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Essays on The God of Small Things

What makes a good the god of small things essay topics.

When it comes to writing an essay on The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, choosing the right topic is crucial. A good essay topic not only captures the essence of the novel but also allows for in-depth analysis and critical thinking. Here are some recommendations on how to brainstorm and choose a compelling essay topic for The God of Small Things.

To brainstorm and choose an essay topic for The God of Small Things, start by considering the themes and motifs present in the novel. Think about the complexities of family, love, social hierarchy, and the impact of historical events on individual lives. Reflect on the characters' actions and motivations, the narrative structure, and the use of language and imagery. Consider the novel's setting in Kerala, India, and the cultural and political context in which the story unfolds.

A good essay topic for The God of Small Things should be thought-provoking and open to interpretation. It should allow for a deeper exploration of the novel's themes and characters, and it should provide ample opportunity for analysis and critical engagement. A strong essay topic should also be original and unique, offering a fresh perspective on the novel that goes beyond the obvious.

Best The God of Small Things Essay Topics

• The role of the river as a symbol in The God of Small Things
• The impact of social hierarchy on the characters' lives
• The use of language and imagery in conveying the novel's themes
• The concept of love and its complexities in the novel
• The portrayal of childhood and innocence in The God of Small Things
• The political and social context of Kerala, India, in the novel
• The significance of the "Small Things" in the story
• The theme of forbidden love and its consequences
• The narrative structure and its effect on the reader's understanding of the novel
• The role of memory and nostalgia in shaping the characters' identities
• The impact of historical events on the characters' lives
• The representation of gender and power dynamics in the novel
• The theme of betrayal and its repercussions in The God of Small Things
• The symbolism of the moth in the novel
• The tension between tradition and modernity in the story
• The use of magical realism in The God of Small Things
• The theme of loss and longing in the novel
• The portrayal of social injustice and discrimination in the novel
• The significance of the title "The God of Small Things"
• The impact of the novel's structure on the reader's emotional engagement with the story

The God of Small Things essay topics Prompts

• Imagine yourself as one of the characters in The God of Small Things. How would you navigate the challenges and conflicts presented in the novel?
• Explore the concept of "forbidden love" in The God of Small Things and its impact on the characters' lives. How does the novel challenge traditional notions of love and relationships?
• Consider the role of memory and nostalgia in shaping the narrative of The God of Small Things. How does the novel use these elements to create a sense of longing and loss?
• Analyze the significance of the river as a symbol in the novel. What does it represent, and how does it contribute to the overall themes and motifs of the story?
• Reflect on the use of language and imagery in The God of Small Things. How do these literary devices enhance the reader's understanding of the novel and its characters?

Choosing a good essay topic for The God of Small Things requires careful consideration of the novel's themes, characters, and narrative elements. By brainstorming and exploring unique perspectives, you can find a compelling topic that allows for in-depth analysis and critical engagement. Whether you choose to delve into the symbolism of the river, the complexities of forbidden love, or the impact of social hierarchy, a strong essay topic will enable you to explore the rich layers of Arundhati Roy's masterpiece.

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An Analysis of Metaphors and Similes in "The God of Small Things"

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The Significance of Time in "The God of Small Things"

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Arundhati Roy

Novel, Psychological Fiction, Domestic Fiction

Estha, Aleyooty Ammachi, Rahel, Ammu, Baba

15 March 1997, by Arundhati Roy

Family drama novel

Set in Kerala in the 1960s,the book follows Ammu’s family through both ordinary and tragic events, focusing most memorably on her “two-egg twins,” Estha and Rahel. The accidental death by drowning of a visiting English cousin is to have a pivotal effect on their young lives. The reader pieces together a childhood world that is interrupted by adult tragedies and the effect these have on Velutha, the twins’ boatman friend who belongs to India’s “untouchable” caste.

The novel explores how small, seemingly insignificant things shape people's behavior and their lives. The novel also explores the lingering effects of casteism in India. Other important themes include forbidden love, social discrimination, betrayal, and misogyny.

Estha, Rahel, Ammu, Velutha, Chacko, Baby Kochamma

The God of Small Things is a piece of fiction but some critics have tried to find autobiographical parallels in the novel while at the same warning against drawing any simplistic connections between the novel and the writer's life.Some of the similarities between Roy's life and that of the characters she creates include her own Syrian Christian and Hindu lineage; the divorce of her parents when she and her brother were very young; her return to the family home in Ayemenem after her mother's divorce.

The God of Small Things received stellar reviews in major American newspapers and in Canadian publications. Time named it one of the best books of the year. In India, the book was criticised especially for its unrestrained description of sexuality. It won the Booker Prize in 1997. In 2014, the novel was ranked in The Telegraph as one of the 10 all-time greatest Asian novels.

“That's what careless words do. They make people love you a little less.” “If you're happy in a dream, does that count?” “And the air was full of Thoughts and Things to Say. But at times like these, only the Small Things are ever said. Big Things lurk unsaid inside.” “Change is one thing. Acceptance is another.”

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The God of Small Things

50 pages • 1 hour read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-2

Chapters 3-6

Chapters 7-10

Chapters 11-14

Chapters 15-21

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

Examine the tension the narrator develops between Big Things and Small Things. Provide examples of the Big Things and a similar list of Small Things. Which does the novel appear to endorse?

Using the information provided about his childhood, his contentious relationship with his father, his flirtation with communism, his indifference to authority, his charisma, and his way with the children, define how Velutha, the Black carpenter, occupies the moral center of the novel. In what way is he a Christ figure?

