse with Coca-Cola. »
I really like this quote for several reasons. First of all, the theme of the Western Culture is pointed out. By reversing the original American brand’s slogan ‘Things go better with Coca-Cola’ , Roy gives a critical approach of the drink and of Americanism. Moreover these Coca-Cola are well intentionally offered by Inspector Mathew. Yet Estha’s reaction towards this beverage is the opposite. In this passage, Roy refers to the previous event of the Orange-Drink Lemon-Drink Man who sexually abused Estha at the cinema. She qualifies these of « bottled fear », giving an allegorical vision of fright and makes reference to the omnipresent childlike point of view of the book. This particular point of view can be seen as well with the use of a capital T for Things, which can be seen as well throughout the book.
I chose this quotation from chapter 10, when the narrator describes Kuttappen for the first time as the twin go see him : "Unlike Velutha, Kuttappen was a good, safe Paravan. He could neither read nor write."
This ironic statement made by Arundhati Roy shows once again her ambiguous feelings towards India. On the one hand, she expresses her love for her country throughout the book with her descriptions or her criticism of colonialism, but on the other hand, she thinks that the Indian society is one full of inequalities which need to be reduced. What's more, Roy uses foreshadowing again with this quote, as it implies that Velutha is not a good and safe Paravan.
Overall, I think this quote sums up quite well the idea of transgression in the book. There are supposedly laws that each individual has to follow in the society (the "Love Laws", or here the caste laws) and The God of Small Things (partly) deals with the consequences of transgressing such laws.
To choose one specific quotation that would be the best one, my favorite one is very hard. I think there are a lot, saying different things about different subjects but i chose this one because it combines favorite theme + favorite quotation :
"what's yours is mine and what's mine is also mine"
This is in "pappachi's moth" when Chacko tells the children that even though Ammu works as much as he does in the factory, she has no "Locuts Stand I". It is clearly understated in his remark that it is legitimate for him to take over his sister's work solely because of his male condition, nothing seems more natural. I think this is a very humourous and realistic way to deliver such a terrible truth about the indian society and it's "chauvinist" aspect that unveils throughout the novel before our eyes. The most terrible thing here is that Chacko has, in my opinion a occidental way of seing things and women. He considers women as equals, as we can see when he receives his ex-wife and the way he treats her : on an equal footing. However he takes advantage of the society he lives in. He considers himself as superior to his mother that has created and run the factory forever and his sister and appropriates other's work as "His factory. His pineapples". I think it is really important to point out that he has realised that there's equality between both gender but it's just easier for him to leave things as they are and keep on imposing his own rules. This is the most disdainful aspect of this character and it is here summarised in one, small and above all, his own sentence.
I chose this quotation from the first chapter, when the narrator describes Rahel's youth after Ammu's death and the decay of the relationships within the family in that period.
"The Loss of Sophie Mol stepped softly around the Ayemenem house like a quiet thing in socks. It hid in books and food. In Mammachi's violin case.In the scabs of the sores on Chacko's shins that he constantly worried. In his slack womanish legs. It is curious how sometimes the memory of death lives on for so much longer than the memory of the life that it purloined."
The personification of the Loss of Sophie Mol ( which is emphasized by the capitalisation of the word Loss) makes it seem like a integral member of the family who takes up space and needs care and attention. It also appears as something invasive and haunting which hides in every part of the house and of the family members' lives, and most importantly in things that are supposed to bring joy and happiness such as "books and food" or "Mammachi's violin case". This serves to show that this Loss prevents them from ever experiencing moments of complete joy and happiness. Finally, the final sentence makes us aware that throughout the lenghty description of the effects of Sophie Mol's death that preceded, there was no mention of Sophie Mol herself or of their lives when she was still alive. This serves to show that her death not only triggered mourning, but other much deeper consequences that had nothing to do with Sophie herself, turning the Loss of her into more of a concept than a simple event (hence the capitalisation of "Loss")
I chose the quote page 26 that follows the return of Baby Kochamma from the convent where she was not well. Now that she has a "reputation" her father Reverend Ipe assumes she wil not be able to get husband.
"He decided that since she couldn't have a husband there was no harm in her having an education."
This quote is for me very interesting in that Roy makes a link between having a husband and having and education: indeed it seems like either you get a husband or an education, but not both. Moreover one wo has a husband would get harmed if she tries du have an education. There is a clear sarcasm and criticisme of women's position in India. It is highlighted by the act that this is a very sort sentence lost in a quite big paragraph. It is almost said like an anecdote, wich is even more stricking. Once more we get to focus on the small things rather than the big ones.
I chose a quote from chapter 9, where a grown up Rahel remembers the day she and Estha took Sophie Mol to see Velutha and played make believe with him.
