The God of Small Things Flashcards
When was it published
in 1997
Roy debut novel
Why was Roy never confident of its popularity
In her opinion it was a ‘ very fragile personal book’
What is the novel a series of
analepsis - flashback
proslepsis - flash forward to its horrifying conclusion
How does the novel conform to and defy the buildings roman
Conforms- Roys interest in the continuity between childhood and adulthood
doesn’t conform- the twins troubled returned to Ayemenem suspends this
What has Roy said about the structure of the book
” the structure of the book ambushes the story- by that I mean the novel ends more or less in the middle of the story and it ends with ammu and Velutha making love and it ends on the word tomorrow
What does Saadia Toor say of transgressive sexuality in the novel
it haunts the novel in the same way it overshadows some famous english fictions about India such as E M Forster A Passage to India (1924)
What is the distinction between making and breaking rules like in the novel
far from clear- all the members of the family transgress in different ways
‘ they all broke the rules, they all crossed into forbidden territory
Gothic conventions in the god of small things
the haunted house the antestral curse dark imagery doubling inscest
What effect does Roys use of Gothic conventions have
creates compelling sense of angst and disorder
What is an example of the gothic supernatural in the novel
Pappachi’s moth
Pappachic torment stems from his greatest setback in life “ not having had the moth that he discovered named after him’
the moth embodies the family curse and hants its offspring
In relation to Pappachi’s moth , what does Fred Botting note as a common theme of the gothic
the sins of the father are visited on the offspring
What does Freud say about the double (the twins)
the double serves as a prominent motif that produces an uncanny effect where a person may identify himself with another and so become unsure of his true self; or he may substitute the others self for his own
While it may appear paradoxical for Roy and other writers of colonised countries to utilise a western narrative form to explore postcolonial issues, what function does this have
functions as a form of empowerment
opportunity to give the marganlized a voice through reinvention of genre
What does MacAndrew point out about the gothic double and what does Roy do with this
The gothic double typically portrays the polar opposites of good and evil
roy reinvented this by portraying the twins as one rather than one as good and one as evil
creates ambiguity in their identity
What is the effect of the novels disjointed structure
creates a sense of disorder and uncertainty
