Jonathan Collins

ArundhatiRoysTheGodofSmallThingsAs
PostmodernNovel
In1939,IrishnovelistandjournalistFlannOBrienwrotewhatisconsidered
bymanytobeoneofthefirstworksofpostmodernfiction.Inhisdebutnovel, At
SwimTwoBirdsOBrienwrote:
Agoodbookmayhavethreeopeningsentirelydissimilarandinterrelatedonlyin
theprescienceoftheauthor,orforthatmatteronehundredtimesasmanyendings.
(O'Brien2001:9)

ArundhatiRoysTheGodofSmallThingsisalsoabookwithseveralbeginnings.The
manybeginningsarefinelyinterwovenwiththenovelstemporalfragmentation,that
is,itsconstantshiftingintimeandspace.Oneofthestorysseveralbeginningstakes
placeinAyemenem,SouthernIndia,inthemonthofMayandquicklyjumpsforward
tothenextmonthtoRahelsreturnandtoherbrotherEsthasrereturn.Afterthis,
weseeanotherbeginningandthenarrativeslidestotwentythreeyearsinthepast,to
thefatefultwoweekspriortothedeathoftheirEnglishcousin,whichforthenarrator
isinapurelypracticalsense[]correcttosaythatitallbeganwhenSophieMol
cametoAyemenem(Roy2009:28).Thesearejustafewofthenovelsbeginnings.
AnotherbeginningisthestoryofPappachisandhismoth.Hisnarrativeexposesthe
familys anglophile tendencies and modern Indias juxtaposition of cultures, of
postcolonialmodernityandtraditionallifeandthesetimeshifts,betweenthepastand
present,givethereaderthissenseofimbalance;animbalancefromwhichmodern
Indiaalsosuffers.
Critic Madhu Benoit states that time in the novel can be divided into
chronological(thetimelineofthenarrative)andachronological(thetimerelatingto
historywithinthenovelscontext,e.g.theHistoryHouse,thecastesystem,religion,
the Love Laws etc.) (Benoit 1999: 99). Benoit argues that Roy uses this
fragmentationofchronologicaltimetohighlighttheimportanceofachronological
time (1999:105).LikeAtSwimTwoBirds,itsmanyopeningseventuallyleadtoits
manyendings.However, TheGodofSmallThings doesnothaveadefiniteend,it
leaves room for the reader to interpret and end the novel as they so wish. Jon
Simmonswritesthatthenovelfinishesinthemiddleofthestory,butthatthereisno
endingjustanendtothenarrationofevents.(ascitedinBenoit1999:104)
Anotherprominentfeatureofpostmodernliteratureismagicrealism.Magic
realism is a style that has been most widely adopted by Latin American authors
includingGabrielGarciaMarquezandIsabelAllende.RoysfellowIndianwriter,
Salman Rushdie also relies heavily on this style. Arundhati Roy, much to her
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Jonathan Collins
annoyanceisamongagroupofwritersoftenreferredtoasMidnightsGrandchildren.
ThisofcourseisareferencetoRushdieandhisseminalworkofpostmodernfiction,
MidnightsChildren. AccordingtoPankajMishrathisgenerationofwriters,unlike
Rushdiehavebegunmovingawayfromthestyleofmagicrealism(ascitedinMzali
2003:88).Magicrealism,whilenotadrivingforceinTheGodofSmallThingsdoes
seem to be present. It could be argued that the previously mentioned temporal
fragmentationhintsatmagicrealism.However,themostobvioususeofthestyleisin
thetwinstelepathyandtheirinterconnectedness.Onealwaysknewwhentheother
was near, they laughed at each others funny dreams, Rahel knew what the
OrangedrinkLemondrinkmandidtoherbrother,andsheremembersthetasteofthe
tomato sandwiches Esthas sandwiches, that Estha ate on the Madras Mail to
Madras(Roy2009:7).Rahelalsonoticedthathercousin,SophieMolwasawakefor
herownfuneralandperformedasecretcartwheelinhercoffin(Roy2009:9).This
could,however,beputdowntoaposttraumaticstressinducedhallucinationdueto
thefactthattheyhadrecentlywitnessedamanbeingbeatentodeath.AlexTickell
maintains that if we examine the description of the funeral in more depth Rahel
translates the fact that Sophie Mol died because she couldnt breath into a
claustrophobic living burial (Tickell 2007: 57). However some critics argue that
puttingRoysworkinthisgenrecanbemisrepresentativeofherstyleandthatthe
seeminglysupernaturalabilitiesofthetwinscanbeputdowntoachildsoveractive
imagination.InfactEllekeBoehmerusesthephraseextravagantrealismwhichmay
suitRoysstylemorethanthetermmagicrealism(Boehmer2000:66).
