scholarly journals Women’s Representation and Resistance as Depicted in Josephine Chia’s Frog under a Coconut Shell and Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things: A Comparative Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Nurrahmawati Nurrahmawati ◽  
Ida Puspita
Keyword(s):  
Caste System ◽  
Coconut Shell ◽  
Indian Society ◽  
Arundhati Roy ◽  
Social Rules ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
Liberal Feminism ◽  
Women’S Representation ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Small Things

This study is aimed to analyze the comparison between women’s representation and resistance in Josephine Chia’s novel Frog under a Coconut Shell from Singapore and The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy from India. By using a comparative literature approach, the research focuses on the differences and similarities in women’s representation and resistance to get gender equality in Singaporean and Indian society. Chia’s novel tells the story of Soon Neo and her daughter, Josephine, who struggles to get their rights as women in the midst of patriarchal Peranakan culture in Singapore, and Roy’s novel tells the story of Ammu and her twins children, Rahel and Estha, who fight against the social rules in India that are discriminative against women and the Untouchable people (Paravan). The research employed a descriptive qualitative analysis method and the theory of liberal feminism. There are similarities in the representation of women who are considered as second class and become the objects both sexually and economically; and restrained by their patriarchal society and culture. The difference of both novels is in the caste system which regulates women's freedom only reflected in The God of Small Things. From the perspective of liberal feminism, the female characters in both novels show resistance in making decision, education, society, and economy. However, resisting inequality in economy is only reflected in Frog under a Coconut Shell while resisting inequality in society is only reflected in The God of Small Things. The direct resistance is demonstrated in verbal and non-verbal ways.

scholarly journals Plasticity and Marginalization in The God of Small Things: A Liquid Modern Reading

2021 ◽  
pp. 79-87
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Caste System ◽  
Indian Society ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Liquid Modernity ◽  
Constant Change ◽  
Lower Castes ◽  
Small Things

The God of Small Things is set in the post-partition India which deals with the cultural and societal change and fluidity in the Indian society caused under the influence of westernized culture and societal values, while predominantly dealing with the stereotypical, discriminatory and unfair treatment of certain gender and cast. The study is an attempt to look into how people tend to be seduced by some specific cultural values and discard some others even when they are moving towards being modernized, and in this case, under a group of colonizers whose so called agenda was to teach the uncivilized the civilized ways of life. The study is conducted under the idea of Liquid Modernity by Zygmunt Bauman from which two postulates are picked. The first one being the tendency of a constant change with in a society and how the idea of modernity was the cause of decline in societal norms while the individuals are seduced by the ways of the west. The second postulate picked from Bauman’s Liquid Modernity is how he terms the society to be plastic, meaning that it is something that can constantly be reshaped regardless of where and in what state it is. Another important objective of the paper is to highlight the ways in which the plastic society challenges the traditional power structures in which women and lower castes are marginalized and suppressed by patriarchal hierarchy and caste system. Thus, the paper highlights the positive as well as negative impact of the liquid modern society and in this way this paper itself becomes a manifestation of liquid modernity in which there is no certainty or fixedness. The findings show that the characters in the selected novel are strongly influenced by the modern western values and their native culture is significantly altered by that of the English, both in positive and negative ways, and there are no fixed cultural values.

Feministic Analysis of Arundhati Roy's Postmodern Indian Fiction: The God of Small Things

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 159-164
Author(s):  
A. Hariharasudan ◽  
S. Robert Gnanamony
Keyword(s):  
Gender Bias ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
Social Structures ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Female Characters ◽  
Arundhati Roy ◽  
Generation Family ◽  
Paper Review ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Small Things

Objective - The aim of the research is to identify the feminist strains in the postmodern Indian Fiction The God of Small Things (TGST). The researcher has planned to investigate the text systematically for seeking feministic values. Methodology/Technique - The study reviews previous literature. Findings - Gender bias and feminism are relevant themes explored by postmodernists. Arundhati Roy portrays the predicament of women through her female characters belonging to three generations in this novel. In the novel, a sense of antagonism and division also infuse the difference senses of identity among the different generation of women. It also generates a line of the clash between the older and the younger generation. Family and political customs play a key role in disadvantaging women. Social constrains are so built up as to sanctify the persecution of women. This is because, in most of the civilizations, social structures are basically patriarchal. Arundhati's novel challenges this position, though her avowed feminist stance. Novelty - Women across the globe worldwide, nationwide, regionally and may be capable of holding the influential note of feminism and being capable of deconstructing a constructive implication of their own femaleness and womanhood after reading this paper. Type of Paper: Review Keywords: Feminism; Gender Bias; Patriarchal; Postmodernism; Downtrodden. JEL Classification: B54, H83.

scholarly journals Social, Historical and Psychological Realism in Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 70
Author(s):  
Dr. Ram Janam
Keyword(s):  
Indian Society ◽  
Daily Routine ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Arundhati Roy ◽  
Psychological Realism ◽  
Realistic Picture ◽  
Inferiority Complex ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Small Things

