THEMES IN THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS

(Tanveer Akhtar Khan/Professor of English/Principal (R) Govt. College of Science Multan)

A theme is the main idea of a story. A novel may have multiple themes or
ideas. Readers can detect a theme by paying attention to any large concept
that is continually featured in a novel. “The God of Small Things” by Arundhati
Roy showcases the following themes for its readers.

1-Family
The God of Small Things is probably, more than anything else, a novel about
family. It explores the relationships between brother & sister, mother & child,
grandparent & grandchild, aunt & niece/nephew, & cousins. It looks at the
ways families are forced to stick together and also how they fall apart.
Unconditional family love is a major issue on the table here. The members of
the Ipe family find themselves only obligated to each other because of blood
relation; they actually do not care about one another.

2-Society and Class

The characters in The God of Small Things are constantly coming up against the
forces of society and class. Indian society, for centuries, was structured by a
very rigid caste system. The class boundaries were never to be crossed. Even
though the novel takes place after the caste system stopped being legal, its
characters still find themselves restricted by what is and is not deemed socially
acceptable. Social rules dictate who can love whom, which occupations people
can adopt, and who is better than whom.

3-Small Things & Big Things

The small things of the novel's title are those that make up the fabric of day-to-
day life. Love and other emotions, the beauty of nature, the proper use of
one's gifts and talents—these are the small things that make life meaningful to
each person. This is in contrast to the big things—politics, cultural norms,
status, money—which are sadly what many people get caught up in. Especially
in the Ipe family, the big things are viewed as important. The indulgence in
small things is unavoidable but it leads to tragedy.
Velutha is called the God of Small Things. He can notice the small things of
beauty in the natural world, and he can take the time to craft perfectly made
tiny things. He can spend joyful hours with children, and he can love. The other
adults in the novel stay wrapped up in the big things. They are hardly attentive
to the small things.

4-Guilt and Blame

Guilt and blame are a tricky duo in this novel, lurking around every corner.
Some horrible things happen here: Estha is molested; Sophie Mol drowns; a
family breaks apart. The narrator, sometimes, suggests that these things might
have been destined to happen. But the characters make sense of the tragedies
they are living through by finding someone to blame. Margaret Kochamma, for
instance, finds it easiest to blame Valutha for Sophie Mol's death, while Chacko
blames Ammu.
Along with blame, guilt is an emotion all too familiar to our characters.
Unfortunately, we often see instances of guilt or shame where there should be
none. For example, Estha feels incredibly guilty after the Orangedrink
Lemondrink Man molests him.

5-Loss of Innocence
The loss of innocence is always very painful. Estha and Rahel, both separately
and together, lose their innocence throughout the course of the novel. The
most touching example of Estha's loss of innocence is his molestation. The
same is true of the time when he is forced to condemn Velutha. However, he
tries to prevent the same thing from happening to Rahel. Both children
undergo a loss of innocence through painful experiences but Estha is the more
profoundly affected of the two.

6-Forbidden Love
Love is a dominant theme in the novel. It repeatedly invokes the "Love Laws"
that dictate "who should be loved, and how. And how much." Love and social
rules are constantly butting heads in the book. Ammu and Velutha's love is
forbidden because of their caste difference. Rahel and Estha's love is expressed
physically at the end of the book resulting in the taboo of incest. Mammachi's
feelings towards her son, Chacko, also blur the lines between familial and
romantic love. And Baby Kochamma is in love with Father Mulligan, a priest
who can never marry. In The God of Small Things, love constantly violates
social restrictions. It also tells us what happens when love is thwarted and not
allowed to flourish.

7-Fear
In a novel in which so many bad things happen, it is not surprising that fear
comes to the forefront. There is hardly any character who doesn't demonstrate
fear at some point. Then, fear is not just a reaction to something scary; it is a
powerful motivator that pushes characters to act in particular & often
dangerous ways.
Estha's fear of the Orangedrink Lemondrink Man and Rahel's fear that Ammu
doesn't love her anymore provoke the twins to run away across the river. Baby
Kochamma and Mammachi's fear of social disgrace pushes them to lock Ammu
away and send the police after Velutha. Fear is a mechanism behind many of
the major, life-changing moments of the novel and the result is often more
terrifying than the thing that was originally feared.

8-Death
Death resonates throughout the novel. We find out from the very beginning
that Sophie Mol is going to die and our anticipation of and eventual reaction to
her death keeps us on the edge from the first to the very last page. But Sophie
Mol is not the only person who comes face to face with death. Velutha dies in
an incredibly graphic and violent way. Ammu's death scene is full of anguish
and fear. The novel asks us to consider not just the experience of death but
also that of witnessing it.