InRoyswork,likeinmostpostmodern,postcolonialfictionintertextuality
plays an important role. There are numerous allusions to other literary works,
religioustexts,history,folklore,fairytales,cinema,popculture,etc.Intertextualityin
postcolonial fiction is particularly important because it gives a sense of
interconnectednessandemphasisestheclashbetweenthecultureofthecoloniserand
thecolonised.InTheGodofSmallThingsRoyusesmanyreferencesto1960sBritish
culture,whichisjuxtaposedwiththemorebackward,behindthetimes,Indiathat
seems to be stuck in the 50s. At the airport in Cochin, Sophie Mol arrives the
fashionableEnglishcousinwithhergogobagandshewalkeddowntherunway,
the smell of London in her hair (Roy 2009: 106). Automatically we see this
juxtapositionofdecades,offashionableandoldfashioned;SophieMols1960s go
gobagversusEsthas1950sElvispuff.BabyKochammatryingtoseemmoreupto
dateembarrassesEstha:ElvisPresley[]Imafraidwerealittlebehindthetimes
here(2009:109).WiththisreferencetoEsthashairanotherintertextualreferenceis
broughttomind.LikeEstha,severalreferences aremadetoRahels hairandher
LoveinTokyohairclip.RoyexplainsthataLoveinTokyoisatypeofhairaccessory
thatcomprisestwobeadsonarubberband.LiketheLoveinTokyobeads,Raheland
Esthaarephysicallyseparatebutwithasingleidentity.Interestingly,LoveinTokyois

Jonathan Collins
alsothenameofa1960sIndianBollywoodfilmalsowiththethemeofforbidden
love.
Oneofthemostobviousandmostimportantintertextualreferencesisthatof
Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness. In the novel Roy makes several uses of the
metaphorheartofdarkness.ShesaysinAyemenem,intheheartofdarkness,Italk
notaboutthewhiteman,butaboutthedarkness,aboutwhatthedarknessisabout(as
citedinLiddle2013:1).WhatisnotclearisifthisreferstothedarknessoftheIndian
castesystemortothesubjugationofIndiansbytheircolonisers,theBritish.Heartof
Darkness also appears in reference to Kari Saipu and the History House, the
Englishmanthatwentnativeandcommittedsuicideafteraloveaffairwithaboy
ended badly.Heis referred toas Ayemenems ownKurtzwhich is anexplicit
reference to a central character in Conrads novella, who also went native and
established himself as ademigod among a primitive tribe inthe Congo (Conrad
2008).Inthenovel,SaipuistheformeroccupantoftheHistoryHouse,thelocation
wherethenovelsmostimportanteventstakeplace.ItisthesitewhereAmmuand
VeluthafirstmakeloveandsubsequentlythesitewhereVeluthawasmurdered.Inthe
novel, Saipu is a symbol of sexual nonconformity and emphasises Ammu and
Veluthastransgressionandtheirforbiddencrosscastesexualrelationship.According
tocriticSooyoungChon,KariSaipusandhissuicidecanbeseenasametaphorfor
BritishimperialistdesirewhichdestroyeditselfwhenitlostIndiabutisstillhaunting
India(Chon2002:4).ItmaybeinterestingtonotethatKariSaipuisinfactbasedon
arealperson:AlfredG.Baker,thesonofanEnglishmissionarywhowenttolivein
Keralainthe19thcentury.ThenameKariSaipumaybeadistortionofBakerSahib
(KeralaTourism2013:)
Other interesting intertextual references include The Great Gatsby as a
referencetoinheritedwealth.AlsoNapoleonandhisfamoussayingyoucan'tmake
anomelettewithoutbreakingeggsisalludedtointhechapter1:Theoldomelette
andeggsthing (Roy2009:15).This ofcourseisareferencetoColonelPillais
involvement in the death of Velutha. One of the most interesting intertextual
referencesinthenovelisMammachislettertotheRegionalManageroftheBombay
basedpickle factory, PadmaPickles foradviceonpickling mangoes (2009:125).
PadmaPickles isareferencetothepicklefactoryinSalmanRushdies Midnights
Children anditseemsthatRoyispayinghomagetoIndiasforemostpostmodern
author. It may also be a reference to Rushdies concept of the Chutnification of
history,whichistheblendingandmixingofcultures,ideas,languagesetc.(Rushdie
2006:471).
