Commentary on an extract from The God of Small Things

University Degree Historical and Philosophical studies

Told essentially from the children’s perspective, The God of Small Things travels back and forth between present-day India to the early days of two previous generations, and everything in between. Set in the small town of Ayemenem, this novel tells the story of a very ruptured family and unfolds the dark secrets of each character’s misfortunes in life. The ultimate tragedy revolves around the visit of Sophie-Mol and of her critical drowning. It is within the context of these events that Estha and Rahel are punished for sins they did not commit, and as children, could not have understood, as they are caught in the entanglements of the corruption of society and grow up in a world they had no control over. The consequences of the intertwined events of Sophie-Mol’s drowning and of Ammu’s illicit love-affair with an Untouchable forever alters the lives of all the family members, isolating each one and leaving them a barren shell of their former selves.

The extract that this commentary will focus on is from page 253-254, chapter 13 – ‘The Pessimist and the Optimist,’ and is a component of the climax of the story. As one of the most volatile scenes, the majority of the novel’s themes have managed to be captured in just the space of 50 lines.

As the extract opens up, Ammu screams, “Because of you! If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be here! None of this would have happened! I wouldn’t be here! I would have been free! I should have dumped you in an orphanage the day you were born! You’re the millstones round my neck!” Here we are already presented with the themes of the twins being one, as Ammu accuses them as though they were one person, one double burden instead of two separate ones. We see the aching motif of not being wanted, not being loved enough. However, we also immediately see the distances and misunderstandings between the characters, particularly when following Ammu’s outburst the narrator says, “She couldn’t see them crouched against the door. A surprised Puff and a Fountain in a Love-in-Tokyo. Bewildered Twin Ambassadors of God-knows-what.” We are here presented with the slaughter of childhood innocence, as the hearts of two seven-year-old twins are crushed, and they fully believe what their mother has just said to them. Furthermore, the themes of displacement are made painfully evitable when the narrator describes them as, “Bewildered Twin Ambassadors of God-knows-what. Their Excellencies Ambassadors E. Pelvis and S. Insect.” For previously, in the airport scene Baby Kochamma had told the twins, “You are Ambassadors of India. You’re going to form their First Impression of your country.” Hence throughout the rest of the text, there is the make-believe game of the twins being something important – ambassadors - and it pleases them greatly. However, reality hits them as “Ambassadors of God-knows-what” implies that they are ambassadors of nothing, their “Excellencies” stood for nothing, and that if they had represented Margaret Kochamma’s impression of the country, it turned out to be a very dire one for the matter. We also see the distances between Vellya Paapen and Kochu Maria, how Kochu Maria particularly emphasizes the distinction between herself and the former, by ignoring him and “Tried to shoo him away,” as if he were a dog. The recurring image of the Paravans being so low on the social scale that they were treated almost like animals, such as when Mammachi later says to Velutha, “If I find you on my property tomorrow I’ll have you castrated like the Pariah dog you are!” This displays most prominently the theme of segregation between Untouchables and Touchables within the Indian society, and even touches the theme of Love. Previously in the novel, we are told how, “It was Velutha who maintained the new canning machine…It was Velutha who oiled the water pump…It was Velutha who built the …furnaces.” Yet Despite all the contributions Velutha had made to the Kochamma family, and was beginning to receive better treatments than the traditional Paravans, violating the absolute social laws of “who should be loved, and how, and how much” was the absolute crime which indirectly condemned him to his death. Further more, the image of a dog implies that the attitude of the society was that it was animal-like savagery which made them commit that crime, not love. The thought of a Touchable women ever loving or finding happiness in an Untouchable man was simply so abstract that it never occurred to them.

