CHAPTER 15 OF GOD OF SMALL THINGS

THE CROSSING
SUMMARY
▸ It was past midnight and it was raining
▸ Velutha was sitting on a staircase leading to the
river
▸ He swims through the river naked and gets to
the other side
▸ He walks through a swamp to the History House
▸ He thinks things will get worse then better as he
walked toward the Heart of Darkness
ANALYSIS
▸ Velutha was Estha and Rahel’s best friend, therefore his
loss would reflect badly on them and haunt them

▸ When he says, “Things will get worse.. then better,” he

then realises he will be free from the life he lived as an
Untouchable

▸ As an untouchable, he is not important enough to be

recognized or acknowledged, showing how he leaves no
ripples in the water, and no footprints on the shore

▸ He is then referred to as the “God of Loss” and the “God

of Small Things”.
WRITER’S EFFECT
“The moonlit river fell from his swimming arms like
sleeves of silver.

‣ This portrayed the movement of his arms striking through

the water swiftly yet powerfully, and how the water coated
his skin and created a gleaming and shimmering effect like
silver would, caused by the moon reflecting over the river’s
waters
WRITER’S EFFECT
“...left no ripples of water...no footprints on the shore”

‣ These two phrases showed how Velutha was almost

invisible to the world, because of being an Untouchable.
Although his actions were considered to be the worst
thing to happen in a society such as in Ayemenem, he is
still an Untouchable, and was not important enough to be
noticed by the world.