Asmentionedinaprevioussection,timeinthenovelcanbedividedinto
chronologicalandachronological.ThesamecanbedonewithRoysapproachto
historyinthenovel.Ononehandyouhavetheofficialhistoryandontheotherthe
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Jonathan Collins
unofficial. Both histories intertwine and become, what is known in postmodern
literary criticism as, historiographical metafiction. History and politics are
inextricablylinkedtothenarrativeinthenovel.1969inIndiawasaturbulentperiod
andprotestsagainstthecastesystemwerecommonplace.InKerala,thecommunist
Naxalites were unhappy with the treatment of the Paravans, otherwise known as
untouchables.WegetourfirstglimpseofthissocialunrestinChapter2whenthe
family comesacrossaNaxalite rallyontheirwaytoCochin.Inthemidstofthe
protesttheRahelcatchessightofVelutha.VeluthaandhisfatherVellyaPaapenare
convertedChristianuntouchablesandreflectthemanyformerHindusthatconverted
toSyrianChristian,wronglybelievingthatitwouldremovetheircastestatus.Once
theywereconvertedtheywereofficiallycasteless,butthestigmaofuntouchability
stayedwiththem(Patchay2001:149).Velutha,asfarashistoryisconcernedisone
ofthemostimportant characters inthestory.Heembodies thousandsofyearsof
oppressionbyhighercastes,byreligion(ChristianandHindualike),theauthorities
etc.HisandAmmussexualtransgressionrepresentsayearningforacastelesssociety
andVeluthasfatherrepresentstheresistancetothisideal,notjustbytheuppercastes
but also by old world Paravans like himself who believe that these sort of
transgressionsdisruptthenaturalorderofthings(Roy2009:58).Thisisemphasised
inchapter2,whenVellyaPaapendiscovershissonstransgressionHeofferedtokill
hissonwithhisownbarehands(Roy2009:59).Thisalsoemphasisesthelevelof
brainwashing that thousands of years of oppression can induce. Veluthas father
embodiesanationofpeoplewhohavebeenassuredforsolongthattheyareinferior
andhavethuscometobelieveit.
ThelanguageusedbyRoyisattimes whimsical andherplayfulness with
languageisanotherliterarydeviceinpostmodernfiction.Thereareseveralincidents
in the book where she writes expressions phonetically, uses Malayalam words in
English,usesnonstandardcapitalisation,punctuationandspellingandinventsnew
wordsandexpressions.ThecharactersinTheGodofSmallThingsaremultilingual.
TheirnativelanguageisMalayalamandforthemEnglishwillalwaysstandsecondas
the language of their former masters. This is most evident when characters use
MalayalamexpressionsintercalatedinEnglishsentences.Oneofthefirstexamplesin
thebookisinchapter1inthepolicestationwhenInspectorThomasMathewinforms
AmmuthattheKottayamPolicedidnttakestatementsfrom veshyas (Roy2009:
10) .Itisnotuntilchapter7thatwefindoutthemeaningof veshya,howeveritis
easytoworkoutitsmeaningfromthecontextinwhichitisused.
Eventhoughthenarratorinthebookisomniscient,weoftenseetheworldas
if witnessed by a child. This is especially true as far as language is concerned.
Expressions like Orangedrink Lemondrink man and Locusts Stand I stand to
emphasisethispoint.Thelatter,LocustsStandI,isaLatinexpressiondistortedbythe
memoryofasmallchildandreferstothelegalterm locusstandi,whichtranslates
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Jonathan Collins
literallyasplaceofstanding.ThisofcoursereferstoAmmuandthefactthatshe
hadnolegalstandingasawoman(andmoreimportantlyadivorcedwomen)andhad
nolegalclaimtoanypropertyincludingthepicklefactoryThankstoourwonderful
malechauvinistsociety (Roy2009:45).ThelanguageemployedbyRoyisalso
representativeofacolonisedsocietysufferingfrompostcolonialculturalhybridity.In
anypostcolonialcountrythelanguagewillbecomeahybridisationofnativeandnon
nativelanguagesandinTheGodofSmallThingsthereaderisshownwhatitislike
tohaveEnglishimposed(ReyesTorres2011:196).
