God of Small Things Discussion Chapters 15-21

Luminary:
Alliteration: (page 257)
She swayed slightly as she spoke.
The repetition of the beginning consonant draws the reader's attention.
Allusion: Heart of Darkness (page 274)
He was walking swiftly now towards the Heart of Darkness.
Allusion to the novel, Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad. Both novels share a similar
aspect of being very complex in their contrasting views and allegorical undertones.
Anaphora: (page 285)
His towel. His stainless-steel tumbler. His smells. His secrets. His love.
His hope. His madness. His infinite joy. His real foot was bare.
This sentence was used to describe what an man from the Stationworld carried within
his artificial leg.The repetition of the beginning word his draws attention to the
sentence itself and the purpose behind it.
Imagery: (page 294)
His skull was fractured in three places. His nose and both his cheekbones were
smashed, leaving his face pulpy, undefined. The blow to his mouth had split open his
upper lip and broken six teeth, three of which were embedded in his lower lip, hideously
inverting his beautiful smile.
This excerpt shows a very detailed description of Veluthas face after being beaten
when he was discovered with Ammu. The use of language evokes the readers senses
especially their sense of sight.
Personification: (page 317)
Biology designed the dance. Terror timed it. Dictated the rhythm with which their bodies
answered each other.
This excerpt displays personification as intangible things are performing human actions.
This adds more depth to the section within the novel.

Sophie Mols Death

Died of her own accord - Rahel and Estha wanted to leave on their own, Sophie
decided to come because she wanted to make a statement
Tragic, yet ironic, because she was the most equipped and apprehensive person on the
boat
Police Incident
Baby Kochamma orchestrates the police finding and beating Velutha- claims that
Velutha was responsible for kidnapping the children, Rahel and Estha almost forced to
verify story in order to save Ammus life

 Veluthas death is on Baby Kochammas shoulders - Ammu goes to try to clear Veluthas
name, yet he is already beaten
Veluthas place in the caste contributed to the haste in which he was accused of
kidnapping
Because Baby Kochamma is above Velutha, no one questioned her accusation and no
one would have believed Veluthas defense anyways
Estha and Rahel Reunited
Why did Estha and Rahel decide to be intimate? Did they always feel this way about
each other?
This act was a physical representation of the twins mental connection
It was more than likely in the heat of the moment, neither of them made the conscious
decision to consummate their love
Final Thoughts On the Ending
We finally understand the title, with emphasis on focusing on the Small Things, as we
are not promised a future
Interesting that the author chose a scene with Ammu and Velutha to end the novel
rather than a scene with the main characters, Rahel and Velutha
We dont really understand why this is or how this ties the end of the novel together
Also, almost every scene in the book is tied back to Sophie Mol which were not really
sure of the significance of this either. Maybe Sophie Mol is more symbolic than we
think?