The God of Small Things (Arundhati Roy)

 Introduction:  There are critics, and reviewers who have generally spoken of several themes expounded in the novel The God of Small Things. In one sense, the novel evokes the child's world through the twins’ experiences. Another concern of the novel appears to be separation of people from one another and from society. Class-division, casteist oppression, feminist rebellion against patriarchy and also political dissatisfaction against Marxism are some of the major elements discussed in the novel. Even decaying of Syrian Christianity in Kerala may be termed as the Chief concern of the novel. Above all, there is sufficient ground to believe that the theme of the novel is symbolically expressed in the title itself.

Plot: The main action centers around Sophie Mol’s visit to Ayemenem. Joe dies in an accident, and Chacko invites Margaret Kochamma to Ayemenem for the holidays. Estha, Rahel, Ammu, Chacko, and Baby Kochamma make a trip to the airport, and on the way their car is trapped by a Communist march. The family then goes to see The Sound of Music, and Estha is molested by the Orangedrink Lemondrink Man, a vendor at the theater. The next day Sophie and Margaret arrive, and the family returns to Ayemenem.

Estha fears that the Orangedrink Man will come for him, so he and Rahel find a boat and row across the river to the “History House,” the abandoned home of an Englishman who “went native.” The twins set up a hideout there. Meanwhile Ammu dreams about Velutha, and that night she and Velutha meet by the river and have sex. They continue to meet every night for the next two weeks.

Finally Vellya Paapen (Velutha’s father) comes to Mammachi and confesses his son’s relationship with Ammu. Mammachi and Baby Kochamma lock Ammu in her room, where she screams that the twins are “millstones” around her neck. The twins decide to run away to the History House, and Sophie Mol comes with them. Their boat tips over as they cross the river and Sophie Mol drowns. The twins reach shore and, terrified, fall asleep in the History House, unaware that Velutha is there too.

Baby Kochamma goes to the police, telling Inspector Thomas Mathew that Velutha tried to rape Ammu and kidnapped the children. Six policemen find Velutha and beat him brutally in front of Estha and Rahel. When Mathew finds out that Velutha is innocent, he threatens to charge Baby Kochamma. Terrified for herself, she convinces Estha to “save Ammu” by telling the police that Velutha killed Sophie Mol. Velutha dies in jail that night. After Sophie Mol’s funeral Baby Kochamma convinces Chacko to throw Ammu out of the house, and Ammu is then forced to “return” Estha to Baba.

The twins are separated for twenty-three years, during which Estha stops speaking altogether. When he is thirty-one Baba “re-returns” him to Ayemenem. Meanwhile Rahel is kicked out of many schools, and Ammu dies when Rahel is eleven. Rahel marries an American and lives in Boston, but then gets divorced and returns to Ayemenem when she hears Estha is there.

The twins are reunited in 1993. Mammachi has died and Baby Kochamma and the cook, Kochu Maria, spend all day watching TV as the house falls apart. The History House has become a five-star hotel. Rahel and Estha (who still doesn’t speak) sift through some old trinkets and notebooks and end up reaffirming their closeness by having sex.

Themes:

1. Life of the Weak and the Helpless Portrayed in the Novel:

For Roy The God of Small Things stands for the portrayal of life of weak and helpless, poor and destitute , whether they are small creatures like frogs and ants or human beings such as the victim of Hollick's lust or the women supplying chacko's man's needs  or children like Estha and Rahel . In contrast with 'The God of Big Things ',  the novel accounts for life and sufferings , even tragic hopes and triumphs of the downtrodden like Vellya Paapen and his sons or Ammu. The God of Small Things represents all those people who are victimized by dead traditions and conventions, fake pride and honour, the tyranny of the state and the politics of opportunism. 