"It is after all so easy to shatter a story. To break a chain of thought. To ruin a fragment of a dream being carried around carefully like a piece of porcelain. To let it be, to travel with it, as Velutha did, is much the harder thing to do."
I think this quote really embodies the character of Velutha and his importance to Estha and Rahel: he was the only adult who didn't treat them like "children", who really listened to them and cared for them in a way no one else bothered to. It is clear that Rahel and Estha's imaginary world and stories are an inherent part of them, they are often detached from reality or see it in a very unusual way throughout the book. Thus their imagination means a lot to them, since in a way it helps them cope with the hostile environment they have always lived in: Velutha acknowledging this, instead of ignoring it or "shattering" it like other adults, shows how thoughtful and good he is. This quote also emphasizes the importance of stories, which Roy stresses throughout the book, in a world often cruel and inconsiderate towards people who are different and delicate, like Velutha and the children. Stories are what allows them to be happier, to get away from their lives and meet in a world of their own. Roy's choice of violent verbs (shatter, ruin, break) echoes to Velutha and the children's tragic fate: they all have been broken by others, physically or mentally, because people refused to understand them.
« He would sit in the verandah and sew buttons that weren’t missing to create the impression that Mammachi neglected him » This quote embodies for me a central motive of Roy’s work, that is to denounce through irony the constant foolishness of the human nature, especially through the depiction of flaws such as grudge, hypocrisy and pride, which constitute a strain to potential progress and maintains individuals in a state of confortable ignorance. Drawing attention to such individual flaws and paradoxes is not only characteristic of postcolonial writing but of all kind of works which seek to reveal and denounce the absurd nature of human conflictual relationships. The attitude Roy bears towards her characters is ambivalent : as a narrative voice she expresses sincere human sympathy and understanding for them while at the same time providing severe criticism (mainly through irony) of their ignorance, unconsitent, hurtful or contradictory behaviour and thoughts. Characters which are the most often mocked through the novel, such as Baby Kochamma and Pappachi, seem to bear within themselves, in the way they are expored, the very denounciation of the failing aspects of society. Regarding Pappachi, he is, before eveything else, the mean to criticise and in the meantime the inevitable reflection of traditional patriarchal social order and of the domination of men over women. (Now I can tell you that I love this quote most of all because it is incredibly funny and sad and human and after re-reading it a hundred times I still can’t help laughing at loud at the way I picture Pappachi) Charline
The quotation I chose is from chapter 6, where Margaret Kochamma and Sophie Mol finally got out of their plane and arrived at Cochin Airport. While everyone is greeting the British travellers, Estha refuses to say “How do you do?” back to Margaret Kochamma. As Ammu starts to become furious because of her son’s ill-mannered behavior, Chacko begs her sister to deal with it “Later”: “And Ammu’s angry eyes on Estha said, All right. Later. And Later became a horrible, menacing, goose-bumpy word. Lay.Ter. Like a deep-sounding bell in a mossy well. Shivery, and furred. Like moth’s feet.”
This quote illustrates Roy’s concern with what language can be and become. Beyond being a mere juxtaposition of letters, a word gains consistence by conveying a message and a certain mood. Indeed, “Later” is not only a word but also a warning of a future dreadful event. Language captures and embodies feelings, atmosphere and tone. This idea is intensified with the reference to Pappachi’s moth which is a representative of dissatisfaction, guilt, insecurity, shame or self-reproach. As a matter of fact and all the more in postcolonial writing, language is a mirror of one’s identity. However, this quote is also clearly attached to the question of Time in The God of Small Things. Time bears a paradoxical and ambivalent meaning throughout the novel. Future is a promise of hope as well as a prediction of dread. Indeed, as opposed to “Later”, “Tomorrow”, which is the last word of the novel, sounds like the starting point and the path toward a brighter future. Consequently, there may be a correlation with the uncertain future of colonised countries and people who consider time will bring about the annihilation of their identity or the chance to reassert it, through language potentially.
"Are they clean white children? No. (But Sophie Mol is.)" (chapter 4, p. 106)
At that moment the twins, Ammu and Baby Kochamma are at the cinema and watch "The Sound of Music". In the middle of the movie, the twins ask themselves some questions such as the quote.
This quote illustrates the effects of imperialism in the book. The twins understand the difference existing between them and Sophie. She is white like the children of Captain von Trapp who represent the perfect children, but they are not. These children are also idealized by the twins and seem perfect. Imperialism states that the white persons are superior to the others and the twins do feel inferior to Sophie, even though they never met her. She is an example of the perfect little girl (even though she is not at all) they think the people want them to be. Furthermore, the twins don't feel "clean". We know that they like to gobble and blow spit-buble; things that children do. This question appears at an interesting moment because Estha just came back from his encounter with the Orangedrink Lemondrink man and he is still holding "his sticky Other Hand away from his body"; he clearly feels unclean.
