Discuss caste and untouchability as a thematic issue in The
God Of Small Things.
Arundhati Roys's Booker
Prize winning novel deals with the ravages of caste system in South Indian
state, Kerala. Roy presents both the miserable plight of untouchables and also
the struggle of a woman trying to have fulfillment in life in a patriarchal
society. Velutha, the God of Small Things, transgresses the established norms
of society by having an affair with a woman of high caste. The ultimate outcome
of this love affair is the tragic death of an "Untouchable" by the
"Touchable Boots" of the state police, an event that makes a travesty
of the idea of God. God is no more in control of "small things"
rather the small things have an ultimate power over God, turning him to
"The God of loss" (265).
The idea of
untouchability is explored at two levels in the novel. Firstly, we have
socially untouchables, or Parvan, who are never allowed basic human rights.
Secondly, we have metaphoric untouchables in high castes. Here discrimination
expresses itself in marginalizing the women in their personal and public life.
In this paper, I would like to analyze the ways and means that a system adopts
to depersonalize a woman.
A complete appreciation
of The God of Small Things requires an awareness of three things -- the
roles of (1) the Syrian Christian community, (2) Communism, and (3) the caste
system in Kerala. Kerala stretches 360 miles along the Malabar Coast of India.
Although it is just 15,000 square miles in area, its population makes up 3.71%
Of India's. Kerala is remarkable for having the highest literacy rate (81.29%)
in the whole of India. The state experiences heavy monsoons during
June-September and September-December. Most of its rivers are fed by the
monsoons, and it is during this season that Sophie Mole drowns.