2. Portrayal of the Ordinary, Simple and Natural Life of Children and Innocent Creatures: 

The God of Small Things is also the portrayal of the ordinary, simple and natural life of children and innocent creatures. One reason for this assumption is to be found in Roy's treatment of symbolism. It shows that the novel is mainly concerned with those creatures whose lives and works are treated as insignificant but they also have the natural but unsophisticated urges of life. 

3. The Big God of Big Things and ‘The Small God of Small Things’: 

The first clear allusion to the theme occurs in the first chapter of the novel. But it is checked as the wisdom is taken out from the sufferings of life, since it is a comment on the strange look that Rahel's eyes wore when McCaslin made love to her. The whole experience of rejection and loss of relations lies behind that look.

The Small God rules the destiny of those who are doomed to assume the role of offenders, because they are guided by nature and not by conventions. Ammu, Estha and Rahel tampered with the laws which settle as " who should be loved and how, and how much.” Those governed in this way are like the banana jam illegally produced by “Paradise Pickles and Preserves. It is wrong to say that trouble began with the coming of Sophie Mol to Ayemenem. The truth is “it really began in the days when the Love Laws were made. The laws that lay down, who should be loved ... and how much”. But this theory in reality means that all forms of social restrictions and discipline are injurious to the freedom of the human spirit and love. It is possible to proclaim the theme of the novel in these terms, but if it is done, then any restriction on sexual relations including incest is regarded by the author as injurious and an act of “The God of Big Things.” 

4. The Problem of division: 

The problem of division is met with in Pappachi's moth with its sudden bursts of violence in inter-personal behaviour. On the one hand it accounts for Pappachi's cruelty against Mammachi and Ammu, on the other; it is held responsible for outbursts of temper in Ammu, constituting a rebellion against patriarchal oppression and social tyranny. 

5. Depiction of Love in the Novel: 

It does not appear to be a sudden decision of the author that right in the middle of the novel, we have a short chapter entitled The God of Small Things. The chapter is highly symbolic. It deals with Ammu's dream, which can only be interpreted as her version of The God of Small Things, who is an embodiment of strong irrepressible urge for love and sex. Since this God of Small Things does not recognize and accept the social conventions and restrictions, he is bound to come in conflict with history and traditions and that too without any chance of success. This kind of love as personified in the novel, is like a person with serious handicaps. 'The God of Small Things' uses Velutha as a Vehicle and crosses over to the place of destruction. From now on, the lovers are completely under the spell of the God of Small Things. The social oppression fear of caste disparity, religious stigma - in short, the God of Big Things is recklessly forgotten. 

6. Division of the Life: 

The life is divided into two sets of forces, fighting for existence. The upper class consists of the burden of history, dead and decayed traditions false family honour and pride, patriarchy and political opportunism - the God of Big Things. The other lower world comprises children, insecure women, untouchables, the working people with their struggle for identity, existence and independence, and natural urges and desires - the God of Small Things. 

7. Manifestation of the Struggle on the Levels of Society, State, Family and Personal Relations: 

(a) Ammu: 

While exploring the manifestation of the struggle on the levels of society, state, family and personal relations; we should start with Ammu because the maltreatment she suffers has a disastrous effect upon her life as a child. As a girl she had witnessed the vagaries of patriarchal power. Her father used to beat her mother and once had turned them out of the house. She was deprived of higher education because her father thought that college education was an unnecessary expense for a girl. At Ayemenem, she remained totally uncared for and to minimise her sense of insecurity she drifted into a loveless marriage. Her husband an alcoholic went to the extent of asking her to satisfy the lust of his boss, to ensure his job. Ammu and her children were constantly reminded that socially and financially they had no locus standing in the Ayemenem House. 

Things come to a head when her night-meetings with the untouchable Velutha are discovered. At police station she is subjected to extreme humiliation being called as 'Vaishya' and her children as illegitimate. The state power, the family establishment and the society - all are seen to be in collusion against Ammu and her children. The remaining period of her life makes up story of misery, desperate search for livelihood and despondency tinged with fruitless day - dreaming. Her death and disgraceful cremation bring the story of her life to an end - the God of Small Things. 

