Summary of Chapter Two of The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy Essa

Summary of Chapter Two of The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy The system of caste in India is a bond of union, but splits up the society into sections. It revolves around the society's idea of what's "clean" and "pure". It exists not only in the form of Touchability and Untouchability but also gender difference and marital status. In Kerala, the setting for The God of Small Things, the caste system is deep-rooted; it has been made rigid by time and proliferated by the colonial rule. As a result, inevitably, the caste system greatly impacts the lives of the leading characters in the novel: Estha and Rahel, Ammu and Velutha. In my essay, I am going to explore the nature of the caste system and whom it affects. The revulsion of Untouchability is so inherent in the post-colonial society that even with the coming of the British, the untouchables in general were not only unable "to escape the scourge Untouchability". As Christians, "They were made to have separate churches, with separate services, and separate priests" and it was considered "a special favour (that) they were given their own separate Pariah Bishop." Further more, "After Independence they found they were not enititled to any Government benefits like job reservations or bank loans at low interest rates, because officially, on paper, there were (only) Christians, and therefore casteless." The life of Velutha, an untouchable, is greatly impacted not only in the way the other untouchables were. Since he was young, he had to conform to acts of inferiority. He had to enter by "the back entrance of the Ayemenem House to deliver the coconuts they [ Velutha and his dad] had plucked from the trees in the compound" and was not allowed into the ho... ...een traditions and are afforded no real recognition as said in what the novel calls "Locusts Stand I" or legal standing. Baby Kochama, once again hated them for that. She called them "Half-Hindhu Hybrids whom no self-respecting Syrian Christian would ever marry." As a result, further on the novel, their lives were greatly affected by her. The caste system on the whole traumatizes and affects Roy's protagonist's life in an unhealthy way. It took away the twin's need to belong to someone and their identity and, later on the novel, their childhood. It cost Ammu her love and her freedom. It deprived Velutha of a bright future and somehow caused his death. This way, Roy is able to let the reader see the atrocities of the caste system in India and be more aware about the stereotypes the society made to "different" people. Two thumbs and two toes up for Roy!