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Throughout the novel, the style of writing is both poetic and whimsical, as the author uses verbal innovation, phonetic spelling and stylistic tricks, which reinforces their context and contributes to the emphasis of the narrative. The story unfolds not in a traditional manner of logical progression, but jumps through time and winds its way through fundamentally Rahel’s memories as she attempts to grasp the fate her family experienced. The narrative varies between one-person limited in which we can see each character’s perspective, to third-person omniscient. This effectively eliminates any labels of a ‘villain’ or ‘victim’, as we understand what drives each character to behave in certain ways, and to further more understand the gaps between the family members. The child-like narration is used to emphasize the stark contrast between the playful light-heartedness of the tone and the gravity of the circumstance, and the absence of the child-like tone as the narrator speaks of present-day India indicates the passage of time, the maturity of Rahel and the expulsion of youthful innocence and cheerfulness.

In this particular extract, the narrator takes on a third-person omniscient, which allows the reader to grasp the full picture and clearly see the divide between the characters and how critical the misunderstandings are, particularly in the very first line, “The careless words she hadn’t meant.” The extract begins with Ammu cursing her children, and then jumps back to the previous day when Vellya Paapen came to deliver his news to Mammachi. The novel circles around the incident of Sophie Mol’s drowning, focusing on events which led up to and followed it, slowly tightening the circle to reveal at last what actually occurred. As we are approaching this revelation, the narrator jumps ever more abruptly back and forth in time. This, as well as the intense and unique attention to detail continues to lead the reader on, into the dark, pulsating and inexorable tragedy of the novel. The sentences and paragraphs vary greatly in length, and there are abrupt changes in the rhythm, which indicate that changes are taking place and do not go very smoothly.

Throughout the text, a vast variety of literary techniques are used. Symbolism is particularly evident, examples being how the twins were ambassadors of nothing, thus reinforcing the image of displacement. The “Puff and a Fountain in a Love-in-Tokyo” stands for their child-like innocence, and the “crashing against Ammu’s bedroom door” symbolizing the despair and rage she was experiencing that words could not describe.

There is particular foreshadowing, and perhaps one could even say a trace of irony, in the description of Kochu Maria “working up a smelling blizzard of fish scales” as one can relate this to the typical expression of “something smells fishy” which foreshadows the information which Vellya Paapen will later reveal to Mammachi. The description of how the “hot day darkened and the sky began to clap and grumble” foreshadows the darkening of the situation, and the particular reference to “cyclonic disturbance” creates a tense atmosphere in which the reader can anticipate that something negative and unusual will occur. The “relentless of that unseasonable downpour” is even referred to as “an omen from an angry god” which would understandably be Vellya Paapen’s interpretation of the situation.

“His left eyelid drooped over his empty socket like an immutable, monstrous wink.” Is one example of the several similes used to portray the situation from different perspectives. In this one, we can assume that the “monstrous wink” would be Mammachi’s interpretation of the shocking situation, further emphasized by the reference to an “elaborate prank.”

The author’s abundant use of imagery never ceases throughout the novel, and in this particular extract we are shown through vivid descriptions and figurative language the gravity and direness of the situation. The heavy atmosphere and the complete absence of light-hearted childlike narrative, combine to create a chilling and powerful setting of the night which changes the lives of every character.

The God of Small Things is a deeply powerful and provocative novel, in which the author has masterfully used a combination of unique and epic narrative, innovative vocabulary, elaborate imagery and a captivating progression of revelations. The reader is taken through a passage of time and emotions, experiencing the perceptions of each character and the poignant realization of the brutality that a society is capable of. We are shown that in repressive, traditional societies quick to ostracize but reluctant to understand, we become god’s of our own worlds as the individual is never significant enough to concern the ‘Big God’. The God of Small Things both challenges and touches the reader through explorations of the themes of ancient traditions versus a modernizing culture, inferiority complex, displacement and corruption within a society, the gaps between individuals and finally, Love – “Who should be loved, and how, and how much.” And the unfortunate outcome for those who dared to pursue infinite joy and love across the boundaries. The extract discussed was part of a significant scene where the novel was approaching its climax, and has managed to include all the essential elements of the novel. The reader is about to discover what really occurred during that fatal night which slaughtered innocence and massacred love, all because of the corruption and bigotry within a traditional and conservative society.