One of my favourite quotation is from Chapter 8 on top of page 176 : ''She hoped that under his careful cloak of cheerfulness, he housed a living, breathing anger against the smug, ordered world that she so raged against.''
ReplyDeleteThis quotation expresses Ammu's thoughts when she sees Velutha playing with Rahel after they all came back from the airport with Sophie Mol. I feel these words express as well the growing love we foreshadow between Ammu and Velutha, and their anger against the society they live in, though they don't belong to the same social class at all. This quotation gives the reader a new view on Ammu, who realises she is not only a single loving mother fighting against the view of women's place in society, but she is also a woman in love with an 'untouchable man.
My favourite quotation (and we will all agree that it's hard to pick just one!) from the novel is : "If only they could have worn, even temporarily, the tragic hood of victimhood.”. It’s on page 191, chapter 12 (‘Mrs Pillai, Mrs Eapen, Mrs Rajagopalan’). It’s part of what the narrator says about the twins’ feelings of guilt and lack of understanding of the events that will haunt them throughout their lives.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this quote, first of all because of the way it expresses the unfairness of what happened and the consequences they have for Estha and Rahel, for their innocence and childhood. The themes of guilt and responsibility are very important in The God Of Small Things, as well as that of wasting one’s life. I think this is well illustrated by this quotation.
It is also a great example of Roy’s style, the way she plays with words and their meaning (“hood” as a cloth and also as the ending of many nouns in English), and how she twists the English language in order to create not only a beautiful sentence, but also to emphasize the idea of bearing (wearing!) responsibility.
The quote I chose, although it wasn't my favorite one but one I found very relevant and significant in the novel is:
ReplyDelete"(a) Anything can happen to anyone.
and
(b) It's best to be prepared."
These are Estha's "Two Thoughts", after the tragic episode he encountered with the Orange Drink Lemon Drink man at the cinema. It relates to a theme I find omnipresent throughout the novel: the children's loss of innocence. Indeed, in ths situation, we learn more about Estha's character. He was confronted with an event of the adult world, which deprived him from an ounce of innocence but forced him to understand the world and take responsability for what happens to him.
However, we could link these "thoughts" with any other event in the novel symbolizing the loss of innocence and tragic events, such as Sophie Mol's death, Velutha's death...
It is also a clear-cut example of Roy's style. Indeed, unsual construction of prose, with parenthesis and little letters. This is what I found amazing about Roy's style. Sometimes, her writing is so complicated, filled with details and rich imagery, while sometimes it is simple, clear-cut, and still very efficient, like the form of these 2 Thoughts. It catches the reader's eye, and coincides with the fact that they are pronounced by a child, so nothing is embellished and uselessly complicated.
Still, the reflexion it provokes is profound and the idea conveyed, universal.
The quotation I chose is on page 32 at the end of the first chapter: “Little events, ordinary things, smashed and reconstituted. Imbued with new meaning. Suddenly they become the bleached bones of a story.” This quotation comes with the questioning of whether the cause of the following family drama should be traced back to Sophie Mol’s arrival in Ayemenem or back to the making of the “Love Laws”.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find particularly meaningful in this quotation is that it announces the way the story is going to be told and significantly introduces the themes of the small things and already addressing the issue of responsibility, both motifs being central to the novel.
Roy does not present the “Small Things” as such yet but as “little events, ordinary things”. This can be explained by the fact that the meaning of the title is unraveled gradually in the novel; we are thus merely introduced to the idea but not clearly enough to be aware of the direct link to the title. I found the words “smashed” and “reconstituted” very effective to describe the way Roy brings fragments of a story together to construct a powerful and thought-provoking plot. The phrase “bleached bones” also emphasizes the idea of making seemingly irrelevant “little events” pivotal elements of the plot.
The importance she installs on those “small things” is put forward as well with the phrase “Imbued with new meaning” which can also be linked to her postcolonial aim of reclaiming the worth of the underrated Indian culture, society and outcasts.
Elsa
I chose a quote page 214: "He tried to hate her. She's one of them, he told himself. Just another one of them" from chapter 10, The River in the Boat. Velutha is at home with his brother Kuttapen after the visit of the twins who asked him if he could fix the boat, and he is thinking about Ammu.
ReplyDeleteFirst this quote comes at a turning point in the novel, when the twins consider crossing the river, an event that will later be the tragedy of the plot. Velutha helps them and thus could be held as much responsible as the twins in the death of Sophie Mol.
