2022 IB Diploma Extended Essays

How does Arundhati Roy explore the impacts of cultural values on the lives of individuals in ‘The God of Small Things’?

Introduction

‘The God of Small Things’ takes place against the backdrop of the 1947 Partition of the Indian Subcontinent; set in 1969, the novel tackles the issues of postcolonialism and the rise of communism in Kerala. Throughout the novel, Arundhati Roy explores the impacts of both traditional and colonialist cultural values on individuals, by illuminating the effects of major socio-political issues on the lives of characters. Through this exploration, Roy illuminates the intersection of cultural values with post-colonialism, communism and tourism, representative of Kerala’s changing society. Roy specifically highlights how authoritative powers dictate the lives of the twins, Estha and Rahel, through language, and the life of Velutha, through the traditional Indian caste system. Furthermore, Roy establishes how the caste system restricts love within Keralan society. This particularly impacts Velutha and Ammu, as they only find salvation through defying the ‘Love Laws’. Ultimately, Roy reveals that trauma has become normalised in Keralan society, due to the impacts of colonisation on societal values. The specific effects of society’s collective trauma are explored through inability of the twins to heal from their shared traumatic experiences. The methodology used for this investigation was a close reading of the text, followed by critical secondary research into the context of the novel, and academic articles on the novel itself. By first conducting a close reading of the novel, initial ideas on key themes and techniques implemented by Roy to fulfill her artistic intention, and the effects of these techniques on the reader, were illuminated. Then, through secondary research, these initial ideas were contextualised and expanded upon, through the understanding and implementation of specific literary theories used by academics in the field. In particular, Post-Colonialist Theory allowed me to understand how Roy sheds light on issues previously unexplored in the Western canon

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