Sara Farooq Khan

Salman Ahmed Hayat A- [84] Well written. Could have been a

bit more substantial. Also try not to fall significantly below the word limit.]

1901 SHSS Writing and Communication

18th October 2019

Goodwill Bombs:

A Critical Response to “The End of Imagination” by Arundhati Roy

It is 1998 and India has a conducted a series of tests of its nuclear capabilities. It is a

time of moral confusion and political uncertainty. Times, when the possession of a nuclear

weapon becomes synonymous with nationalistic pride and gives rise to patriotic fervor. Times, Formatted: Highlight

when peace is equivalent to a weapon of mass destruction. Perhaps, it is correct to assume that Formatted: Highlight

ignorance prevails as state propaganda exploits the lack of awareness rampant amongst the

masses, creating an atmosphere where a successful nuclear testing is seen as an event of rejoice Formatted: Highlight

[incorrect. Rejoice is a verb. Something to celebrate] and celebration. While many citizens of

India are euphoric at the prospect of belonging to a nation that is now in possession of a nuclear

bomb, Arundhati Roy, is one, amongst a few who refuses to board the bandwagon. Written in the

aftermath of the Pokhran testing, the essay titled, “The End of Imagination” by Arundhati Roy is

starkly different from her usual body of fictional work[she has written many essays though].

Having gained considerable fame and recognition for her novel, “The God of Small Things”,

Roy, is unafraid of voicing her opinion, despite understanding the risks of speaking against the

wave of popular public opinion and nationalistic sentiment. Undeterred by the certain backlash

the piece was to receive, Roy [‘was’ because here you’re talking about the time when she was

writing. Otherwise, when discussing the essay, you will obviously use the present tense]is
uninhibited in her sharp critique of the Indian government and the creation of the bomb. She

enters the realm of peace activism with this essay, penning a narrative that expresses her dismay

and utter horror over the normalization of a nuclear bomb as she calls upon the reader to

understand the devastating effects of a possible nuclear outbreak, one that mankind can perhaps

never recover from.

Roy uses an array of techniques to convey her message. Her incendiary rhetoric,

impassioned tone and effective use of pathos appeals to the reader’s emotions and invoke a sense

of urgency, compelling one [avoid. Inelegant in most cases] to understand the gravity of the Formatted: Highlight

situation. The phrase, “Our fatigue and our shame could mean the end of us. The end of our

children and our children’s children. Of everything we love” (5) is hard-hitting and unrestrained

in its directness, leaving no doubts in the readers’ mind aboutof the point Roy is driving home.

She aims to make the reader understand the extent of damage a nuclear outbreak can cause and

be mindful of these effects on not just us but also on the generations that are to suffer in the

future from the decisions made today. The web of nuclear politics is growing far and wide,

compelling Roy to urge her readers “To fight” (5)[significance?] against it before it complete Formatted: Highlight

envelopes India and in its wake.

Roy expands upon her argument by creating a parallel between the effects of a

‘normal’ war and the effects of a nuclear war, urging the reader to not treat both as one and the

same. This parallel facilitates the reader’s understanding of the wide-reaching effects of a nuclear

n outbreak/war. She encapsulates the extentpanse of the damage in a simple, yet thought-

provoking sentence, “Our foe will be the earth herself” (6) suggesting that a nuclear bomb does

not discriminate on the basis of boundaries, borders, nations and ethnicities; it is all-

encompassing and all-inclusive in its ruin. She adopts a satirical tone calling the Indians
“wonderful, willing, well behaved, gullible subjects” (6) to mock the non-sensical pride that Formatted: Highlight

stems from the possession of a nuclear bomb. Sardonically, she expresses pity at the gullible

notion that a nuclear bomb is capable of protecting “us from all harm” (6), a fable spun by the

state to facilitate mass evil guised as nationalistic supremacy.

Hence,[avoid] the crux of the essay, “The End of Imagination” is to dismantle the Formatted: Highlight

premise of the idea that a nuclear bomb is a pre-cursor to peace. My chosen title for this critique, Formatted: Highlight

“Goodwill Bombs” is an attempt to condense this very idea into an oxymoron and convey the

sheer absurdity of it as Roy expands upon it in her disapproval of the “Theory of Deterrence” (7).

She presents a compelling case against it by citing the assumptions the outdated theory makes,

for example, the failure to account for the mindset of people undeterred by the fear of death, and

secondly, the uncertainty that comes with a lack of understanding and illiteracy. She ends her

argument on an ominous note, “From now on it is not dying we must fear, but living” (7) as she

fears what the future may look like with the rise of the trend of nuclear weapons.

Roy strengthens her essay by providing the readers’ an insight into a personal experience.

She narrates her own feelings, “The chill seeps into my bones” (9) to express her individual

outlook on the bomb and then further expands upon the struggles she faced upon writing a piece

that required her to adopt a pro-human stance instead of a pro-India stance. She confesses her

conscious decision to “step out from under the fairy lights” (10) as she prioritized speaking her

mind even if it came at the expense of her fame, being called anti-nation or the threat of railing Formatted: Highlight

[sentence structure] against the masses and the state. Hence, the inclusion of a personal reflection

and personal experience incorporates an engaging element [is engaging; appeals to emotion], Formatted: Highlight

making each word resonate with the reader.

 The use of statistics and values add weight to her argument as she stresses upon the fact Formatted: Highlight

that India ranks “138 out of the 175 countries listed in the UNDP’s Human Development Index”

(12). Hence, she resorts to the use of logos to emphasize the misplaced priorities of India as the

focus lens is moved away from a plethora of issues such as poverty, illiteracy and sanitation

towards the development of a nuclear bomb.

In conclusion, Roy presents the tragic reality of the common man, symbolic of the

mindset of the masses. The inability of the common man to understand jargon such as “thermal

blasts, radioactive fallout and the nuclear winter” (13) is the weakness the state exploits to rouse

a sense of misplaced nationalism, making the right to basic human rights seem secondary in the

face of regional and global dominance. She urges the people to take the creation of the bomb

personally and unshackle themselves from the grip of the state and the control it exercises [reject Formatted: Highlight

its control] on our minds. Her final words, while alluding to the world are “it could end in an Formatted: Highlight

afternoon” (14) is her call to action,[sentence construction] the final attempt of urging the masses

to shake off the delusion of bombs for peace.

 Works Cited

Roy, Arundhati. “The End of Imagination.” Spokesman Books.