InthisfinalsectionIwillexaminebrieflyacoupleofinstancesofironyand
blackhumour,bothfeaturesofthepostmodernnovel,asemployedbyRoy.Inmany
waysthecharacterofPappachiisquitecomicalandclownish.Hislifeisfullofdark
humourandbitterirony.Thesinglegreatesttragedyinhislifewasnothavingamoth
hediscoveredbearhisname.AccordingtoAnnaClarketheenormityoftragedy
juxtaposedwiththeseeminginsignificanceofasmallinsectcreatesanironiceffect
(as cited in Tickell 2007:113).Pappachi always strove tobeseenas anEnglish
gentlemanduetohispositionasImperialEntomologist,however,accordingtohis
son,Chacko,hewasanincurableBritishCCP,whichwasshortforchhichhipoach
andinHindimeantshitwiper.ChackosaidthecorrectwordforpeoplelikePappachi
wasAnglophile(Roy2009:41).ForRoy,Pappachirepresentsamisogynisticsociety
and she is clearly using his character to undermine and depreciate this male
dominatedchauvinisticworld.
Whereas I have not covered everything that makes the novel a work of
postmodern fiction I do believe I have illustrated the most obvious markers of a
postmodern book: fractured temporality, intertextual references, magic realism,
linguisticwhimsicalityandplayfulness,blackcomedyandirony.
To sum up, Roys novel The God of Small Things as a postmodern,
postcolonialnovelworksonmanylevelsandcanbereadinsomanydifferentways.It
simultaneously catapulted Roy into fame and infamy and has caused much
controversyintheIndiansubcontinentandbeyondandhasearneditsauthordeath
threats and, indirectly, time in prison. Its unpredictable, fractured temporality,
nonconformityandplayfulidiomsarejustafewofthesubversivedevicesitusesto
undermine both Indian and British colonial society making it one of the most
importantworksofpostcolonialIndianfictionsinceSalmanRushdies Midnights
Children.Itis todate Arundhati Roysonlyworkoffiction.Shedoes,however,
continue writing as an activist for Indian civil rights and as an advocate for the
treatmentofwomeninIndiansociety.ReadingTheGodofSmallThingsitiseasyto
seewhereshecomesfromandmanyofthehappeningsinthebookaremirrorimages
ofmodernIndiansocietywithbothnegativeandpositiveaspects.Whilethestoryis
onthewholeatragedy,itdoesendonafeelingofhopeandtriestobreakdownthe
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Jonathan Collins
wallsformedbythecastesystemandendswiththewordtomorrowinbothEnglish
andMalayalam.

WorksCited:
PrimarySources:
Conrad,Joseph,HeartofDarkness(London:TheFloatingPress,2008
O'Brien,Flann,AtSwimTwoBirds(London:PenguinClassics,2001)
Roy,Arundhati,TheGodofSmallThings(London:HarperCollinsPublishersLtd.,
2009)
Rushdie,Salman,Midnight'sChildren,25thAnniversaryedition,(RandomHouse
TradePaperbacks,2006)
SecondarySources:
Benoit,Madhu,'CircularTime:AStudyofNarrativeTechniquesinArundhatiRoy's
theGodofSmallThings',WorldLiteratureWritteninEnglish,38(1999),98106
Boehmer,Elleke,'EastisEastandSouthisSouth:TheCasesofSarojiniNaiduand
ArundhatiRoy',Women:ACulturalReview,11(2000),6170
Chon,Sooyoung,'ArundhatiRoysDialogicEngagementwithContemporaryLiterary
Theories',JournalofEnglishandAmericanStudies,1(2002)
KeralaTourism,Kumarakom,http://www.keralatourism.org/kumarakom/alfred
georgebaker.php,26/03/2014(Kerala,India:KeralaDepartmentofTourism,2013)
Liddle,Vandita,'Hybridity,MarginalizationandthePoliticsofTransgressionin
ArundhatiRoy'stheGodofSmallThings',TheCriterion:AnInternationalJournalin
English,12(2013),113
Mzali,Ines,'ApproachingtheRealthroughMagicRealism:MagicRealismin
ContemporaryIndianLiteratureinEnglish'(MasterofArts,ConcordiaUniversity,
2003)

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Patchay,Sheena,'PickledHistories,BottledStories:RecuperativeNarrativesinthe
GodofSmallThings',JournalofLiteraryStudies,17(2001),145160
ReyesTorres,Agustn,'Roy'sInglishintheGodofSmallThings:ALanguagefor
Subversion,ReconciliationandReassertion',Odisea,12(2011),195204
Tickell,Alex,ArundhatiRoy'stheGodofSmallThings:ARoutledgeStudyGuide
(Oxon:Routledge,2007)