An Analysis of Why the God of Small Things Is an Indian Book

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The God of Small Things makes many references to traditional Indian society as well as the Indian way of life. The book has many Malayalam words interspersed among its pages. Many of the characters have been referred to by their traditional Malayalam names. This gives the book a distinctly Indian feel. Indians are often in awe of foreigners, especially white skinned people. This has been portrayed in the book. Sophie Mol and Margaret Kochamma were British. The whole family went to pick them up from the airport in Cochin. Estha and Rahel were treated like ambassadors who were representing India. Arundhati Roy brings in humour here by referring to them as “Ambassador E. Pelvis and Ambassador R. Stickinsect”. Estha and Rahel’s pronunciation was corrected and Baby Kochamma put up a British accent. Pappachi is called an anglophile by Chacko. He considered the British to be the cream of society and enjoyed fraternizing with them. He would take care to look dapper and wear expensive suits. He is said to have worn ‘khaki jodhpurs’ which are used for horse riding. Yet he had never ridden a horse. He yearned to be a part of the rich aristocracy which in colonial India predominantly consisted of the British. The book also emphasizes on the fact that India is a patriarchal society. Often men take advantage of their social status. Pappachi was a cruel and vicious man who put up a suave urbane exterior. He would abuse his wife, Mammachi as well as Ammu. When he retired, he realized that his wife was in the prime of her life and was gaining fame for her pickles and jams. Driven by jealousy, he would beat her with a brass vase. Pappachi stopped Mammachi from learning the violin when he heard from her teacher, Lausley Tieffenthal that she was a concert grade violinist. Indian society is divided into sects and castes that people are born into. There can be no diffusion
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