Wang AP Lit

At the 2003 Porto Alegre meeting of the World Social Forum, Arundhati Roy said: "Our strategy should be not only to confront empire, but to lay  siege to it. To deprive it of oxygen. To shame it. To mock it. With our art, our music, our literature, our stubbornness, our joy, our brilliance, our sheer relentlessness and our ability to tell our own stories. Stories that are different from the ones  we're being brainwashed to believe."          How does this message relate to The God of Small Things ? What idea about colonialism does Roy argue? How does the context of "Men's Needs" change throughout the novel? Even though the context changes, does the definition change? What is the significance of the Heart of Darkness? Why does Roy constantly allude to Conrad's novel while describing Ayemenem? Is there any irony in this description? How does the meaning of sex change throughout the novel? How are the relations between Chacko and stra...

“Over the din Kochu Maria shouted Vellya Paapen’s story to Baby Kochamma. Baby Kochamma recognized at once the immense potential of the situation, but immediately anointed her thoughts with unctuous oils. She bloomed. She saw it as God’s Way of punishing Ammu for her sins and simultaneously avenging her (Baby Kochamma’s) humiliation at the hands of Velutha and the men in the march–the  Modalali Mariakutty  taunts, the forced flagwaving. She set sail at once. A ship of goodness ploughing through a sea of sin” (243).              Baby Kochamma emerges as the villain of  The God of Small Things.  Throughout the novel, Roy notes how Baby Kochamma is constantly judgmental of both Ammu and the twins and how she seems to think they are plotting against her. Baby Kochamma uses Ammu’s sexual relationship with Velutha to her own advantage and gains a sense of satisfaction from ruining Ammu’s life. In this pa...

“History” What is going on with the ghost in the History House? What is the significance of the electrified elephant? What does “God of Small Things” mean in Ammu’s eyes?

In  God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy exposes the differences in gender standards in Indian society. She effectively brings to light these differences through perceptions of siblings: in particular, Ammu and Chacko. Throughout the novel, Ammu is described as a woman beaten down, depressed, and seemingly having burned out her chances at a “normal” life. After all, she divorced her alcoholic husband and father of her children, and is left alone to raise her twins Rahel and Esthappen. Additionally, she lacks the sense of hospitality and grace that is expected of her when Margaret and Sophie Mol visit India because, as the reader learns, she had an abusive father. Despite her troubled past, the characters in the novel treat her poorly and do not offer any sympathy to her. Roy suggests that Ammu and Veluthra have a forbidden sexual relationship, and this relationship leads to disgrace of her and family, for Chacko tells her to depart because she has “destroyed enough already” (151). W...

"Anglophile" Why does the arrival of Sophie Mol place so much pressure and anticipation on the family, especially Ammu, Rahel, and Estha? What role does Comrade Pillai play? What is the significance of television in Baby Kochamma's life?

Why does Roy capitalize words with seemingly no significance? What role does the legacy of British imperialism play in the novel's family? Who does Velutha love?