(b) The Wounds of the Twins, Rahel and Estha: 

The same force of tradition and reaction are operative against Estha and Rahel, the condemned twins, being product of an inter-caste marriage - hated by the family as outsiders. The first shock that comes to the tender mind of Estha is his child abuse, which sinks deep into the psyche of the seven year old child and haunts him throughout his life. The second shocking wound for the twins, especially Estha, is the emotional blackmail to betray the person, they loved dearly which totally disintegrates the boy; thus associated symbolically with the God of Small Things. 

As far Rahel, the circumstances make her become to the diseased condition of her dying mother and after Ammu's death she drifts aimlessly. Her recklessness and awakening sexuality come in direct collision with the traditional Christian attitude; the God of Big Things. Her neglect at home and in school gives rise to a defiant mood in her mind - the God of Small Things. 

(c) Velutha an Embodiment of Extreme Social Discrimination, Poverty and Humiliation: 

Velutha the sufferer is symbolically associated with the God of Small Things, perhaps for the reason of extreme social discrimination, humiliation and poverty. He becomes a transgressor, when he indulges in illicit love affair with Ammu. This is not tolerated by anyone even by the communist, “The God of Big Things”. The police are also irked by the said illicit relation. Thus pitted against the ' God of Big Things, this small man in his small acts gets no chance of survival or escape. 

Conclusion: 

Thus the theme of the novel has been divided into two parts; first one is the upper class carrying the burden of history, dead and decayed traditions, false family honour, pride and reputation, patriarchy and political opportunism - the God of Big Things. Whereas the 'God of Small Things', consists of children , insecured women, untouchables, working people struggling for existence, natural urges and desires. Thus, it is clear that the basic theme of “The God of Small Things” sets in socio – political, cultural, historical contexts the India.

 

Three Questions (Leo Tolstoy)

Introduction: “The Three Questions” by Leo Tolstoy is a story about a king, who had three questions always in his mind that were “what was the right time for every action”, “who were the most necessary people”, and “how he might know what was the most important thing to do”. He found the answers for these questions only through experiences.

Various Answers: The king sent many messengers throughout his kingdom in order to find answers for the three questions that have risen in his mind. He promised to give a reward of a large sum to the person who answered his three questions. Many wise men tried their luck. They gave a number of answers. One said that the king should go by a timetable. Another said that the king should do whatever seemed to him necessary at the moment. The third suggested that the king should consult wise men or magicians. Answering the second question, they gave top importance to his councillors, or the priests or the doctors or the soldiers. In reply to the third question, the wise men gave importance to science or fighting or religious worship.

Meeting the Hermit: However, the king was not satisfied with all the answers given by the learned people. He went to a hermit in the jungle alone. There he saw the old and weak hermit digging the ground. The king asked his questions but got no answer. Then he took the spade from the hermit and began to work in his place. Several hours passed. It was evening, so the king stopped digging the beds. The king was ready to take leave from the hermit. Just then, someone was running towards them.

King's Kindness: The king saw a bearded man running towards them. His hands were pressed against his stomach from which blood was oozing. As he reached the king, he fainted and fell to the ground. He had a large wound in his stomach. The king washed the wound and compressed it with his handkerchief. At last, the bleeding stopped. The man felt better and asked for water to drink. The king gave him fresh water. The sun had set by then. The king and the hermit carried the wounded man into the hut and laid him on the bed. The tired king also fell asleep. When he awoke, the bearded man asked to forgive him.

Knowing the truth: The man was, in fact, the king’s enemy. He had followed the king to take revenge on him. He had vowed to kill him because the king had once put his brother to death. When he tried to follow the king, he got wounded by the king’s bodyguards. He would have died if the king had not dressed his wound. He felt grateful to the king who had saved his life. He promised to serve the king as a faithful servant. The king was happy that he had made peace with his enemy. He forgave the man and promised to give back his property.

