The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy
The God of Small Things is a beautifully written novel that explores the limitations of the traditional caste system, the raging of Communism in modern India, and the culture's inherited fatalism.
The story is focused primarily on a set of fraternal twins whose lives are deeply scarred by the early destruction of their family. The beginning of the tragedy lurks invisibly at some point in the past--at the very first moment, the theme of the novel suggests, for every action in the piece is actually a reaction. But for the purposes of a synopsis, Roy's story begins with the Christmas visit of the twins' cousin, Sophie Mol, and her mother from England--the "ex-family" of their uncle. Sophie Mol dies on this trip, the audience is told, and the vacation begins a downfall for the twins.
One of the twins' favorite playmates is a man named Velutha, an Untouchable. He is revealed as generous, patient, and creative, whittling small toys and caring for his father and disabled brother. Ammu, the twins' mother, watches her children play with Velutha and feels herself almost envy their closeness with him, the moments of enjoyment which exclude her. There is suddenly a sexual tension which springs between the two, germinated by the twins' recognition of beauty and kindness.
Because Velutha belongs to the class of Untouchables, it is unthinkable for Ammu to have any relationship with him beyond courteous condescension. They are very aware of the social laws against loving each other, but the laws give them little pause once desire has taken root.
When it becomes painfully obvious to the family that Ammu has slept with Velutha, the matriarch fears ostracization. Ammu's aunt (jealous and spiteful) files a charge of rape at the police station to salvage the family reputation. After Sophie Mol drowns and her body is found in the river, Velutha, found with the twins in an abandoned shack, becomes the prime suspect of rape, murder, and kidnapping. He is beaten mercilessly by the police and dies of the injuries he sustains.
The fallout is tragic. Estha and Rahel, the twins, blame themselves for Sophie Mol's and Velutha's death. (They were in a boat on the river--it tipped over and Sophie Mol, unaccustomed to swimming in the current, drowned.) Ammu, their mother, feels her actions brought about Velutha's torturous death. The three fall away from each other in grieving. There is a sense, however, that their actions were predetermined.
The plot progresses from the beginning and end at once, traveling back and forth in a span of 23 years to finally reach the climax in the middle--the death of Sophie Mol and the transgression committed by Ammu and Velutha--both at once cause and effect. Events which occur have, in this pattern of story-telling, already happened. This fatalism seems almost inescapable; individuals are predisposed to reaction. The characters seem aware of this concept, but they struggle with their culpability. They are shamed, but feel they somehow always owned this shame; it only became evident at some point. They are fallen, have always been, with no means of ascending.
The story is focused primarily on a set of fraternal twins whose lives are deeply scarred by the early destruction of their family. The beginning of the tragedy lurks invisibly at some point in the past--at the very first moment, the theme of the novel suggests, for every action in the piece is actually a reaction. But for the purposes of a synopsis, Roy's story begins with the Christmas visit of the twins' cousin, Sophie Mol, and her mother from England--the "ex-family" of their uncle. Sophie Mol dies on this trip, the audience is told, and the vacation begins a downfall for the twins.
One of the twins' favorite playmates is a man named Velutha, an Untouchable. He is revealed as generous, patient, and creative, whittling small toys and caring for his father and disabled brother. Ammu, the twins' mother, watches her children play with Velutha and feels herself almost envy their closeness with him, the moments of enjoyment which exclude her. There is suddenly a sexual tension which springs between the two, germinated by the twins' recognition of beauty and kindness.
"The man standing in the shade of the rubber trees with coins of sunshine dancing hon his body, holding her daughter in his arms, glanced up and caught Ammu's gaze. Centuries telescoped into one evanescent moment. History was wrong-footed, caught off guard. Sloughed off like an old snakeskin. Its marks, its scars, its wounds from old wars and the walking-backwards days all fell away. In its absence it left an aura, a palpable shimmering that was as plain to see as the water in a river or the sun in the sky. As plain to feel as the heat on a hot day, or the tug of a fish on a taut line. So obvious that no one noticed." (Roy, 167)
Because Velutha belongs to the class of Untouchables, it is unthinkable for Ammu to have any relationship with him beyond courteous condescension. They are very aware of the social laws against loving each other, but the laws give them little pause once desire has taken root.
When it becomes painfully obvious to the family that Ammu has slept with Velutha, the matriarch fears ostracization. Ammu's aunt (jealous and spiteful) files a charge of rape at the police station to salvage the family reputation. After Sophie Mol drowns and her body is found in the river, Velutha, found with the twins in an abandoned shack, becomes the prime suspect of rape, murder, and kidnapping. He is beaten mercilessly by the police and dies of the injuries he sustains.
The fallout is tragic. Estha and Rahel, the twins, blame themselves for Sophie Mol's and Velutha's death. (They were in a boat on the river--it tipped over and Sophie Mol, unaccustomed to swimming in the current, drowned.) Ammu, their mother, feels her actions brought about Velutha's torturous death. The three fall away from each other in grieving. There is a sense, however, that their actions were predetermined.
The plot progresses from the beginning and end at once, traveling back and forth in a span of 23 years to finally reach the climax in the middle--the death of Sophie Mol and the transgression committed by Ammu and Velutha--both at once cause and effect. Events which occur have, in this pattern of story-telling, already happened. This fatalism seems almost inescapable; individuals are predisposed to reaction. The characters seem aware of this concept, but they struggle with their culpability. They are shamed, but feel they somehow always owned this shame; it only became evident at some point. They are fallen, have always been, with no means of ascending.
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