Besides, this quote dwells on an important issue of post colonialism: hegemony. Indeed, Ammu is "just another one of them", a touchable, whereas Velutha is an untouchable and thus not on the same social level. Ammu is part of the rich indian middle class that goes to the cinema while Velutha is only a Paravan attending communist marches. According to the indian traditional social order, there should be nothing but hatred between the two characters, however Roy points out a real contradiction in the caste system: love goes beyond than classes, castes, or origins. Therefore it is also perhaps a criticism of the colonizers who settled in india (and anywhere else) and oppressed the natives and stole their land instead of considering them as equal human beings and trying to understand them to begin with.
This quote also makes me think of the "Love Laws" and "who should be loved and how. And how much" because it clearly deals with the idea of a forbidden love that will bring them serious troubles, as well as the fact that they're aware of the danger of their relationship, and they fail to fight against it.
One of my favourite quotations can be found in Chapter 2, on page 53, when Chacko develops a reflection on History, comparing it to a house. He is explaining to the twins why they cannot enter it : “Our dreams have been doctored. We belong nowhere. We sail on unanchored trouble seas. We may be never allowed ashore.”
ReplyDeleteAs far as characterization is concerned, this quote underlights Chacko’s intelligence, as well as his extreme lucidity reflected by his capacity to put into words India’s wounds. But it above all shows how the man is affected by colonization, and, in a certain way, we can feel as though it was Roy herself saying it, which may be revealing of her own feeling.
Secondly, those four short statements oblige the reader to pause each time a sentence ends, emphasizing the words’ weight and gravity, and therefore creating a tragic tone. The atmosphere is even more tragic given the fact that Chacko is addressing the young twins. Moreover, Roy chose to quote Chacko, using the 1st person plural point of view : a choice which effectively pushes her readers to identify with him and to face colonization’s damages. Indeed, as a consequence of the English imperialism, it seems like Chacko and his whole family hold themselves back from living their lives and do not allow themselves to exist, as though having been dominated by a “superior” people for so long left their colonizer’s shadow above their heads. Here, the questions of Belonging and starting over a new life after having been oppressed are raised, two essential issues in post colonial literature. Aside from displaying the effects of imperialism, this quote also broaches the theme of Dreams, which have been ‘doctored’. I found this verb very telling for its various meanings. Indeed, it means “falsify” (The English would have made them believe in false hopes), “fix” (The Indians are now trying to rebuild their dreams with what’s left), but also “castrate” (The Indians have lost the ability to dream because the English deprived them of this right). Also, the phrase ‘unanchored trouble seas’ sounded ironic to me because it echoed Sophie Mol’s drowning in the unpredictable river ; Sophie being herself the outcome of a mixt heritage. Finally, the extended metaphor of the family being lost at sea once more highlights Roy’s ability to deal with grave subjects in such a poetic way.
I have decided to speak about a quote I already had to present, but this had to be in one sentence and, as I really liked this one, I wanted to explain it further. So this quote is at top of page 20: “That the emptiness of one twin was only a version of the quietness in the other. That the two things fitted together. Like stacked spoons. Like familiar lovers’ bodies.” Thus, this quote is an embodiment of Estha and Rahel’s relationship. It shows how one thing affects the other but in a different way. Thus, we understand that each one has a different character but at the same time is linked to the other. Here, Roy presents the twins as two peace of the same puzzle that ‘fit[s]” in each other, thus one completing the other. Therefore, they are interconnected. This is clearly showed with “the emptiness” of one; which is traduced by the “quietness” in the other. Then, Roy compares the twins to two spoons that “fit together”, thus one is the continuation of the other. Hence, Roy explains the twins’ complex relationship by creating an analogy of it with common everyday objects. Finally, the construction of this passage emphasizes also this idea with the three last sentences that are nominative and thus that cannot be separated of the first one because it would lose all sense. Therefore, each of these three last sentences completes the first one as the twins complete eachother. Overall, this quote could also be a foreshadowing of what will happen between the two.
ReplyDelete"Their Work, abandonned by God and History, by Marx, by Man, by Woman and (in the hours to come) by Children, lay folded on the floor."
ReplyDeleteThis quote describes the policemen staring at the body of Velutha that they have just beaten in front of the twins (chapter 18, p210).
What I like about this quote is the fact that it is very complete to illustrate themes of the novel such as History or childhood and that it is quite ambiguous.
Firstly, what is being referred to by "Their Work" is arguable. It can at the same time be what they have done to Velutha, what they do as policmen, or just Velutha himself. I could characterizes Velutha himself, since Arundhati Roy adds that the children will abandon him in a few hours, which could refer to Estha answering yes to the policemen in order to save Ammu. However, in the sentence before, Roy compares the Policemen to "Craftsmen assessing their work", so here their work seems to refer to what they have just done, which is beating an innocent man. Velutha himself is the result of their work rather than the work itself.