Chart how the novel defines sex . Use Estha’s encounter in the movie theater, Ammu and Velutha’s assignations at History House , and Rahel and Estha’s taboo night together. Do you see any relationship between love and sex? Does sex save or corrupt?

With the delicate eye of a poet, Roy invests everyday objects with layers of suggestion and meaning. Take any of these objects and discuss how they become increasingly more invested with symbolic implications as the narrative revisits them at odd moments: Sophie’s silver thimble, Chacko’s model airplanes, Pappachi’s moth, Rahel’s sunglasses, the fetid river, or the elephant chained in front of the theater/temple.

In objecting to awarding the Man Booker Prize to the novel, critics cited the novel’s claustrophobic sense of pessimism. Does the novel manage to offer any glimmer of hope? Use the story threads of Ammu , Chacko, Margaret, Rahel, or Velutha.

Research the caste system in modern India, particularly after the Indian government outlawed its practices in the late 1940s. How does the novel use this centuries-old socioeconomic paradigm to suggest how its discriminatory cultural mindset still survives?

The most malevolent character in the novel is Baby Kochamma. Investigate what might motivate her to destroy Velutha and Ammu . Does the elaborate lie she fashions to save the reputation of her family at all mitigate how she manipulates Estha to lie to the police? Does her obsession with the Irish monk explain her behavior? What does her sedentary life reveal about her character?

Novelist John Updike, in his laudatory review published in The New Yorker , said that a novel of such ambition must necessarily invent its own language. Take a short passage and define this original language: Roy’s upending of conventional grammar (using nouns as verbs or adjectives as nouns), the use of fragments, the use of hyphens, the sporadic capitalization, the eccentric punctuation, the rhythm of repetition , the neologisms.

Who/what is responsible for the death of Sophie Mol? Examine the chains of causality the novel offers. Why does the novel resist a tidy narrative to account for the drowning?

The arrest and beating death of Velutha is unsettling and disturbing. What does the logic of the police’s swift and bloody action and the complete lack of transparency or accountability say about the nature of authority and racism? Does this heinous action relate to cultures other than late-20th-century India?

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The God of Small Things Essay Topics & Writing Assignments

How does The God of Small Things show how social, cultural, idealistic, and religious discrimination and racism run strong in all sects of the Indian society?

Discuss the relationship of Rahel and Estha in these terms: a) Is the twins' relationship a sustaining, positive force for both of them? or b) Is the twins' relationship an unhealthy, destructive force for both of them? Use specific themes and events in the book.

Discuss the following statement: "...it really began in the days when the Love Laws were made. The laws that lay down who should be loved, and how. And how much." What were the Love Laws and which ones were broken in the novel?

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The God of Small Things Essay

Introduction.

The novel The God of Small Things was written by Roy Arundhati. It features the story of two Indian twins that happened during their childhood, and how ‘love laws’ destroyed their lives. The rules state how one ought to love, how much one should love as well as people who they ought to fall in love with.

Generally, the book describes how people’s lives and behavior may be affected by some minor things. This paper discusses the novel The God of Small Things, which mainly focuses on love laws people apply to, thus they are responsible for their enforcement. The guilty as well as punishment for breaking them are the main issues described in the story.

Love is a force that cannot be controlled by law. It is so powerful that it cannot be influenced or adhere to some social code of conduct. The book highlights different love stories that can be said to touch the biological, family, erotic spheres as well as issue of hope. However, the novel mainly focuses on taboo and forbidden love.

Writer of the novel considers breaking the laws of love a taboo in the Indian Community. Such an action leads to serious punishment to those who break it. Generally, according to the novel, love laws are rules and traditions set in the Indian community that are aimed at restoring Indian love culture despite increasing globalization. It also focuses on ensuring that the community restores its culture and traditions.

These laws were established to guide children and young adults according to the expectations of the society and with whom they ought to have fallen in love, how much they were expected to love such people and how they should have loved the people they claimed to be in love with ( Kline 370).

These rules or laws of love were applicable to all the people in the society irrespective of sex or age. However, it mainly focused on young adults and teenagers who had a dream of marrying and/or were in search for a marriage spouse. It was applicable to people with blood relations.

These laws aimed at controlling marriage between people of the same biological parents. Laws are adopted to control certain aspects, but adherence to these rules depends on the law enforcers. Love laws were concerned in family matters and enforced by the elders in the society, especially by elderly family members, such as parents, among others. Parents were to ensure that their children were not allowed to love each other because it was considered a taboo in the Indian community (Batra and Messier 112).

Love laws were applicable to biological relatives, such as a brother and a sister. Therefore, biological partners were guilty of breaking love laws in case they married each other or engaged in intimate activities. The laws were observed in the society, and those found guilty of breaking the rules were severely punished because it was considered a taboo in the Indian community (Kline 370). Breaking of the love laws is one of the worst taboos, and its punishment is severe.

For instance, Velutha was banished because of breaking the love law, while Ammu was locked up in her room. Furthermore, in another incident from the book, Vellya was willing to kill his biological son because he discovered that he had been associating with the touchable class yet they belonged to the untouchable class in the society. Therefore, breaking the love laws could lead to death penalty or banishment (Batra and Messier 118).

Works Cited

Batra, Nandita and Vartan P Messier. Transgression and Taboo Critical Essays. Puerto Rico: Caribbean Chapter Publications. 2005, Print.

Kline, Donna C. The Laws of Love: A Legal Guide for Couples. Blue House Press, 2007. Print.

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