dicuss the portrayl of childhood events and how they affected the lives of the twins in 26a and the god of small things

He knew that if Ammu had found out what he had done with the Orangedrink Lemondrink Man she’d love him less

This gives us the impression that Estha has always been told he’s to blame when he is actually a victim.

Sexual abuse is a theme that occurs frequently also in both 26a and The God of Small Things; it is portrayed as an unforgotten event, this also represents a different theme, the separation of the twins. Estha’s experience with the ‘orange drink lemon drink man’ was a similar experience to what happened to Georgia, someone older exploited his naivety. Roy uses similar techniques to convey the child abuse scenes such as making the abuser seem innocent but sinister to the reader, “At least come and have a drink” this is in direct contrast to “Estha held it because he had to” suggests that the orangedrink lemondrink man has authority as an adult to lure Estha and sexually abuse him. It starts off as an invitation but this is taken away by the abuse.

Estha alone sat on the electric blue foamleather car-sofa, in the Abhilash Talkies Princess Circle lobby, and sang

 

We have grown to like the character of Estha and the reader feels more emotional about the abusive situation. “Handing Estha his penis through his soft white muslin dhoti” this is a powerful technique because it uses calming imagery such as ‘soft’ and ‘white’, these words are commonly associated with relaxation and purity, and this is a complete contrast to what is really happening and Esthas innocence. Although the experience was when Estha was young, he knew it was wrong but the adult authority overcame the anxiety Estha was feeling, Ammu also makes Estha call him ‘Uncle’ so he has a trust for this man. This may be because he trusts the adult figures in his life, such as Ammu and Chacko, whom is like a father to him. This life changing experience was the pivotal point in turning a happy child into a sad lonely boy that didn’t trust anyone. “Anything can happen to anyone, so, its best to be prepared” this correlates a great deal to Estha’s life after that, the incident left Estha believing the philosophy that it is his fault this incident happened and that you can’t do anything to prevent bad things happening to you. Roy also uses describing words to enhance the view of what is actually happening, contrasts such as “the lemondrink was cold and sweet, the penis was hot and hard” are powerful uses of imagery to make the reader feel on edge and disgusted at what is happening. This draws such a stark contrast to his childish, innocent nature.

        

        In 26a a reoccurring theme is the comparison between Georgia and Bessi, this first occurs with Bessi’s best bed. Bessi is the outgoing one and Georgia is more introverted, this is shown when Errol calls her the ‘quiet one’ and she is annoyed. It happens again when they are compared more obviously in school. “Reena got them to stand next to each other… while she counted their differences” this suggests that Georgia or Bessi ever had their own personalities, they were always considered as one person or in this case object. The way they are compared relates to Bessi’s feeling of trying to be her own person, whereas Georgia wants to stay as unison.

                Arundhati Roy uses Ammu and Chacko as a way to implement ‘love laws’. This is what the twins believe to be the rules of how much you should love people and why.

                

Ammu said ‘When you hurt people, they begin to love you less, that’s what careless words do, they make people love you a little less

Roy has used this use of ‘playful child-centered language to represent the cruelty of the adult world’ to convey the twins struggle for affection from their mother and how they are manipulated into believing they need to work for their mother’s love, and that its not already there. This is backed up by when Rahel asks Chacko “Is it necessary that people HAVE to love their own children Most in the World” this signifies that Rahel desperately wants Ammu to love her, and if the love laws apply to her and also asking if Chacko will love Sophie Mol more. This is also a very child like quote, but also poses an important question that you do not expect to come out of a child’s mouth.

        

        Georgia encounters Sedrick manipulating her to do cartwheels. She fed off the acknowledgment of her skill and Sedrick took advantage of that.

