LITERATURE ANALYSIS #4

The book I chose to read was The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy.

1) This novel is about fraternal twins and their journey through the death of their cousin and the imprisonment of their mother's forbidden lover following. When the twin's grandparents learn that their daughter is having a love affair with an "Untouchable," they try to do everything in their power to keep them apart by accusing him of kidnapping the twins and their cousin, who dies from drowning.

2) The two major themes are "social tensions" and "forbidden love." One of the major problems in the novel is the relationship that Ammu and Velutha have, which their parents are strongly against because of their different social rankings. Their parents' anger leads to a chain of events that seriously changes the lives of everyone in the novel.

3) The tone of the novel is both childlike, brooding, and mature. The switches between when the children are younger to their adulthood shows a contrast in how they see the world. At times, the writing often takes on a rhyme-y, sing-songy tones in the moments in which  serious information is being conveyed.The narrator darkly rhymes that 31 is "Not Old. Not Young. But a viable die-able age". The author also describes Sophie's coffin in a sing-songy manner: "Satin lined. Brass handle shined." Another example is "A wake/ A live/ A lert."

4) 

Symbolism- The History House was used as a symbol of the India and the family's actual history. "Estha and Rahel had no doubt that the house Chacko meant was the house on the other side of the river, in the middle of the abandoned rubber estate where they had never been. Kari Saipu's house. The Black Sahib. The Englishman who had "gone native." Who spoke Malayalam and wore mundus. Ayemenem's own Kurtz. Ayemenem his private Heart of Darkness." (2.92)

Allegory- Pappachi's Moth is more of an allegory of his life. "his life's greatest setback was not having had the moth that he had discovered named after him" (2.73). 

Imagery- Rahel's watch is used as imagery for her desire to make everything right. "The wristwatch] had the time painted on it. Ten to two. One of her ambitions was to own a watch on which she could change the time whenever she wanted to (which according to her what Time was meant for in the first place)." (2.12)

Allusion- The novel uses allusions to connect with the audience. F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (2.15)/ Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness (2.92, 5.17)/ Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book (2.152)

Writing Style-

Setting- The God of Small Things for the most part takes place in a town called Ayemenem, in Kerala, India. One of the trademarks of the novel is the way it jumps back and forth in time between 1969 and 1993.

Flashbacks- The author uses a lot of flashbacks to switch between the two settings of the novel. 


Characterization: 
1)