"Now, all these years later, Rahel has a memory of waking up one night giggling at Estha's funny dream. She has other memories too that she has no right to have. She remembers, for instance (though she hadn't been there), what the Orangedrink Lemondrink Man did to Estha in Abhilash Talkies. She remembers the taste of the tomato sandwiches – Estha's sandwiches, that Estha ate – on the Madras Mail to Madras." (Roy 10) Rahel demonstrates how profoundly she understands Estha in this scene. The two share a deep connection that is hinted at being very close throughout the story and it is almsot as if they are one person. This is significant to the story because the two share memories even if they are not supposed to be shared. In Estha's case memories of the Orangedrink Lemondrink man.
"If I were you," he said, "I'd go home quietly." Then he tapped her breasts with his baton. Gently. Tap tap. As though he was choosing mangoes from a basket.... Inspector Thomas Mathew seemed to know whom he could pick on and whom he couldn't. Policemen have that instinct." (Roy 10) There is great division of class in India between those with power and wealth and those who are of "less value". In this case Thomas Matthew sexually harasses Ammu by tapping her breasts, showing that since he's a man, he is automatically more powerful than she is. This is significant to the story because there is much prejudice and dislike for those who are of a lower social class.
"When they lowered Sophie Mol's coffin into the ground in the little cemetery behind the church, Rahel knew that she still wasn't dead. She heard the soft sounds of the red mud and the hardsounds of the orange laterite that spoiled the shining coffin polish." (Roy 8) When I first read this passage I wondered if Sophie Mol was actually dead because she was just described as being living. These different versions of reality in a child's mind can cause quite a confusion for the reader. This is significant to the story because it transports the reader into the point of view Rahel is experiencing.
“Esthappen and Rahel thought of themselves together as Me, and separately, individually, as We or Us. As though they were a rare breed of Siamese twins, physically separate, but with joint identities. Now these years later, Rahel has a memory of waking up one night giggling at Estha’s funny dream.” (pg. 4-5)
· Location: This quote occurs at the beginning of the novel when we are introduced to the twins.
· Significance: This quote is significant because it right off the bat demonstrates the close-knit relationship between Estha and Rahel.
· Response: I believe that this quote foreshadows how close Rahel and Estha become in the future. It also implies that Estha is the older and more protective twin. He is often seen doing everything in his power to protect Rahel throughout the novel.
“Only Rahel noticed Sophie Mol’s secret cartwheel in her coffin…. She imagined him dropping like a dark star out of the sky that he had made. Lying broken on the hot church floor, dark blood spilling from his skull like a secret” (pg 8)
· Location: This was at the beginning of the novel during one of the flashbacks of Sophie Mol’s funeral.
· Significance: Rahel and Estha were very often blamed for the death of Sophie Mol. Sophie and Rahel were good friends and this was Sophie’s way of showing Rahel that it wasn’t her fault.
· Response: I believe this quote does a good job of accurately portraying the relationship that Sophie Mol and Rahel had. Sophie very often would build Rahel up when she was down about anything.
There would be two flasks of water. Boiled water for Margaret Kochamma and Sophie Mol, tap water for everybody else.” (Pg 45)
· Location: this occurred towards the beginning when the audience was introduced to Margaret Kochamma and Sophie Mol when they came to Ayemenem.
· Significance: this is significant because it demonstrates how Margaret and Sophie were valued more by the family then Ammu and the twins were.
· Response: I thought that this accurately depicted how Baby Kochamma held Sophie and Margaret at a much higher pedestal than she did the twins or Ammu.
· “Rahel’s ‘list’ was an attempt to order chaos. She revised it constantly, torn forever between love and duty. It was by no means a true gauge of her feelings” (Roy 144). This quote is located towards the end of chapter six. When Estha, Rahel, and Sophie Mol are talking at the airport about whom Sophie Mol loves most, she says her dead father Joe. She says that although Chacko is her father, Joe is her real dad and she loves him much more. Rahel then asks Sophie Mol if she wants to hear her list of who she loves most. This quote is significant because Rahel says she is constantly torn between love and duty. The love laws constantly dictate feelings in Rahel’s life, which is why she says her list is not a true gauge of her feelings. This quote ties in with a major theme of the book, forbidden and unrealistic love.
· “Ammu died in a grimy room in the Bharata Lodge in Alleppey, where she had gone for a job interview as someone’s secretary. She died alone. With a noisy ceiling fan for company and no Estha to lie at the back of her and talk to her. She was thirty-one. Not old, not young, but a viable, die-able age” (Roy 154). This quote is located in the middle of chapter seven when Rahel was talking about how she hated her mother and never saw her again. I found this quote to be significant because when Ammu was caught for having an affair with Velutha, she was sent away and forced to live in poverty. Because she had nothing and had to live in such harsh conditions, she died lonely. This quote is striking because it shows what a sad life Ammu lived once she was caught. The love laws and social class rules essentially killed her.
