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’?

Part 1: Kerala’s Changing Society

Within Indian society, the effects of postcolonialism are felt through the perpetuation of colonialist cultural values. Roy highlights the effects of postcolonialism through the English language, and how this impacts the lives of the twins as individuals. Whenever the twins speak in their native language, Malayalam, Baby Kochamma makes them “write lines – ‘impositions’ she called them – I will always speak in English. I will always speak in English. ” (36). The fact that the request to speak in English is phrased as a command, as well as the negative connotation of ‘impositions’, highlights Baby Kochamma’s authoritative methods, and thus how the twins see the use of the English language as a command that must be followed, lest they incur punishment. By exploring the impacts of the English language specifically on the twins, Roy implies that the adoption of the English language into Indian society as a whole is an imposition. The fact that Baby Kochamma has experienced colonialist oppression throughout her own lifetime additionally creates an inherent irony, as Baby Kochamma’s own punishment of the twins directly mirrors the actions of said colonialist power, demonstrating to the reader how the citizens of Kerala have internalised English colonialist attitudes. Thus, Roy emphasises how colonialist values shape cultural values in Keralan society, impacting the lives of the twins. Furthermore, although the novel is written in English, Roy utilises certain Malayalam phrases, and translates them into English for the reader, such as when Estha is remembering Sophie Mol’s death and he hears the song of the Onam boatrace: “ Enda da korangacha, chandi ihra thenjadu? (Hey Mr Monkey man, why’s your bum so red?)” (196). However, as the song continues, Roy no longer chooses to translate the lyrics into English for the reader: “Theeyome Thithome Tharaka Thithome Theem” (197). By discontinuing this translation, the reader’s suspension of disbelief is broken, confronting them with the fact that their understanding of the novel has been manufactured, as they can only understand

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