Hermit's Explanation: The king then went up to the hermit. He again asked answers for his three questions. The hermit explained that by digging the beds for him, the king had escaped the attack. So, the most important time was when he was digging the beds. The hermit himself was the most important person. So, to do him good was the king’s most important business. The hermit further told the king that the most important person for him was the person who was with him at a particular moment. The most important business was to help that person. And the most important time was ‘now’ that is, the present moment.

Conclusion: Thus Leo Tolstoy, in this short piece of essay suggests that one has to go by his own counsel whenever he wants to take a good decision. To take good decision he needs to gain varied experiences like the king in the story. It is only life and no book or any individual that teaches one to make the right decision.  

India's Message to the World (Swami Vivekananda)

 Introduction:

Swami Vivekananda was a brave-saint of twentieth century India. He has made the people of the world to focus their attention on India through his address at the Parliament of Religion in Chicago. In “India’s Message to the World”, Vivekananda praises the spiritual glory of India which guided India in the past and would guide India as well as the entire world in future. While the West is finding some solutions to the problems of the present condition of human beings, India had already found some ways to keep human kind in upright condition by following the spirituality pronounced by great saints and sages. India’s ‘Purana and Upanishads’ contain all solutions to the problems of human kind. According to the Indian spirituality, renunciation is the solution for all worldly problems and miseries. 

Vivekananda’s Excitement:

In Chicago, Vivekananda felt very much excited when he saw different races of people. He felt that he was fortunate to study the wonderful customs and practices of people belonging to various races. But what he understood was that under all the various customs and beliefs, there exists human hearts in which joy and sorrow, and strength and weakness are one and the same.  

Vivekananda’s Perception:

Vivekananda says that good and evil are everywhere but they are in equal proportion. Like this, men and women are in every race and so it is necessary to keep the balance men and women in equal proportion in every race as Emperor Ashoka told “In every land dwell Brahmins and Shramanas.”

Vivekananda’s tribute to India and Indians:

Vivekananda thanks India and Indians for the great knowledge that he has achieved in the fields of philosophy and spirituality. He says that he is indebted to India and its people for his success. He proudly states that if a man who is brutal like animal happens to stand in the soil of India, he will become a ‘human being’, because such a great power exists in the philosophy, ethics, and spirituality of India.

Vivekananda’s Message:

In India amidst the ocean of humanity lies the strong current of pleasure and pain, of strength and weakness, of wealth and poverty, of joy and sorrow, of smile and tear, of life and death.  In India, the struggle between birth and death is overcome by renunciation. In India, all religions are practical and real. Here men and women attempt anything boldly to achieve their goals. But in other lands the stronger section of the society exploits the weaker section. In India alone people understand that human world has a link with nature and the universe and there has a continuous connectivity among all these elements. So, the souls of Indians find the ‘infinite’ in them. Vivekananda says that India’s spiritual-life never faced deformity even in the crises caused by various foreign invasions. Instead, India’s influence has been falling upon the world like that of a gentle dew and brining blossoms all over the world. Vivekananda considers the entry of the English into our country positively, because he believes that the English has brought India in contact with the rest of the world. Vivekananda strongly believes that India’s spirituality will save the world from the abyss of materialism. In fact, the socialists of many nations have understood that “Vedanta” – which is India’s spiritual philosophy – has the power to save the world from the fall.

Conclusions:

Thus, Vivekananda in “India’s Message to the World” glorifies Indian spirituality which has the power to save mankind from fall. He also believes that with its spirituality India was able to survive, overcoming the adversity caused by many foreign rulers. He advises the nations for spiritualization and assimilation of people under one system. These acts would turn people’s life meaningful. Therefore, it is found that ‘assimilation of different races into one has been the common task in the life of every nation.