· “Ammu saw that he saw. She looked away. He did too. History’s fiends returned to claim them. To re-wrap them in its old, scarred pelt and drag them back to where they really lived. Where the Love Laws lay down who should be loved. And how. And how much. “ (Roy 168). This quote is located in the middle of chapter eight. This is when Velutha sees Ammu and realizes that she is a woman. A beautiful woman at that. However, they know that the love laws are still in place. These love laws will later destroy both of their lives because Ammu and Velutha decide to break them. This quote is important because it shows the beginning of Velutha and Ammu’s love that they have for each other. However, they know that they cannot be together because of the love laws that determine who should be loved. And how. And how much. Love should not be dictated by laws, it should be a freedom.
“The twins, weighed down by their mother’s words-If it weren’t for you I would be free. I should have dumped you in an orphanage the day you were born. You’re the millstones round my neck-carried nothing” (Roy, 275-276).
The quote was found from chapter sixteen and pages 275 and 276 of The God of Small Things and is important because it shows Ammu’s anger and resentment towards the twins at that moment, as seen by the hurtful words she lashed out, and the reason the twins were finally prompted to leave. Had the twins not left at that moment, Sophie Mol would not have joined them, and she would not have drowned because due to their hurt from their mother, the twins left and took the boat, which capsized and resulted in Sophie’s inability to swim and her death. It is interesting that Ammu could possibly be to blame for Sophie Mol’s death because without her hurtful words, the twins would not have been as eager to leave her.
“Father Mulligan’s death did not alter the text of the entries in Baby Kochamma’s diary, simply because as far as she was concerned it did not alter his availability. If anything, she possessed him in death in a way that she never had while he was alive. At least her memory of him was hers. Wholly hers. Savagely, fiercely, hers. Not to be shared with Faith” (Roy, 282).
This quote, which was taken from Chapter 17 page 282, showed the relationship between Baby Kochamma and Father Mulligan and gave insight to her unending love for him. The quote was important because it talked of another example of a “Forbidden Love” in the story and it was forbidden because Father Mulligan was a Priest and unable to have romantic relationships with anyone, while Baby Kochamma loved him romantically. The quote showed her persistent nature and inability to accept what she could not change.
“Esthappen and Rahel woke to the shout of sleep surprised by shattered kneecaps” (Roy, 292).
The quote, found in chapter eighteen and page 292, was taken from the part in the novel when Estha, Rahel, and Valutha were asleep in the History House and six policemen came in and beat and arrested Valutha. A part of Estha and Rahel’s innocence was lost in that moment when they saw the brutal treatment from one man to another with little disregard for human life. They were simply sleeping and were awoken to the sound of Valutha, who they cared for, being beaten and his bones shattered. They were paralyzed by fear and disbelief and saw things that children should not have to see, such as a broken body and much blood. Rahel tried to tell Estha that it was Urumban, Velutha’s “twin,” but “unwilling to seek refuse in fiction, Estha said nothing” (Roy, 295), which shows Estha’s lack of desire to pretend and his maturity during a crisis that he would rather face the facts than pretend that the situation was less severe than it actually was.
“They looked at each other. They weren’t thinking anymore. The time for that had come and gone. Smashed smiles lay ahead of them. But that would be later.” (Chapter 21) The significance of this quote shows the importance of time in the novel. Ammu many times had felt that time has been stopped or lost throughout the novel. Also, with the craft of Roy, the difference in past and present times is important in the interpretation of the novel for the reader. Here time is being wrapped up because time has stopped in the moment for Ammu and Velutha. This is a great way to end the novel because it was something that was hopeful.
“It took the twins years to understand Ammu’s part in what had happened. At Sophie Mol’s funeral and in the days before Estha was Returned, they saw her swollen eyes, and with the self-centeredness of children, held themselves wholly culpable for her grief.” (Chapter 20) The quote is present time for the twins in 1991. They are just realizing that they were not the reason for her grief years after Sophie Mol’s funeral. Guilt is an important theme in the novel, especially with Estha and Rahel taking the blame for Sophie Mol’s death. It’s important for the twins to understand that they are not to blame for many things because there are certain characters that twist the truth, such as Baby Kochamma. The reader can see that they are innocent and this quote allows a release of pity for the characters as they are able to see clear.