The God of Small Things depicts realistic picture of the current issues of the typical Indian society. Arundhati Roy has tried her best to cover almost all the details of social and historical setting so that the readers may be able to acquaint with the pattern of living, daily routine, rites, customs, rituals and habits. The book explores how the small things affect people's behaviour and their lives. During that time in India, class was a major issue and still is in many parts of India. Inferiority complex is clearly visible in the interactions between Untouchables and Touchables in Ayemenem. The novel also shows that The Untouchables were considered polluted beings. Betrayal is also a constant theme in this story. Love, ideals, and confidence are all forsaken, consciously and unconsciously, innocently and maliciously, and these deceptions affect all of the characters deeply.

scholarly journals “You are the victims, not the perpetrators”: Narrating Violence and Trauma in Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 244-257
Author(s):  
Anja Mrak
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Event ◽  
Narrative Structure ◽  
Caste System ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Trauma Narrative ◽  
Arundhati Roy ◽  
Traumatic Memories ◽  
Common Goals ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Small Things

In her 1997 novel The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy confronts the problem of caste violence, inextricably bound up with other practices of social domination such as patriarchy, racism, colonialism and neocolonialism, through a complex narrative structure. The conventional story about a tragic love between a woman from a higher caste and a member of the untouchables skilfully evades cliché patterns by employing eccentric focalisers, as we experience most of the story through the lenses of multiple-person narrators, twin brother and sister, Rahel and Estha, magical realism, and a disjointed narrative full of prolepses and analepses which subtly renders traumatic memories. The novel is structured as a prototypical trauma narrative and stages a confrontation with an unresolved traumatic event from which Rahel and Estha have been recovering since childhood. Roy deftly transposes the dualism of caste purity and impurity onto the narrative structure. The narrative is caught within a duality (symbolised already by the twins) and a perpetual repetition which represents not only the eternal return of trauma but also the constant tension which derives from the hegemony of the caste system and the violence it produces. The biopolitics of social mechanisms and structures which disciplines the individual’s body, controls his actions, rectifies and sanctions transgressions is at the heart of the novel. It raises the individual into obedience and restraint with the help of state institutions, and regulates them into an inconspicuous collective body in the name of security, unity and higher common goals. Socio-political mechanisms are legitimised and reaffirmed through violence as well, which is not understood as such, but rather as a necessary “measure” and “duty” to uphold the law.

Female Illiteracy Being a Root Cause of Gender Discrimination and Violence as Mirrored by Arundhati Roy in her Novels

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Danish Sulaeman ◽  
Abdul Halim Mohamed
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Gender Discrimination ◽  
Indian Society ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Arundhati Roy ◽  
Indian Women ◽  
Root Cause ◽  
Qualitative Research Methodology ◽  
Education Of Women ◽  
Small Things

The gender discrimination and women’s right’ issues are among the most prominent challenges still facing by India even in the 21st century. According to many reports, abuse of women is the biggest human rights violation in India. In this qualitative research paper, I am going to examine how the illiteracy of women cause women issues in India from the perspective of Arundhati Roy’s novels. In present India, even after its Independence, women illiteracy in Indian society is at its worst. In order to understand how illiteracy creates challenges for women in Indian society, I will study the views and experiences of Arundhati Roy as she presented in her novels. I will be using a qualitative research methodology to analyse and collect the relevant data using the textual analysis method. For this minor research, I will read and analyse the two novels written by Arundhati Roy namely, The God of Small Things (1997) and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness (2017). There is a two-decade gap between these novels and this will help us to understand the changes experienced by Arundhati Roy in terms of female illiteracy and its effects. At the end of this study, I will reveal the position of illiteracy that had changed over the two decades (1997-2017) and how women’s issues were resolved. The significance of this study is to create an awareness among the readers on the importance of education of women in India. This paper depicts how the illiterate Indian women are facing problems and violence in their daily lives and how we used literature (novels) education to raise and build their personalities in order to contribute fruitfully in Indian society.

Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things (TGST): Diaspora

SIASAT ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-15
Author(s):  
Shiva Zaheri Birgani ◽  
Maryam Jafari
Keyword(s):  
Postcolonial Studies ◽  
Standard Form ◽  
Indian Society ◽  
Main Role ◽  
Arundhati Roy ◽  
Role Of Women ◽  
Literature Culture ◽  
Small Things ◽  
Made In

This paper attempts to analyze the mentioned novel based on postcolonial studies in Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things.  The concepts that can be mentioned in this novel are history, diaspora, hybridity, the role of women in Indian society, globalization, resistance and orientalism. These concepts are used from postcolonial theorists, Homi K. Bhabha . Colonization is a period of time. This is history itself. In developing the dominance of colonization, writers played a main role. Knowledge and power are the dominating themes that over-rule the deep nature of imperialism and literature. These themes indicate the superior literature, culture and tradition as the standard form of acceptance. Colonization is a period of time. This is history itself. In the result of the colonization, the migration and transition were not avoidable issues. Therefore, in this displacement, the new identity has been made. People’s customs, cultures and beliefs are mixed with colonizers’ unconsciously. India is a multicultural country. There are many various cultures in this country. And also during the colonization and the dominance of Britain over India, the changes were made in its customs and cultures. Arundhati Roy is an Indian writer and female activist.