Secondly, it enhances the atrocity of the crime commited by the policemen. The accumulation shows that no one can tolerate what they have done. They are abandonned by all of the humans, whatever their age or gender, in addition to abstract representations. Neither their religion, nor their political party can accep what they have done. Moreover, the idea of being abandonned by History is a surprising concept. It means perhaps that what they have done will forever be remembered as something negative, since History is what has happened, but more precisely what we remember of what has happened. Here, what is likely to be remembered is the beating of an innocent and not the circumstances of this error. What is sure is that this unexpected association makes the reader reflect on what has happened and why ithas happened.
The quote I chose "Silent hung in the air like a secret loss". It appears in the middle of the third chapter. It's about Estha's room which is excessively clean and tidy unlike his confused state of mind. The description of Estha's room is very significant to the novel and helps understand the character of Estha to the extent that it reflects on his personality. The room is obbiously silent as EStha doesn't speak anymore. But the word silent is relevant because it sees that silence is a theme in the novel which appears several times and that ties in with denial. Also, the fact that the silent "hangs" in the air gives a very heavy effect: like Estha's bad state of mind and the wight of his traumatizing memories. The reader can feel a sort of pressure and almost a suffocating atmosphere which is kind of unpleasant. What is important in this quote is that the silent is described as a "secret loss". In fact, the theme of loss is so recurrent and strong in The God of Small Things that this quote makes a lot of sense. Not only human lives are lost in the novel but also feelings as well as abilities (e.g. the incidents that happened to the family have terrible consequences on the twins lives and the way they act: they have lost their abilities to act like humans and seem soulless). This "secret" here reflects the messages Roy expresses throughout her novel: the fact that only the small things are ever said but the big things lurk unsaid. Here we can see that loss is associated with the words "secret" and "silent" which shows how they try to hide, forget the big, important things that do latter and act as if they didn't even exist. Here it refers to the fact that Estha's lost his ability to speak as a consequence of all the incidents which have happened to him and to his family.
ReplyDeleteEmma
"They would try to tell themselves that in terms of geological time it was an insignificant event. Just a blink of the Earth Woman's Eye" (Chapter 2, p.55).
ReplyDeleteThis quotation comes after the passage where Chacko compares the whole of history to a woman, called the Earth Woman.The twins try to put into perspective the trauma that they experienced by telling themselves that it was nothing compared to what has already happened and what will happen. The personification of the woman is re-used here to explore the theme of perspective, which is a major theme of The God of Small Things.
The use of the word "blink" emphasises the idea of quickness and insignificance of the event. Moreover, Roy's use of the word "geological" is very interesting because it denotates a sense of pragmatism to the sentence and conveys a detached tone. It gives the impression that the twins try to rationalise and to diminish what has happened to them in the aim of reducing their pain.
This quotation touches on the opposition between the "Big Things" and the "Small Things" but also the opposition between society as a whole and individuals : the history of a society or of the whole of mankind will always be more important than personal histories.
Lucie
My favorite quote from the The God of Small Things is probably “Perhaps it’s true that things can change in a day. That a few dozen hours can affect the outcome of whole lifetimes.” which appears in the first chapter, page 32.
ReplyDeleteThe narrator illustrates this by saying that everything important that happened in Rahel’s and Estha’s lives began when their cousin Sophie Mol came to Ayamenem for the first time.
Firstly, this quote emphasizes the idea of small things to the extent that it says little details can have a huge impact on the rest of your life and change it in a way you didn’t expect at all. We can obviously link that idea to the title seeing as it truly pays attention to the events that seem insignificant at first but in fact change your life forever. It also means that the most important events in someone’s life can happened in a brief lapse of time that we don’t see coming. In a few minutes, or eve in a few seconds, something really tragic can happened and change somebody’s life forever. This quote shows the lack of power of the human over their future which they can’t control. As a consequence, it explores both the themes of destiny and control we have over our life.
Secondly, I think that the death of Sophie Mol really illustrates this book. In fact, it was supposed to be a normal day and the twins regarded what they were doing in the most innocent way. However, something tragic happened and changed almost all the characters’ lives forever. Another striking example is what happened between Estha and The Orangedrink Lemondrink man. Indeed, it was a banal outing in a theater which actually changed Estha’s mind for the rest of his life since he has been molested this day.
Manon
« Father Bear beat Mother Bear with brass vases. Mother Bear suffered those beatings with mute resignation. » (page 180)
ReplyDeleteThese sentences are placed after Roy unfolds the story of Ammu's childhood, one of a brutal and rejecting father and a helpless mother.