Multiple Intelligences and Emotional Intelligence (Sadkars)

 About the Authors:

Dr. David Sadkar is an American educator who has taught at all levels both in school and in college. He also has many years of experience as a teacher trainer. His late wife, Dr. Mary Pollack Sadkar was a pioneer in the study of gender discrimination and wrote the first book on gender bias in American schools in 1973. The Sadkers became leading advocates for equal educational opportunities and gained national reputation for their efforts to create more equitable and effective schools.

Multiple Intelligences:

In many communities, one’s intellect is calculated using the IQ test which focuses on one’s linguistic and logical-mathematical skills and that leads to ‘IQ  envy’ among the individuals who score less scores than others. Howard Gardner says that man’s intellect can not be assessed using only IQ tests, because man possesses multiple intelligences.

According to Gardner intelligence means “the capacity to solve problems or to fashion products that are valued in one or more cultural settings.” The nine intelligences pronounced by Gardner are:

1.     Logical-mathematical: Related to solving mathematical problems

2.     Linguistic: Sensitivity to the meanings, sounds and rhythms of words and the function of language

3.     Bodily-Kinaesthetic: Ability to use physical strength

4.     Musical: Ability to produce music and also appreciate various forms of music

5.     Spatial: Ability to form a mental model of the spatial world

6.     Interpersonal: Ability to analyse and respond to the motivations, moods and desires of others.

7.     Intrapersonal: Knowledge of one’s own feelings and needs; ability to guide one’s own behaviour

8.     Naturalist: Ability to discriminate among living things and a sensitivity to the natural world.

9.     Existential intelligence: It is questioning about who we are, where we come from, why we die and the like.

Hence it is necessary to calculate the multiple intelligences, according to Gardner.  He also says that intelligence may differ in different societies, depending on cultural values. For example, in the Pacific Island intelligence is the ability to navigate. Therefore, Gardner’s theory on intelligence has revolutionized the ‘teaching and learning’ process. The old pencil-paper tests used to assess linguistic, math and logical intelligence which is less appropriate for assessing one’s intelligence. Today, new education system follows ‘portfolio system’ which includes many practical and projects writing along with linguistic and logical-mathematics. In this system, the evaluation method is also descriptive. Thus, Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences has reshaped the present education system.

Emotional Intelligence:

Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ) is described by Daniel Goleman thus: “It is a type of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use the information to guide one’s thinking and action.” According to Goleman EQ taps into the heart, as well as the head. The marshmallow tests conducted at the age of 4, helps proving one’s emotional intelligence.  The children who gave into temptation and ate the marshmallow were described as stubborn, easily frustrated and lonely teenagers. The children who waited were reported to be better adjusted, more popular, more adventurous, and more confident youths. The EQ tests shows that the regulation of emotion enhances better living. Studies have shown that people with high emotional intelligence have greater mental health, job preference and leadership skills. The five components of emotional intelligence are 1. Self-awareness, 2. Self-regulation, 3. Motivation, 4. Empathy, and 5. Social skills.

Conclusion:

Thus, Gardner’s ‘Multiple Intelligences’ and Goleman’s ‘Emotional Intelligence’ theories have changed the entire educational traditions. The new educational tradition which assesses students’ intelligences use diverse ways and means in teaching-and-learning process, as recommended by Gardner and Goleman. 

Silas Marner (Themes)

About the Author:

Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian^[1]), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrote seven novels: Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), Romola (1862–63), Felix Holt, the Radical (1866), Middlemarch (1871–72) and Daniel Deronda (1876). Like Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy, she emerged from provincial England; most of her works are set there. Her works are known for their realism, psychological insight, sense of place and detailed depiction of the countryside.

Introduction:

Silas Marner the weaver of Raveloe is the third novel by George Eliot. It was published in 1861. An outwardly simple tale of a linen weaver, the novel is notable for its strong realism and its sophisticated treatment of a variety of issues ranging from religion to industrialisation to community.