“Childhood tiptoed out. Silence slid in like a bolt.” (Chapter 19) Here Estha had just lied to the police about Velutha, which was forced by Baby Kochamma. He felt that he had no option. He was chosen because he was more realistic, but his also stole his innocence. The reader is able to understand that Estha had to grow up quickly, which is relatable to many people. This quote, also, explains Estha’s personality. The psychology of treatment from elderly people changed Esta’s dynamic in how he perceives things, as well.
"If I were you," he said, "I'd go home quietly." Then he tapped her breasts with his baton. Gently. Tap tap. As though he was choosing mangoes from a basket.... Inspector Thomas Mathew seemed to know whom he could pick on and whom he couldn't. Policemen have that instinct." (Roy 10) There is great division of class in India between those with power and wealth and those who are of "less value". In this case Thomas Matthew sexually harasses Ammu by tapping her breasts, showing that since he's a man, he is automatically more powerful than she is. This is significant to the story because there is much prejudice and dislike for those who are of a lower social class.
"When they lowered Sophie Mol's coffin into the ground in the little cemetery behind the church, Rahel knew that she still wasn't dead. She heard the soft sounds of the red mud and the hardsounds of the orange laterite that spoiled the shining coffin polish." (Roy 8) When I first read this passage I wondered if Sophie Mol was actually dead because she was just described as being living. These different versions of reality in a child's mind can cause quite a confusion for the reader. This is significant to the story because it transports the reader into the point of view Rahel is experiencing.
“Esthappen and Rahel thought of themselves together as Me, and separately, individually, as We or Us. As though they were a rare breed of Siamese twins, physically separate, but with joint identities. Now these years later, Rahel has a memory of waking up one night giggling at Estha’s funny dream.” (pg. 4-5)
· Location: This quote occurs at the beginning of the novel when we are introduced to the twins.
· Significance: This quote is significant because it right off the bat demonstrates the close-knit relationship between Estha and Rahel.
· Response: I believe that this quote foreshadows how close Rahel and Estha become in the future. It also implies that Estha is the older and more protective twin. He is often seen doing everything in his power to protect Rahel throughout the novel.
“Only Rahel noticed Sophie Mol’s secret cartwheel in her coffin…. She imagined him dropping like a dark star out of the sky that he had made. Lying broken on the hot church floor, dark blood spilling from his skull like a secret” (pg 8)
· Location: This was at the beginning of the novel during one of the flashbacks of Sophie Mol’s funeral.
· Significance: Rahel and Estha were very often blamed for the death of Sophie Mol. Sophie and Rahel were good friends and this was Sophie’s way of showing Rahel that it wasn’t her fault.
· Response: I believe this quote does a good job of accurately portraying the relationship that Sophie Mol and Rahel had. Sophie very often would build Rahel up when she was down about anything.
There would be two flasks of water. Boiled water for Margaret Kochamma and Sophie Mol, tap water for everybody else.” (Pg 45)
· Location: this occurred towards the beginning when the audience was introduced to Margaret Kochamma and Sophie Mol when they came to Ayemenem.
· Significance: this is significant because it demonstrates how Margaret and Sophie were valued more by the family then Ammu and the twins were.
· Response: I thought that this accurately depicted how Baby Kochamma held Sophie and Margaret at a much higher pedestal than she did the twins or Ammu.
· “Rahel’s ‘list’ was an attempt to order chaos. She revised it constantly, torn forever between love and duty. It was by no means a true gauge of her feelings” (Roy 144). This quote is located towards the end of chapter six. When Estha, Rahel, and Sophie Mol are talking at the airport about whom Sophie Mol loves most, she says her dead father Joe. She says that although Chacko is her father, Joe is her real dad and she loves him much more. Rahel then asks Sophie Mol if she wants to hear her list of who she loves most. This quote is significant because Rahel says she is constantly torn between love and duty. The love laws constantly dictate feelings in Rahel’s life, which is why she says her list is not a true gauge of her feelings. This quote ties in with a major theme of the book, forbidden and unrealistic love.
· “Ammu died in a grimy room in the Bharata Lodge in Alleppey, where she had gone for a job interview as someone’s secretary. She died alone. With a noisy ceiling fan for company and no Estha to lie at the back of her and talk to her. She was thirty-one. Not old, not young, but a viable, die-able age” (Roy 154). This quote is located in the middle of chapter seven when Rahel was talking about how she hated her mother and never saw her again. I found this quote to be significant because when Ammu was caught for having an affair with Velutha, she was sent away and forced to live in poverty. Because she had nothing and had to live in such harsh conditions, she died lonely. This quote is striking because it shows what a sad life Ammu lived once she was caught. The love laws and social class rules essentially killed her.
