In The God of Small Things Arundhati Roy notifies the reader that her novel makes people upset because the way I see the world does not allow people to let themselves off the hook, it leaves little space for pleading innocence.

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Laura Pandiani

Professor Lang

4/7/2012

Paper Three

Belonging to Neither Culture

In The God of Small Things Arundhati Roy notifies the reader that her novel makes people upset "because the way I see the world does not allow people to let themselves off the hook, it leaves little space for pleading innocence. And it's uncomfortable to face the fact that all of us are complicit in what's going on-victims as well as perpetrators" (Roy 330). The novel centers around the Ipe family and the main characters, Estha and Rahel's grandaunt, Baby Kochamma. She is a persistent, manipulative, and bitter Indian woman who lives in a town in India called Ayemenem. Baby Kochamma is important to show Roy's idea of being a "victim" of her Indian culture as well as "perpetrator" of the British culture. Baby Kochamma doesn't openly admit the fact that she is "complicit" about being caught between cultures but her actions reveal how she belong finds herself belonging to neither culture. Baby Kochamma has a double consciousness of being a victim of her Indian culture but also a perpetrator of gaining the British culture. This double consciousness Tyson defines