Plot:

Silas Marner covers a long span of time — over thirty years. However, concentration within this span limits the time actually portrayed to three relatively short periods. The first of these, the time on which the book opens, shows Silas living his lonely existence at Raveloe. This period is followed by a flashback to the time fifteen years earlier when he was driven from Lantern Yard. The time then skips quickly back to its original point, settling on a November afternoon. The events between then and New Year's take up the first portion of the book, although the narrator briefly mentions some events that follow as Silas begins to raise Eppie.

Sixteen years are then jumped over, and the results of the early events are seen. The intervening years are filled in mostly by the narrator or by conversations between characters. There are only a few brief dramatic portrayals of events during those years — for example, Godfrey and Nancy's discussion about adopting Eppie. After the past is brought up to date, the time remains at the same Sunday on which this portion of the book opened, until the main plot considerations are disposed of (for example, Dunstan's disappearance, Godfrey's relationship to Eppie, and Eppie's future). Some events occur after that — Silas goes to Lantern Yard a few days later, and still later Eppie is married — but they are treated very briefly.

Themes:

Themes are simply ideas that Eliot develops in the course of the novel. It should be remembered, however, that what a good novel says is not detachable from the way it says it. The meaning is a part of the style and structure, and themes cannot be set out in so many pointed quotations. Meanings and attitudes are expressed through the whole work of art, and they must be studied as a part of it.

The major theme of Silas Marner is of course the influence of "pure, natural human relationships," but there are several others. Some of these are never the subject of a direct statement, but constant repetition brings them to the reader's attention, and the novel draws some sort of conclusion about them. One of these themes is the function of religion in society. Another is the use of custom and tradition. There is a more direct consideration, focused on Nancy, of the extent to which "principle" should predominate over sympathy in human relationships. This is closely connected to the question of indulgence versus discipline in human life, as exemplified by the home life of Godfrey and of Nancy.

A theme may be mentioned only indirectly and yet be quite explicit in its meaning. One such in Silas Marner is the effect of industrialization on English society in the nineteenth century. Lantern Yard after the factory has been built is a grimy, dark place full of unhealthy people. There is a sharp contrast between the grim unfriendliness of Lantern Yard and the community spirit of Raveloe, between Silas' life as a spinning insect and the fresh air of the open fields.

 Themes:

Themes are simply ideas that Eliot develops in the course of the novel. It should be remembered, however, that what a good novel says is not detachable from the way it says it. The meaning is a part of the style and structure, and themes cannot be set out in so many pointed quotations. Meanings and attitudes are expressed through the whole work of art, and they must be studied as a part of it.

The major theme of Silas Marner is of course the influence of "pure, natural human relationships," but there are several others. Some of these are never the subject of a direct statement, but constant repetition brings them to the reader's attention, and the novel draws some sort of conclusion about them. One of these themes is the function of religion in society. Another is the use of custom and tradition. There is a more direct consideration, focused on Nancy, of the extent to which "principle" should predominate over sympathy in human relationships. This is closely connected to the question of indulgence versus discipline in human life, as exemplified by the home life of Godfrey and of Nancy.

A theme may be mentioned only indirectly and yet be quite explicit in its meaning. One such in Silas Marner is the effect of industrialization on English society in the nineteenth century. Lantern Yard after the factory has been built is a grimy, dark place full of unhealthy people. There is a sharp contrast between the grim unfriendliness of Lantern Yard and the community spirit of Raveloe, between Silas' life as a spinning insect and the fresh air of the open fields.

Conclusion:

George Eliot’s Silas Marner brilliantly combines the  apparently conflicting aspects such as realism and the air of a fairy tale. Silas Marner is a tale of love and overcoming setbacks. In the beginning of the novel, the protagonist, Silas, loses his friends, his faith, and his fiancé when he is framed for theft. Exiled, he moves from Lantern Yard to the idyllic English country side of Raveloe, a farming community.