The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy
Jean-Franois Lyotard was a French philosopher and literary theorist, best known for his observations on Post-Modernism after the 70s, and especially on how Post-modernism is likely to influence our human condition and state of mind.
Lyotard states that "Post-Modernism favors seeing the world in more rhetorical terms as a field of contending smaller narratives, where people strive to make their point of view and their interests paramount by making their narratives more convincing." Indeed such is the case of Arundhati Roy's novel "The God of Small Things." There is no definitive story here, but a multitude of different stories that form a kaleidoscopic view of the events and experiences encountered by the characters of the book.
It is a critique of the "grand values", big things governing Indian society and mentality. What Lyotard considered to be a mark of Post-Modernism was that all values become debate topics. He expresses his discontentment towards the fact that although such debates may continue, the ones who are likely to win and legitimate their viewpoint are likely to be those detaining power, be it financial or State-granted. The interesting thing about Arundhati Roy's novel is that although characters like the twins Estha and Rahel or Velutha and Ammu do seem to possess a Post-Modern perspective on issues that are generally considered of high value by the Indian society and the caste system, since their actions fall into the realm of sin, proving their affinity for "small things" rather than the generally accepted grand ones-those who are in power can have the final word-like in the case of Velutha's condemnation to death ultimately for nothing but having an affair with Ammu.
As it has been previously mentioned, the Indian society presented by Roy values the big things like political affiliations, marriage, the whole caste system. However, the author manages to direct readers' attention towards the "small things" like the activities of small creatures, day-to-day habits and little pleasures, sins and emotions that society rejects as inadequate. The repression of such small things results in their recurrence under more unusual, secretive and even violent forms. Such is Estha's being molested as a child by the Orangedrink Lemondrink man, or the twins making love at a certain point in their adult life out of "hideous grief" for the loss of their mother.
These are indeed all condemned acts not only by State authorities, but also by any of the religious authorities in Ayemenem and most parts of the world. But what Roy does is give very detailed and even beautifully-written descriptions of even such episodes (like for instance, the incest scene). This can be related to Lyotard's assertion that: "The narrative function is losing its functors, its great hero, its great dangers, its great voyages, its great goal. It is being dispersed in clouds of narrative language elements - narrative, but also denotative, prescriptive, descriptive, and so on."
And because "Postmodern knowledge is not simply a tool of the authorities; it refines our sensitivity to differences and reinforces our ability to tolerate the incommensurable", we can view the unusual aspects and phenomena in this novel from this perspective. One could also say that this "incommensurable" may be related to the idea of the "small things".
The author's tone is sometimes playful, sometimes pathetic, as her voice speaks to us about family issues, guilt, love, betrayal, hatred, and caste restrictions. Arundhati Roy seems to weave a sort of cobweb which powerfully attracts the reader. Yet this reader is willing to play his part in the game and become the author's accomplice. In the world of Mammachi, Chacko, Estha, Rahel and Baby Kochamma, sadness is only a temporary state, whereas their joys are very intense. Their universe is filled with both tenderness and cruelty, irony mixed with nostalgia. The words and images used by the writer seem supple and agile. The whole atmosphere is charged with heavy fragrances and unknown flavors.
Brave and highly creative, Arundhati Roy paints a prose picture and offers it to her readers. All we need to do is get closer to this picture and look beyond each word she employs for writing her story, for they are all charged with mysteries and symbols.
