The Book
The God of Small Things
I. Setting
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| The elephant is revered in the culture of Kerala. |
Ayemenem, Kerala, India is located in southwest India. It is a culture steeped in fishing tradition and ocean travel. The landscape is dotted with elephants, mangos, and waterways. The heat is oppressive and the environment is a semi-tropical one that lends to the coconut tree-dotted landscape. Also, as in the novel, the lax environmental standards, tourism, and rapid industrial growth, pollution of the rivers and waterways (especially those formed by Monsoons—given their fast swelling and equally speedy receding…) is common.
The primary language spoken, as in the book, is Malayalam. It is the official language of Kerala and one of 22 scheduled languages India. It is believed to have been derived from 6th century ancient Tamil.
Tourism has become a mainstay in the Kerala economy, along with agriculture and large number of fish caught in over 300 fishing villiages throughout the state. The tourism industry thrives on Kerala's beaches, rich history, culture, and tropical beauty. There are several four and five-star resorts like the one mentioned in Roy's novel.
Kerala has one of the richest, most educated, and literate population in all of India. The state also claims the most access to the media. Many among its populace have immigrated to other areas to garner higher salaries. However, obscured by this wealth are the poor, uneducated Untouchables.
II. History
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| A traditional kathakali dancer |
In 1498, the Portugese explorer Vaco De Gama made contact with the people of Kerala. By 1795, after the defeat of the Dutch by the British, the Dutch East India Company became the British East India Company and the British East India Company took charge of the region. In 1858, the British took control and the British Raj ruled the district now known as Kerala. After independence in 1947, the state of Kerala was formed in 1956—shortly before the majority of the events of The God of Small Things.
III. Religion
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| St. Thomas Church (Palayur) is one of the oldest churches in India. |
The current dominant religion in the region, as in most of India, is Hinduism. This is followed by a sizeable Muslim population. As of the 2001 Indian census, about 19% of Kerala is Christian. Christianity, as mentioned elsewhere in this blog, is stated to have come from the proselytizing of St. Thomas the Apostle around 52 C.E. According to the legends, St. Thomas came to India to convert its substantial Jewish population. This Jewish population largely disappeared in the 20th century when most Jewish Indians in the state migrated to the newly formed Israel.
Although these early Christians still practice and preach gospel that is mostly Gnostic in origin and style, many consider themselves to be of several Christian denominations. Quite a bit of the folklore derives from ancient copies of The Gospel of Thomas (a gospel that may very well have been authored at the same time as the synoptic gospels, given the similarity of several stories to other, accepted gospels) and The Acts of Thomas. Stories abound of early Christians being persecuted and martyred—Gnostic Christian teachings are similar to those of other mystic Judeo-Christian-Muslim sects and therefore more accepting of diversity than fundamentalists—as they refused to accept the Hindu caste system.
Ironically, many of the early converts were believed to be Untouchables. Many Untouchables converted to Christianity and Islam to free themselves from the oppression of the caste system, but gradually, facsimiles of the caste system arose in both the Christian and Muslim populations. Interestingly, there is no evidence that the caste system was ever assimilated into the Jewish population before the mass-migration to Israel.
IV. Culture
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| The annual snake boat race which is a part of the Onam Celebrations on the Pambam River. |
The culture of the Kerala region is a unique mix of traditional Hindi style and dress, Christian religion and culture, Islamic science and architectural influence and occidentalist thought. Provencal churches share spaces with sari-clad women wearing bindis, traditionally capped Muslim gentlemen, all traversing the tropical terrain with scantily clad fishermen casting nets in the background.
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| Notice the crucifix around the fisherman's neck |
According to Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, the people are some of the most alcohol-drinking populace in India—this is disputed by his guides at a local ramshackle Kerala restaurant. Fish curries are common among the cuisine, as depicted as being cooked by Velutha in The God of Small Things.
V. The Novel’s Movement
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| Postmodernism is characterized by a lack of absolutes. |
The novel, The God of Small Things, is most certainly a part of the postcolonial and postmodern movements. Its modern and slightly before-modern Kerala setting is pockmarked with scars of the old British Raj: the long-abandoned “History House,” the focus of certain characters on “proper” English language and pronunciation, and the pollution of the Ayemenem River all illustrate the after-effects of colonialism.
Roy’s non-linear structure, use of pastiche, hybridity of language and wordplay, and magical realism clearly differentiate this novel as a postmodern masterpiece. Its somewhat racy themes and explorations of human nature and its outward affects on the landscape lend credibility to this classification. As postmodern literature is mostly an examination of inner-space apart from the classical assessments of outer-spaces, The God of Small Things qualifies as postmodern in its prompting of childlike, innocent skepticism about the true nature of boundaries—whether political, social, national, or psychological.
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