This powerful quotation denounces women's treatment in society saying that the man can be violent towards his wife, and she has to accept this injustice in silence. The choice of a personification, using animals (bears) to replace people, and the use of the simple past verb tense gives the impression that the story is recounted for children, making it more appealing, pleasant and 'fun' for them. Indeed, it seems that this short story is written for children to inform them on how to act in society, by explaining to them the Indian values and morals : the man dominates the woman. The two last words 'mute resignation' emphasize the idea that women aren't allowed to express their opinion, they aren't allowed a say in matters in society.
This quotation, reflecting Roy's strong feminist perspective, reveales Ammu's background, giving insight into her personality by showing Pappachi's betrayal of his role in his raltionship with his wife and with Ammu. Moreover, this quotation relates back to the inconsistency or disillusionment that many characters felt about love.
The quote I chose to focus on appears at the end of the 13th chapter, ‘The pessimist and the optimist’. There is half page that deals with the fact that Margaret Kochamma did not remember Velutha after she went back to England and it is said about him that ‘’He left no footprints in sand, no ripples in water, no image in mirrors.’’
ReplyDeleteI find this quotation particularly significant firstly because it addresses the theme of perspective as it is linked to Margaret Kochamma’s point of view, a perspective that we do not get many opportunities to explore throughout the book. It stresses the idea that even though we, as readers, got attached to Velutha, he is only significant to a tiny group of people. This quote raises questions concerning the importance of individuals, no matter how tragic their story is.
Also, I think that it sums up really well the atmosphere of the book in the passages about the twins’ adult life. It sheds light on the fact that the struggles they encounter when they grow up is closely linked with the fact that what they went through as kids was never clearly addressed and dealt with. They never got a chance to express what they felt and those things left unsaid explain their profound wounds.
This quote is powerful because of the accumulation of images used to describe Velutha’s insignificance. It sounds like an accumulation of missed opportunities to try and make sense of what happened. Also, both nature and man-made elements are used in the images and this creates the impression that the possibilities of Velutha leaving some sort of mark were everywhere. However, Roy’s choice to use exemples of things that never last anyway (ripples in water or images in mirrors) shows that there was no hope of remembrance for Velutha, because the whole society he evolved in was created with the idea that he had no significance.
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ReplyDelete“ Because they knew, those clever Hotel People, that smelliness, like other people’s poverty, was merely a matter of getting used to. A question of discipline. Of Rigour and Air-conditioning. Nothing more.
ReplyDeleteWhile giving a revealing and horrific description of the Hotel People’s nature and mindset, this passage explains the manner in which the entrepreneurs rescue the tourists from having to escape their bubble of happiness and simplicity. The quote is in chapter 5 page 126
At first I felt a sense of disdain about this quote, that it was just an other unpalatable way of disregarding fellow human beings which we are confronted with numerous times in this novel. But then it struck me, the way the words were emphasized with capitalisations and very abrupt sentences, they seemed meticulously chosen to create a distinct effect on the reader which of course captivated my attention especially with the theme of inequality. There’s an opposition between the people’s poverty and the hotel people’s attitude, the hotel people see it as a challenge to tolerate the village’s misery and this really emphasizes the indifference towards the inhabitants of Ayemenem.
Unfortunately, this passage contributes very little to character development and from the point of view of the plot it only gives a description of what Ayemenem has become since Rahel left 25 years ago.
The quote I chose is on page 279 (chapter 14 – Work is Struggle) : (“But frankly speaking, Comrade,”) “Change is one thing. Acceptance is another.” when Chacko visits Comrade Pillai's house to approve a new label for the factory's new product. Comrade Pillai tells Chacko that Velutha will cause him troubles because he is Paravan and Chacko defends Velutha.
ReplyDeleteFirst we can easely notice Roy's usual capitalization of Change after a comma, which put an emphasis on this quote. The two clauses are distinctly separated by a period to highlight the opposition between the two ideas.
As far as postcolonialism is concerned, the ideas of changing and accepting are really important in this novel, both being totally different : the colonizers can obviously change anything they want in a country but it does not mean that the colonized accept this new culture. For instance, Comrade Pillai's wife in this chapter does not allow any Paravan in her house and speaks only her native language, but it is said that she clearly understands English.
Antoine
I chose a quote from the beginning of the chapter 19 ‘Saving Ammu’, when the twins are at the police station. Inspector Thomas Mathew sends a ‘servile constable’ get two Coca-Cola for the children.
ReplyDelete« So once again, in the space of two weeks, bottled fear for Estha.
Chilled. Fizzed. Sometimes Things went worse with Coca-Cola. »
I really like this quote for several reasons. First of all, the theme of the Western Culture is pointed out. By reversing the original American brand’s slogan ‘Things go better with Coca-Cola’ , Roy gives a critical approach of the drink and of Americanism.
