The God of Small Things
Brittany Raiford
Mr. Lutz
12AP English / Period 1
7 March 2011 “Uncertainty Has Celebrated Its Death”
Love is Lost. Love is Forbidden. Love is Found. In order to lose love, you must first obtain love. In order to find love, you must first know what love is. In order for love to be forbidden, it must first be permissible. These are the misconstrued thoughts of the characters in The God of Small Things.
Figuratively speaking, there is a fight against the caste system in India as to whom the characters should love. This enables them to fight for love by breaking the archetypal tradition of what love should look like. All events lead up to the ultimate sacrifice, which is Velutha’s death; he has come to redeem those who are lost in a sea of uncertainty in relation to love. Although the caste system played a part in the brutal murder, Velutha’s death was relevant to the Forbidden Love Laws because it was his purpose to break all love barriers. Arundhati Roy presents love on a silver platter, waiting for the readers to intake every ounce of what she has to offer; permitting them to consciously think about what love is and how easily it can be misapprehended. The recurring theme throughout the story is the archetype of love; whether it is conditional or unconditional versus an obligation or a natural force.
Ammu was directly exposed to the false meaning of love. Because her father was a “jealous man” (46), he would advertently beat her mother every night “with a brass flower vase”
(47). Since “human beings were creatures of habit, it was amazing the kind of things they could get used to” (49). Unfortunately, Ammu was a victim of this “habit.” Due to her parents’ miscommunication towards one another, Ammu restricts her love for her children; she uses this method to “protect” them from being rejected or to feel as if they have never been loved. Therefore, loving her children is a compulsion rather than it being a natural
Mr. Lutz
12AP English / Period 1
7 March 2011 “Uncertainty Has Celebrated Its Death”
Love is Lost. Love is Forbidden. Love is Found. In order to lose love, you must first obtain love. In order to find love, you must first know what love is. In order for love to be forbidden, it must first be permissible. These are the misconstrued thoughts of the characters in The God of Small Things.
Figuratively speaking, there is a fight against the caste system in India as to whom the characters should love. This enables them to fight for love by breaking the archetypal tradition of what love should look like. All events lead up to the ultimate sacrifice, which is Velutha’s death; he has come to redeem those who are lost in a sea of uncertainty in relation to love. Although the caste system played a part in the brutal murder, Velutha’s death was relevant to the Forbidden Love Laws because it was his purpose to break all love barriers. Arundhati Roy presents love on a silver platter, waiting for the readers to intake every ounce of what she has to offer; permitting them to consciously think about what love is and how easily it can be misapprehended. The recurring theme throughout the story is the archetype of love; whether it is conditional or unconditional versus an obligation or a natural force.
Ammu was directly exposed to the false meaning of love. Because her father was a “jealous man” (46), he would advertently beat her mother every night “with a brass flower vase”
(47). Since “human beings were creatures of habit, it was amazing the kind of things they could get used to” (49). Unfortunately, Ammu was a victim of this “habit.” Due to her parents’ miscommunication towards one another, Ammu restricts her love for her children; she uses this method to “protect” them from being rejected or to feel as if they have never been loved. Therefore, loving her children is a compulsion rather than it being a natural
Cited: Roy, Arundhati. The God Of Small Things. 1997. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1998. Print.