        

She thought it was strange how he’d moved so quickly, so quietly-had he done cartwheels”

This suggests that Georgia was naïve and untainted by evil such as Sedrick. This lures the reader into an impending doom of what is about to happen to Georgia. Evans also refers to the beginning of the novel by writing “She saw the headlights, she heard the engine” this links to the birth of the twins and the death they were facing. It suggests that they were doomed from the start. There are also more obvious links to child abuse  “Sedrick said ‘I’m looking at you pretty.” and “Want to play cartwheel…I’ll watch you” is a excellent technique in portraying the contrast of Georgia’s childish voice and these more obvious quotes to shock the reader and to feel for the character more as they are unaware of what is about to happen. Evans also relates this experience back to death again saying, “Was Bessi dying? They decided they would die together, was it now?” this is clever because it gives another insight into Georgia’s personality, whenever she is in a scary situation she thinks of Bessi. This relates to Georgia’s suicide too, “Where’ whispered Bessi ‘Home’. Georgia paused, she was afraid” and “It was the first time ever, in this twoness of oneness that seemed unsayable”. Georgia’s life is affected badly by this event this is shown by “There was something lost, the now-ness of things, it was not pretty”. “Kemy I wish I was there with you, I wish I was still new and young like you” suggests that Georgia was stripped of her childhood after the abuse, even though she is only 15. Evans uses the reoccurring theme of cockroaches to display every time a bad thing happens in Georgia’s life such as “She felt lines of cockroaches marching up and down her legs” just after her abuse and,

        

The children were screaming. There was a sense that Sedrick and the cockroach were brothers

This could symbolize that she associates every bad event with Sedrick. It is similar to Estha in The God of Small Things as his abuser is described as "His eyes were yellow from watching, his teeth were yellow from sugar cane". Roy uses a lot of poetic language as description such as “the fan whirring, peanut crunching darkness”. It is also in direct connection with "His teeth, like yellow piano keys, watched Elvis the pelvis" this suggests that both Roy and Evans have a view of what a child abuser would be like, it also implies that both victims have their own views on what their abusers were like, although it may not be the exact physical appearance, but an interpretation of evil. It also represents decay and the use of colour indicates that. The fact that Roy also uses his nickname has a sinister element to it, which greatly contributes to the atmosphere of the chapter.

        Both sets of twins are affected by their lack of a father figure and male influence as both twins are brought up in a female dominated family. This is shown in The God of Small Things by Chacko as the nearest thing they have to a father figure. “They provided the care (food, clothes, fees), but withdrew the concern” this suggests that they gave them what they needed to survive, but they didn’t want to look after them in the first place although they felt like it was their responsibility. This is in direct contrast to Sophie Mol because she was ‘loved from the start’. In 26a the main father figure they had was Aubrey, but Evans shows a transition form father to monster whom they call ‘Mr. Hyde’ describing it as his “Chemical alter ego” this suggests that he can be a father figure when he wants to but when he drinks he has no control of his rage. The theme of fatherhood in both these books links closely with the sexual abuse by men. It links and adds to the mistrust of men that both twins experience through not having dominant males around. Both abusers are middle aged men, who manipulate both Estha and Georgia and further this cautiousness into later life such as when Georgia sleeps with Errol; this affects her so much she is unable to have a healthy sexual relationship.

        In both novels Evans and Roy explore how separation affects the twins. In 26a Evans uses “Life is a little less without you” to describe the separation between Georgia and Bessi. This is effective because it is very dramatic and relates a lot to how Georgia is feeling. This is a big event because throughout the novel Georgia has relied on Bessi for support and now she is gone, her life feels as if her support is missing. This could also relate to their personalities, this is because they are described as “two-ness in one-ness” one is missing, and then their personality is a little less. This is similar in The God of Small Things being a young boy taken away from his sister; being abandoned by his mother and essentially given away made him feel worthless and unloved and alone, “Estha alone” the relationship between Rahel and Estha is very strong, this is backed up by “Take mine!’ Estha said quickly, not wanting Rahel to go near the man” just after Estha is abused by orangedrink lemondrink man. This is crucial because it seems as if Estha is protecting Rahel from making mistakes he has previously made. But when they are separated the twin’s relationship diminishes. But when Estha is re-returned their relationship is re-established as they “fit together like spoons” this also relates to the resolution they share.

        In conclusion Roy and Evans use death and sexual abuse as prime tribulations that change their characters lives. These are portrayed through child-like narrative contrasted to deep, and shocking events. The way the evil abusers are described makes the reader more connected to the characters involved. The fact that these events happen to the twins when they are so young, the reader can tell that the importance of the event doesn't sink in, and so through their lives manifests into different ways of dealing with pain.

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