Moreover these Coca-Cola are well intentionally offered by Inspector Mathew. Yet Estha’s reaction towards this beverage is the opposite. In this passage, Roy refers to the previous event of the Orange-Drink Lemon-Drink Man who sexually abused Estha at the cinema. She qualifies these of « bottled fear », giving an allegorical vision of fright and makes reference to the omnipresent childlike point of view of the book. This particular point of view can be seen as well with the use of a capital T for Things, which can be seen as well throughout the book.
I chose this quotation from chapter 10, when the narrator describes Kuttappen for the first time as the twin go see him : "Unlike Velutha, Kuttappen was a good, safe Paravan. He could neither read nor write."
ReplyDeleteThis ironic statement made by Arundhati Roy shows once again her ambiguous feelings towards India. On the one hand, she expresses her love for her country throughout the book with her descriptions or her criticism of colonialism, but on the other hand, she thinks that the Indian society is one full of inequalities which need to be reduced.
What's more, Roy uses foreshadowing again with this quote, as it implies that Velutha is not a good and safe Paravan.
Overall, I think this quote sums up quite well the idea of transgression in the book. There are supposedly laws that each individual has to follow in the society (the "Love Laws", or here the caste laws) and The God of Small Things (partly) deals with the consequences of transgressing such laws.
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ReplyDeleteTo choose one specific quotation that would be the best one, my favorite one is very hard. I think there are a lot, saying different things about different subjects but i chose this one because it combines favorite theme + favorite quotation :
ReplyDelete"what's yours is mine and what's mine is also mine"
This is in "pappachi's moth" when Chacko tells the children that even though Ammu works as much as he does in the factory, she has no "Locuts Stand I". It is clearly understated in his remark that it is legitimate for him to take over his sister's work solely because of his male condition, nothing seems more natural.
I think this is a very humourous and realistic way to deliver such a terrible truth about the indian society and it's "chauvinist" aspect that unveils throughout the novel before our eyes. The most terrible thing here is that Chacko has, in my opinion a occidental way of seing things and women. He considers women as equals, as we can see when he receives his ex-wife and the way he treats her : on an equal footing. However he takes advantage of the society he lives in. He considers himself as superior to his mother that has created and run the factory forever and his sister and appropriates other's work as "His factory. His pineapples". I think it is really important to point out that he has realised that there's equality between both gender but it's just easier for him to leave things as they are and keep on imposing his own rules. This is the most disdainful aspect of this character and it is here summarised in one, small and above all, his own sentence.
I chose this quotation from the first chapter, when the narrator describes Rahel's youth after Ammu's death and the decay of the relationships within the family in that period.
ReplyDelete"The Loss of Sophie Mol stepped softly around the Ayemenem house like a quiet thing in socks. It hid in books and food. In Mammachi's violin case.In the scabs of the sores on Chacko's shins that he constantly worried. In his slack womanish legs. It is curious how sometimes the memory of death lives on for so much longer than the memory of the life that it purloined."
The personification of the Loss of Sophie Mol ( which is emphasized by the capitalisation of the word Loss) makes it seem like a integral member of the family who takes up space and needs care and attention. It also appears as something invasive and haunting which hides in every part of the house and of the family members' lives, and most importantly in things that are supposed to bring joy and happiness such as "books and food" or "Mammachi's violin case". This serves to show that this Loss prevents them from ever experiencing moments of complete joy and happiness. Finally, the final sentence makes us aware that throughout the lenghty description of the effects of Sophie Mol's death that preceded, there was no mention of Sophie Mol herself or of their lives when she was still alive. This serves to show that her death not only triggered mourning, but other much deeper consequences that had nothing to do with Sophie herself, turning the Loss of her into more of a concept than a simple event (hence the capitalisation of "Loss")
Maëlle
I chose the quote page 26 that follows the return of Baby Kochamma from the convent where she was not well. Now that she has a "reputation" her father Reverend Ipe assumes she wil not be able to get husband.
ReplyDelete"He decided that since she couldn't have a husband there was no harm in her having an education."
This quote is for me very interesting in that Roy makes a link between having a husband and having and education: indeed it seems like either you get a husband or an education, but not both. Moreover one wo has a husband would get harmed if she tries du have an education. There is a clear sarcasm and criticisme of women's position in India. It is highlighted by the act that this is a very sort sentence lost in a quite big paragraph. It is almost said like an anecdote, wich is even more stricking. Once more we get to focus on the small things rather than the big ones.
Valentine
I chose a quote from chapter 9, where a grown up Rahel remembers the day she and Estha took Sophie Mol to see Velutha and played make believe with him.
ReplyDelete"It is after all so easy to shatter a story. To break a chain of thought. To ruin a fragment of a dream being carried around carefully like a piece of porcelain. To let it be, to travel with it, as Velutha did, is much the harder thing to do."