· “Ammu saw that he saw. She looked away. He did too. History’s fiends returned to claim them. To re-wrap them in its old, scarred pelt and drag them back to where they really lived. Where the Love Laws lay down who should be loved. And how. And how much. “ (Roy 168). This quote is located in the middle of chapter eight. This is when Velutha sees Ammu and realizes that she is a woman. A beautiful woman at that. However, they know that the love laws are still in place. These love laws will later destroy both of their lives because Ammu and Velutha decide to break them. This quote is important because it shows the beginning of Velutha and Ammu’s love that they have for each other. However, they know that they cannot be together because of the love laws that determine who should be loved. And how. And how much. Love should not be dictated by laws, it should be a freedom.
“The twins, weighed down by their mother’s words-If it weren’t for you I would be free. I should have dumped you in an orphanage the day you were born. You’re the millstones round my neck-carried nothing” (Roy, 275-276).
The quote was found from chapter sixteen and pages 275 and 276 of The God of Small Things and is important because it shows Ammu’s anger and resentment towards the twins at that moment, as seen by the hurtful words she lashed out, and the reason the twins were finally prompted to leave. Had the twins not left at that moment, Sophie Mol would not have joined them, and she would not have drowned because due to their hurt from their mother, the twins left and took the boat, which capsized and resulted in Sophie’s inability to swim and her death. It is interesting that Ammu could possibly be to blame for Sophie Mol’s death because without her hurtful words, the twins would not have been as eager to leave her.
“Father Mulligan’s death did not alter the text of the entries in Baby Kochamma’s diary, simply because as far as she was concerned it did not alter his availability. If anything, she possessed him in death in a way that she never had while he was alive. At least her memory of him was hers. Wholly hers. Savagely, fiercely, hers. Not to be shared with Faith” (Roy, 282).
This quote, which was taken from Chapter 17 page 282, showed the relationship between Baby Kochamma and Father Mulligan and gave insight to her unending love for him. The quote was important because it talked of another example of a “Forbidden Love” in the story and it was forbidden because Father Mulligan was a Priest and unable to have romantic relationships with anyone, while Baby Kochamma loved him romantically. The quote showed her persistent nature and inability to accept what she could not change.
“Esthappen and Rahel woke to the shout of sleep surprised by shattered kneecaps” (Roy, 292).
The quote, found in chapter eighteen and page 292, was taken from the part in the novel when Estha, Rahel, and Valutha were asleep in the History House and six policemen came in and beat and arrested Valutha. A part of Estha and Rahel’s innocence was lost in that moment when they saw the brutal treatment from one man to another with little disregard for human life. They were simply sleeping and were awoken to the sound of Valutha, who they cared for, being beaten and his bones shattered. They were paralyzed by fear and disbelief and saw things that children should not have to see, such as a broken body and much blood. Rahel tried to tell Estha that it was Urumban, Velutha’s “twin,” but “unwilling to seek refuse in fiction, Estha said nothing” (Roy, 295), which shows Estha’s lack of desire to pretend and his maturity during a crisis that he would rather face the facts than pretend that the situation was less severe than it actually was.
“They looked at each other. They weren’t thinking anymore. The time for that had come and gone. Smashed smiles lay ahead of them. But that would be later.” (Chapter 21) The significance of this quote shows the importance of time in the novel. Ammu many times had felt that time has been stopped or lost throughout the novel. Also, with the craft of Roy, the difference in past and present times is important in the interpretation of the novel for the reader. Here time is being wrapped up because time has stopped in the moment for Ammu and Velutha. This is a great way to end the novel because it was something that was hopeful.
“It took the twins years to understand Ammu’s part in what had happened. At Sophie Mol’s funeral and in the days before Estha was Returned, they saw her swollen eyes, and with the self-centeredness of children, held themselves wholly culpable for her grief.” (Chapter 20) The quote is present time for the twins in 1991. They are just realizing that they were not the reason for her grief years after Sophie Mol’s funeral. Guilt is an important theme in the novel, especially with Estha and Rahel taking the blame for Sophie Mol’s death. It’s important for the twins to understand that they are not to blame for many things because there are certain characters that twist the truth, such as Baby Kochamma. The reader can see that they are innocent and this quote allows a release of pity for the characters as they are able to see clear.
“Childhood tiptoed out. Silence slid in like a bolt.” (Chapter 19) Here Estha had just lied to the police about Velutha, which was forced by Baby Kochamma. He felt that he had no option. He was chosen because he was more realistic, but his also stole his innocence. The reader is able to understand that Estha had to grow up quickly, which is relatable to many people. This quote, also, explains Estha’s personality. The psychology of treatment from elderly people changed Esta’s dynamic in how he perceives things, as well.