Development of Characters and Context in God of Small Things Essay

Discuss the techniques Arundhati Roy uses to develop character and context. ( First 3 Chapters of God of Small Things)

The novel God of Small Things is said to be the master piece of evocative writing by Arundhati Roy. The novel is set in India and is a based on the various themes the most prominent of which is forbidden love One of the most striking quality of this book is that it focuses on two children and their viewpoint of the world and what goes around them. The innocence contributed by them adds even more depth to the tragic events that are foretold in the novel.God of Small Things contains humour however its comprised with underlying dark tones which slowly reveal the tragic elements in the story. This humour can be found within the children although innocent if seen from their eyes, the events are horrific. Moreover, Roys commentary is also surfaced with jokes yet it critically examines and develops insight into the complexity of caste, class and human conflicts which our society is almost fixed in.

The novel itself is not written in the traditional narrative style. It does not unfold events chronologically but compromised of flashbacks. The main events are shown through the memories and complex backgrounds of their causes. Roy by using such a narrative style allows flexibility of the structure as well as to the development of major themes. Roy takes us back and forth through out the novel, everything however everything is interconnected brilliantly. It is also important to note that there is no real end to the story, the events that take place in the last chapter happened in the middle of the story. Yet by the end of the novel, the reader seems almost content as everything falls into perspective.

Its fascinating how Roy builds up momentum to the climatic point with only glimpses of the event or quotes characters referring to it but vaguely such as The Loss of Sophie Mol or The incident with Velutha. This builds tension and curiosity within the reader.Moreover, in the novel time is often seen as static because of repitation of events. Its is important to note that the references to Sophie Mols funeral are sent in the past Roy uses this technique to create effect of the process of the childrens attempt to find their identity, by mingling the past and the present. Moreover this static time can be further interpreted by Rahels plastic wrist watch which is a recurring image can represent how the twins stopped living after the Loss of Sophie Mol.

Although the book is narrated in the third person, the narrator being omniscient. It can be said to surrounding Rahels perspective to an extent, as most events do lead to some moment which is important to Rahel and her life. This gives readers insight into the character as well as evoke empathy. The perspective from child to adult changes constantly throughout the novel. At one moment, Rahel is a seven years old girl, facts, people and events are seen differently through a child perspective-everything seems more rationale. Another moment, she is an adult with a more critical eye, trying to put together her past.

Roy uses several techniques in order to bring the twins to life as well as represent their innocence. She capitalizes some words, giving them significance Orange Lemodrink Man or Returned Furthermore, the children disjoin or recombine things that the adults say, creating rthymn, consequently repeating phrases lead to different interpretation of meanings.This puts emphasis on how differently a child perceives the world. They pick up feelings that the adults do not recognize, Youre milestones around my neck was picked up by the twins and had seeped them away of their enthusiasm on the way to the airport. Esthas puff was spoiled Roy rather then explaining the loss the children had felt at this point, makes it evident through this imagery making the effect more profound. Moreover, Roys creative use of words provide a different perspective to the readers.At Sophie Mols death, Rahel cannot comprehend with the death hence she repeats the priests words perhaps hoping that those words might help her understand, Dus to Dus to Dus. Sophie Mols funeral killed her as she couldnt breathe is what Rahel believed. The reader can visualize whatever is happening in Rahels mind. Furthermore,While the family is awaiting the arrival of Sophie Mol and her family at the airport, Estha and Rahel are misbehaving. Their uncle suggests that their mother deal with them later, a word that plays with Rahels mind. And Later became a horrible, menacing, goose-bumpy word. Lay. Ter. Like a deep-sounding bell in a mossy well. Shivery, and furred. Like moths feet. This develops the readers insight on how the children precieve words or language they do not understand. As mentioned before, even if words are not fully comprehended by the children they do feel them.

Roys use of vivid imagery and description is one of the key elements in developing the story for the reader psychologically. In the first chapter, Slanting silver ropes slammed into loose earth, plowing it like gunfire, provides an image of rain slamming on to the dry earth, for the reader the visual image created is intense and psychologically foretells the danger in the novel. In this chapter Rahel has also returned to Aymenem, hence, the metaphor gunfire used by the author is somewhat of a warning. Because of the disorientation of time in the novel, the danger or traumatic event has already occurred in Rahels life but as the reader is in the blue at this moment such metaphors and imagery is used to alert the reader.Boundaries blur as tapioca fences take root and bloom is another example of how words play a dual role in God of Small Things. At the first glance, the poetic imagery is profound yet if we dig deeper, this foreshadows one of the prevalent themes in the novel, the blurring of boundaries between race,class,sex. Her imagery contributes to the simultaneous sensations of two or more feelings. Estha smiled out loud, smiled is a visual image whereas out loud evokes the auditory system. This effect dramatizes the sadness he felt for his dog dying and the happiness for the reflection of the bird. It also gives us an insight of the quite nature innate in Estha. Dustgreen trees also contribute to the same effect, Roy does not only help the reader visualize the dusty, dry weather of Aymenem but also makes the reader feel it. Furthermore, Dustgreen is not a word, yet it grabs the readers attention hence the purpose of using such creative vocabulary.

God of small things contains many smaller stories that provide an insight into the characters as well as the events leading up to the event The perspective of child hood of incomplete understanding, imagination and innocence is beautifully caught in the novel through the poetic style of the author. It is also important to note how Chapter one foretells through metaphors and glimpses the events unfolded later in the novel.