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Ellie Barrett
Mr. Buckner
January 18, 2016
IB English HL
An Analysis of Ammu in The God of Small Things
Ammu is a very interesting character in The God of Small Things. Her interactions with
her two children, Estha and Rahel, force the reader to question whether or not she truly loves
these two characters. There are many events in Ammus life that cause her to be the way she is.
Throughout the novel, the reader discovers that Ammu has faced many hardships in her life that
cause her to come off as strict and unloving. In the end, it is evident that it is not Ammus fault
for being unloving to her children because of the way she was treated in her family, the struggle
of her divorce, and the affair with Velutha.
Ammu grew up in a tough family. She had two parents, Mammachi and Pappachi, as well
as an older brother, Chacko. Chacko seemed to be the favorite child, as her parents both praised
him for his achievements in school. Chacko had been a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford and was
permitted excesses and eccentricities nobody else was. (Roy 38). This quote describes Chackos
success. Chacko was the only child sent to school because Mammachi and Pappachi felt that
there was no use in sending a woman to school. Ammu was never treated the same way as
Chacko, which immediately causes a sense of degradation in Ammu. She was never good
enough for her parents. Ammu describes her early life as just waiting around to find someone to
marry because thats all her parents want her to do. She was twenty-seven that year, and in the
pit of her stomach she carried the knowledge that, for her, life had been lived. (Roy 38). This
quote is very tragic for Ammu. She feels like she has already finished her life and hasnt
accomplished much. Her family environment has forced her to sit around and wait for a man to
marry. Ammu did not choose this life. It was clear that Chacko was the one to go to school and

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become successful. This type of environment can be very depressing, which is why Ammu does
not know how to treat her own children later in life. She did not have the best parents as
examples. Pappachi is an example of violence as well. Then Chacko came home for a summer
vacation from Oxford. He had grown to be a big man, in those days, strong from rowing for
Ballilol. A week after he arrived he found Pappachi beating Mammachi in the study. Chacko
strode into the room, caught Pappachis vase-hand and twisted it around his back. (Roy 47).
This violence is another example as to why Ammu struggles to parent her children correctly. She
grew up in a home in which she was not taught the traditional, loving roles a family has. This
struggle is also evident in her divorce with her husband.
Ammus marriage with her husband was tragic as well. While living in Ayemenem, there
was not much to do besides wait for a marriage proposal. Ammu was getting older and there
were none coming her way, so her father agreed to let her visit a distant aunt who lived in
Calcutta. There, she met her husband. He proposed to Ammu five days after they first met.
Ammu didnt pretend to be in love with him. She just weighed the odds and accepted. She
thought that anything, anyone at all. would be better than returning to Ayemenem. (Roy 39).
This quote proves that Ammu did not feel any type of true love toward her husband. She was so
determined to live her life and get married that she was willing to pick the first man that came
up, which is essentially what she did. It was only after her marriage when Ammu realized the
mistake she had made. Ammu realized that the slightly feverish glitter in her bridegrooms eyes
had not been love, or even excitement at the prospect of carnal bliss, but approximately eight
large pegs of whiskey. Straight. Neat. (Roy 39). Ammus husband was a drunk. Nothing
changed about this, even when she gave birth to Estha and Rahel. The day of the twins birth, her
husband was found outside drunk. This truly shaped Ammus character for the rest of the novel.

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After her divorce with her husband, she felt the need to show the world that a single, independent
woman can raise two children. She is strict with Estha and Rahel because she does not want to
ruin her reputation. Ammu loved her children (of course), but their wide-eyed vulnerability and
their willingness to love people who didnt really love them exasperated her and sometimes
made her want to hurt them--just as an education, a protection. (Roy 42). Ammu does care
about her children, but she does not want them to openly love anyone. She does not want them to
get hurt, just like she did with her husband. Ammus affair with Velutha also shows that she does
have the ability to truly love someone.
The fact that Ammu had an affair with an untouchable shows great character. In this
novel, untouchables are equivalent to nothing. They are seen as the lowest of the low, and it is
very shocking that Ammu had an affair with one. The fact that Ammu was able to love someone
whom everyone viewed as an untouchable shows that Ammu does have the ability to truly love
her children. Hooded in her own hair, Ammu leaned against herself in the bathroom mirror and
tried to weep. For herself. For the God of Small Things. For the sugar-dusted twin midwives of
her dream. (Roy 214). This quotes opens up the reader to the emotional side of Ammu. She is
worried about her future. She does not know what is going to happen to her children, to Velutha,
the God of Small Things, or herself. Her affair with Velutha allows the reader to see a deeper,
more emotional side to Ammu. She truly does care about her twins; she just does not always
show it well.
Ammu had a hard life growing up. She was never as great as her brother, and her parents
expected nothing more than her marrying a man and having children. The lack of love shown in
her family makes it difficult to show true love to her own children. Ammu does care about them,
but she was never shown love when she was younger. Her ex-husband impacts her life as well.

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His lack of love towards Ammu is another example as to why Ammu finds it so difficult to show
true love. It is with Velutha where she shows her true character of being able to love, and the
reader is opened up to her deeper side. This novel portrays Ammu as a very strict mother, yet she
cares deeply about both of them. She just does not know how to show it all the time.

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Works Cited
Roy, Arundhati. The God of Small Things. Hammersmith, London: Fourth Estate, 2009. Print.