1 Who is Estha?

Esthappen Yako, also known as Estha, is the twin brother of Rahel in The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. At the beginning of the novel, Estha can be seen as a happy, carefree child that sings at the top of his lungs to Elvis and The Sound of Music. However, throughout the novel, Esthas happiness and innocence is repeatedly taken away due to tragic events that occur during his lifetime. Estha was always a happy child and was in love with the movie The Sound of Music. His family went to see it for the third time when he was seven-years-old. During the movie, Estha exits the theatre to go into the lobby and is singing at the top of his lungs. The worker at the concession stand, Orangedrink Lemondrink man, heard Esthas singing and convinced Estha to come behind the counter with him. The Orangedrink Lemondrink man molested Estha, which was the first instance that took Esthas happiness and innocence away. After this incident, Estha has Two Thoughts that run through his mind. These two thoughts are, Anything can happen to Anyone and Its best to be prepared (Roy 186). These thoughts are caused by the paranoia of the Orangedrink Lemondrink coming back into Esthas life at any moment. The molestation by the Orangedrink Lemondrink man has caused Estha to fear every movie he makes, which drains his happiness and innocence from his life. Estha realizes how scary the world truly can be because of the movie theatre experience. He decides that he needs to invent a plan that will allow him to escape any contact with the Orangedrink Lemondrink man. The plan is to row across the river near his house and live at the History House. Unfortunately, this plan backfired and ended with the death of Sophie Mol, Esthas cousin. Rahel and Sophie Mol both decided to join

2 Estha to the History House. The boat flipped over in the middle of the river, but only Estha and Rahel knew how to swim. Estha and Rahel made it safely to the shore before they realized that Sophie Mol could not swim, and she was already dead. This was the next tragic event that occurred in Esthas life. The guilt from Sophie Mols death took over his mind. At Sophie Mol's funeral and in the days before Estha was Returned, they saw her swollen eyes, and with the self-centeredness of children, held themselves wholly culpable for her grief (Roy 307). Estha held himself with the entire responsibility of Sophie Mols death, which caused that happiness he once had as a child to diminish further. Also, the feeling of innocence has completely escaped him now that he holds himself responsible for the death of his cousin. Sadly, this is not that last tragic event that occurs within his lifetime. Estha and Rahel are forced to leave their great-aunts house along with their mother, Ammu. This is because they were blamed for the death of Sophie Mol. Estha is then forced to go live with his father whom he has not seen since he was a baby. This separates Estha from Rahel and Ammu. Estha has spent his life trying to protect Rahel from loosing her happiness and innocence, but now he is being separated from her. This separation intensifies his unhappiness. This was the last time Estha saw Ammu and the last time that Estha saw Rahel for decades. When Estha returns to Rahel years later, his happy and innocent character that he once was has fully disappeared. When Estha returns to his old home decades later, readers notice that he has stopped speaking entirely. He prefers to engage in quiet activities such as, long walks and chores. The guilt and painful events that has taken over his entire life has wholly changed

3 what Estha once was as a child. Estha transformed from an extroverted, giddy child to an introverted, melancholy adult due to the circumstances he was forced into as a child. Estha, the twin brother of Rahel, in The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy shifted from happiness and innocence to gloom and guilt over the duration of his lifetime. At the beginning of his childhood, Estha is a jolly kid that loves to sing as loud as possible. However, throughout the novel, Esthas happiness and innocence is repeatedly taken away due to tragic events that occur during his lifetime.