The God of Small Things: The Predicament of Untouchables and Subalterns in South Indian Society

Think India ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 597-600
Author(s):  
E.V.A. Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Male Dominance ◽  
Personal Relationships ◽  
Indian Society ◽  
Arundhati Roy ◽  
South Indian ◽  
Love Marriage ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Small Things

The God of Small Things, a contemporary Indian Classic by Arundhati Roy is an analysis of the nature of subalternization and its repercussion on the individual and on society as well. The present fictional work is chiefly an interpretation of political misuse, personal relationships, caste and class conflicts, distressing experience of family dispute, broken faith, love, marriage, loss of identity, and marginalization of women as a result of foolish male dominance. K M Pandey remarks:

scholarly journals “You are the victims, not the perpetrators”: Narrating Violence and Trauma in Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 244-257
Author(s):  
Anja Mrak
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Event ◽  
Narrative Structure ◽  
Caste System ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Trauma Narrative ◽  
Arundhati Roy ◽  
Traumatic Memories ◽  
Common Goals ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Small Things

In her 1997 novel The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy confronts the problem of caste violence, inextricably bound up with other practices of social domination such as patriarchy, racism, colonialism and neocolonialism, through a complex narrative structure. The conventional story about a tragic love between a woman from a higher caste and a member of the untouchables skilfully evades cliché patterns by employing eccentric focalisers, as we experience most of the story through the lenses of multiple-person narrators, twin brother and sister, Rahel and Estha, magical realism, and a disjointed narrative full of prolepses and analepses which subtly renders traumatic memories. The novel is structured as a prototypical trauma narrative and stages a confrontation with an unresolved traumatic event from which Rahel and Estha have been recovering since childhood. Roy deftly transposes the dualism of caste purity and impurity onto the narrative structure. The narrative is caught within a duality (symbolised already by the twins) and a perpetual repetition which represents not only the eternal return of trauma but also the constant tension which derives from the hegemony of the caste system and the violence it produces. The biopolitics of social mechanisms and structures which disciplines the individual’s body, controls his actions, rectifies and sanctions transgressions is at the heart of the novel. It raises the individual into obedience and restraint with the help of state institutions, and regulates them into an inconspicuous collective body in the name of security, unity and higher common goals. Socio-political mechanisms are legitimised and reaffirmed through violence as well, which is not understood as such, but rather as a necessary “measure” and “duty” to uphold the law.

scholarly journals Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things (TGST): Diaspora

SIASAT ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-15
Author(s):  
Shiva Zaheri Birgani ◽  
Maryam Jafari
Keyword(s):  
Postcolonial Studies ◽  
Standard Form ◽  
Indian Society ◽  
Main Role ◽  
Arundhati Roy ◽  
Role Of Women ◽  
Literature Culture ◽  
Small Things ◽  
Made In

This paper attempts to analyze the mentioned novel based on postcolonial studies in Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things.  The concepts that can be mentioned in this novel are history, diaspora, hybridity, the role of women in Indian society, globalization, resistance and orientalism. These concepts are used from postcolonial theorists, Homi K. Bhabha . Colonization is a period of time. This is history itself. In developing the dominance of colonization, writers played a main role. Knowledge and power are the dominating themes that over-rule the deep nature of imperialism and literature. These themes indicate the superior literature, culture and tradition as the standard form of acceptance. Colonization is a period of time. This is history itself. In the result of the colonization, the migration and transition were not avoidable issues. Therefore, in this displacement, the new identity has been made. People’s customs, cultures and beliefs are mixed with colonizers’ unconsciously. India is a multicultural country. There are many various cultures in this country. And also during the colonization and the dominance of Britain over India, the changes were made in its customs and cultures. Arundhati Roy is an Indian writer and female activist.

Examining the Women Issues and Child Abuse as Mirrored by Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danish Suleman ◽  
Abdul Halim Mohamed
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Child Abuse ◽  
Gender Discrimination ◽  
Indian Society ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Arundhati Roy ◽  
Indian Women ◽  
Qualitative Research Methodology ◽  
Women And Children ◽  
Small Things

According to many reports, abuse of women and child is the biggest human rights violation in India. In this qualitative research paper, we are going to examine the causes that lead to women issues and child abuse in India from the perspective of Arundhati Roy’s novel The God of Small Things. In present India, even after its Independence, gender-discrimination and child abuse in Indian society are at worst. In order to understand the causes and reason that creates challenges for women and danger for children in Indian society, we will study the views and experiences of Arundhati Roy as she presented in her selected novel. we will be using a qualitative research methodology to analyze and collect the relevant data using the textual analysis method.  For this minor research, we will read and analyze the novel written by Arundhati Roy namely, The God of Small Things (1997). At the end of this study, we will reveal the position of these issues and causes for the women’s issues and child abuse issues. The significance of this study is to create an awareness among the readers on the importance of rights and freedom of women and children in India. This paper depicts how Indian women, as well as children, are facing problems and violence in their daily lives and how we used literature (novel) education to raise and build their personalities in order to contribute fruitfully in Indian society.

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