I think this quote really embodies the character of Velutha and his importance to Estha and Rahel: he was the only adult who didn't treat them like "children", who really listened to them and cared for them in a way no one else bothered to. It is clear that Rahel and Estha's imaginary world and stories are an inherent part of them, they are often detached from reality or see it in a very unusual way throughout the book. Thus their imagination means a lot to them, since in a way it helps them cope with the hostile environment they have always lived in: Velutha acknowledging this, instead of ignoring it or "shattering" it like other adults, shows how thoughtful and good he is.
This quote also emphasizes the importance of stories, which Roy stresses throughout the book, in a world often cruel and inconsiderate towards people who are different and delicate, like Velutha and the children. Stories are what allows them to be happier, to get away from their lives and meet in a world of their own.
Roy's choice of violent verbs (shatter, ruin, break) echoes to Velutha and the children's tragic fate: they all have been broken by others, physically or mentally, because people refused to understand them.
(sorry for being so late)
« He would sit in the verandah and sew buttons that weren’t missing to create the impression that Mammachi neglected him »
ReplyDeleteThis quote embodies for me a central motive of Roy’s work, that is to denounce through irony the constant foolishness of the human nature, especially through the depiction of flaws such as grudge, hypocrisy and pride, which constitute a strain to potential progress and maintains individuals in a state of confortable ignorance.
Drawing attention to such individual flaws and paradoxes is not only characteristic of postcolonial writing but of all kind of works which seek to reveal and denounce the absurd nature of human conflictual relationships.
The attitude Roy bears towards her characters is ambivalent : as a narrative voice she expresses sincere human sympathy and understanding for them while at the same time providing severe criticism (mainly through irony) of their ignorance, unconsitent, hurtful or contradictory behaviour and thoughts.
Characters which are the most often mocked through the novel, such as Baby Kochamma and Pappachi, seem to bear within themselves, in the way they are expored, the very denounciation of the failing aspects of society. Regarding Pappachi, he is, before eveything else, the mean to criticise and in the meantime the inevitable reflection of traditional patriarchal social order and of the domination of men over women.
(Now I can tell you that I love this quote most of all because it is incredibly funny and sad and human and after re-reading it a hundred times I still can’t help laughing at loud at the way I picture Pappachi)
Charline
The quotation I chose is from chapter 6, where Margaret Kochamma and Sophie Mol finally got out of their plane and arrived at Cochin Airport. While everyone is greeting the British travellers, Estha refuses to say “How do you do?” back to Margaret Kochamma. As Ammu starts to become furious because of her son’s ill-mannered behavior, Chacko begs her sister to deal with it “Later”:
ReplyDelete“And Ammu’s angry eyes on Estha said, All right. Later.
And Later became a horrible, menacing, goose-bumpy word.
Lay.Ter.
Like a deep-sounding bell in a mossy well. Shivery, and furred. Like moth’s feet.”
This quote illustrates Roy’s concern with what language can be and become. Beyond being a mere juxtaposition of letters, a word gains consistence by conveying a message and a certain mood. Indeed, “Later” is not only a word but also a warning of a future dreadful event. Language captures and embodies feelings, atmosphere and tone. This idea is intensified with the reference to Pappachi’s moth which is a representative of dissatisfaction, guilt, insecurity, shame or self-reproach. As a matter of fact and all the more in postcolonial writing, language is a mirror of one’s identity.
However, this quote is also clearly attached to the question of Time in The God of Small Things. Time bears a paradoxical and ambivalent meaning throughout the novel. Future is a promise of hope as well as a prediction of dread. Indeed, as opposed to “Later”, “Tomorrow”, which is the last word of the novel, sounds like the starting point and the path toward a brighter future. Consequently, there may be a correlation with the uncertain future of colonised countries and people who consider time will bring about the annihilation of their identity or the chance to reassert it, through language potentially.
"Are they clean white children?
ReplyDeleteNo. (But Sophie Mol is.)"
(chapter 4, p. 106)
At that moment the twins, Ammu and Baby Kochamma are at the cinema and watch "The Sound of Music". In the middle of the movie, the twins ask themselves some questions such as the quote.
This quote illustrates the effects of imperialism in the book. The twins understand the difference existing between them and Sophie. She is white like the children of Captain von Trapp who represent the perfect children, but they are not. These children are also idealized by the twins and seem perfect. Imperialism states that the white persons are superior to the others and the twins do feel inferior to Sophie, even though they never met her. She is an example of the perfect little girl (even though she is not at all) they think the people want them to be.
Furthermore, the twins don't feel "clean". We know that they like to gobble and blow spit-buble; things that children do. This question appears at an interesting moment because Estha just came back from his encounter with the Orangedrink Lemondrink man and he is still holding "his sticky Other Hand away from his body"; he clearly feels unclean.
Flavie