As struggle for identity exam. God of small things

IN 'GOD OF SMALL THINGS HOW DOES THE WRITER PRESENT THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS ABOUT THE STRUGGLE FOR IDENTITY?
(you should consider the writers choice of form, structure, language and subject matter)

any ideas would be great!

Reply 1

Rubecca Ali

IN 'MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN HOW DOES THE WRITER PRESENT THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS ABOUT THE STRUGGLE FOR IDENTITY?
(you should consider the writers choice of form, structure, language and subject matter)

any ideas would be great!

Reply 2

Rubecca Ali

IN 'GRACE NICHOLS - THE FAT BLACK WOMAN' HOW DOES THE WRITER PRESENT THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS ABOUT THE STRUGGLE FOR IDENTITY?
(you should consider the writers choice of form, structure, language and subject matter)

any ideas would be great!

Reply 3

Threepigs

Why did I associate the title with phallic imagery?

Haha, silly me

Reply 4

mehhhw/e

The book is about how small things in life build up to shape people's behaviour and affect their lives, which is basically saying things around you, the environment, shapes who you are, so it is difficult for an individual to shape their own identity without other factors being involved. - like the poem This Be The Verse by Philip Larkin illustrates.

The women in the book stuggle to try and find a life in a patriarchal socity. I think it also mentions the "untouchables" (correct me if i'm wrong) - they've already been labelled - not only that, it is a negative lable, so they find it hard to find/show their true identity because their label is too strong to overcome.

There's loads of things you can say! If you need anymore help, feel free to ask :smile:

Reply 5

Rubecca Ali

Thank you soo much!
i would really appreciate any more ideas, you seem to be full of them which is fantastic! =)

Reply 6

S14

I see you are doing the 'Struggle for Identity' course - I have a tip for you! As the second part of the essay asks you to 'compare', essentially you can prepare an answer before the exam and then contrast almost all of it with the given extract.

Reply 7

Rubecca Ali

Heey, thanks for that =)
the only problem is i would not know what the subject matter in the unseen text would be. so i would have to prepare a text in every subject matter i can think of in relation to my wider reading =/

Reply 8

Planar

How about this:

"I know myself so little that I have no idea whether or not any of my own ideas are good enough for this essay"

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 9

Rubecca Ali

sorry?
If you have nothing constructive to say please do not comment.
thanks.

Reply 10

S14

Original post by Rubecca Ali

They'll all be linked by some form of struggle or oppression though. The three texts I chose were very versatile so that helps. Just a suggestion; it worked for me :smile:

Reply 11

mehhhw/e

Original post by S14

hey that's not a bad idea - I know that tip wasn't meant for me, but I shall use it! Thanks :biggrin:

Reply 12

mehhhw/e

Original post by Rubecca Ali

I don't know if you need this anymore, but I've got something else on this - might be able to use it for revision?

Identity:

1. The novel follows the twins family history as the main factor affecting them in the future, proven by the fact that Estha is so traumatised by her past that she’s mute when she’s older.

2. As well as this, it shows the injustice of the caste system and the role it plays in identifying someone. Velutha died because he loved someone socially superior to himself and the relationship was condemned by society. This shows how society can shape a person’s future and how it can break up a person or a relationship.

3. Also tied into the story, is the idea of race: Baby Kochamma changes her religion for a man and people fight against the rules of their religion throughout the book, yet ultimately, the religion defines their society and therefore, their identity.

Quotes:

(Page 32) “Suddenly they become the bleached bones of a story”

- bleached bones- understatement, detracts from the humanity, also symbolic of the search for family history- excavation. Bleached- colourless- ironic of the Westernised relationships in an Indian culture, eg, separation and origin of caste.

(Page 4-5) ”In those early amorphous years when memory had only just begun, when life was full of Beginnings and no Ends, and everything was Forever, Esthappen and Rahel thought of themselves together as Me, and separately, as We or Us. As though they were a rare breed of Siamese twins, physically separate, but with joint identities.”

- separated during childhood, search for their own identities- traumatising and difficult, main point of the book: how the injustice in life will affect their future.

–when memory had just begun: earliest memories are most damaging for the twins later,

(Page 33) “That it (the story) really began in the days when the Love Laws were made. The laws that lay down who should be loved, and how. And how much.”

Basically a summary of caste- Velutha and Ammu are ruled by the ‘Love Laws’ and ultimately this causes the twins to commit incest- a more serious violation. Shows how the caste system controls the people in love and can even be the responsible for the death of them. Paradoxical: Western beliefs are that ‘love’ and ‘laws’ are paradoxes. Shows the structure of Indian society.

Insight into the rest of the book.

(Page 44-5) ”The fate of the wretched man-less woman.”

Ammu can’t get a man so settles for the drunkard- implies she’s not a woman. Although the reader is made to question later which is more punishable, to be a ‘wretched man-less woman’ or to love outside caste. ‘Fate’ implies a sense of helplessness and the inability to control society, yet in reality, the statement is based upon society’s tradition- not fate.

John Berger epigraph: “Never again will a single story be told as though it’s the only one.“

John Berger- original novel was ‘G’ in which the main character was a serial lover of women- many people affected by the life of one. Strongly reflected in the novel in the way that Ammu and Velutha affect the twins so profoundly, or the way the priest affects Baby Kochamma, or how Pappachi affects Mammachi with abuse and then neglection- this quote highlights how all the stories in the novel are interrelated and have an effect upon the other (very much an Indian perspective upon society). An epigraph gives the basic message within the story, states the meaning.

(Page 31) “They all broke the rules. They all crossed into forbidden territory. They all tampered with the laws that lay down who should be loved and how. And how much.”

This quote pretty much opens the “real” story, emphasises the consequences- and how much- that society’s laws have upon its inhabitants. The basis for a later quote about ‘Love Laws’and the shocking stories- ‘forbidden territory’ sounds ominous, a brief summary of what’s to come.

(Page 217) “If he touched her, he couldn’t talk to her, if he loved her, he couldn’t leave, if he spoke, he couldn’t listen, if he fought, he couldn’t win”

Always has to concur to society, Ammu made a mistake with her husband (a drunk) and has to endure ‘cruelty’ yet society is unforgiving and harsh towards her. The rights of women is a view which Roy clearly sets out to put across by showing how much they’re violated within Indian society. Ultimately, Ammu goes insane and dies because of the family horror towards her divorce and the hypocritical Communist leader’s disdain.

(Page 207) “And there it was again. Another religion turned against itself. Another edifice constructed by the human mind, decimated by human nature.”

States how nobody helped Velutha when he was dismissed from his job, aimed towards the Communist leaders who didn’t help the poor. Highlights Roy’s belief that Communism is a hypocritical form of Capitalism.

(Page 182) ‘A pair of actors hopped in a recondite play with no hint as plot or narrative, stumbling through their parts, nursing someone else’s sorrow. Grieving someone else’s grief’

The twins are unable to control what happens to them and are abused by many people in the play, for example, the orange- leman man in the theatre abuses Estha and no adult really cares about it- this is supposed to come across as shocking and violent to the reader. Accents the children’s childhood, ‘stumbling’, ‘nursing’, ‘grieving’ being key adjectives to describe the children.

(Page 191) “You are not the Sinner. You are the Sinned Against. You were only children. You had no control”

Again, highlights the twins’ abuse and how they had their innocence taken away when they were very young. To tie into this point is the description that the two people who make the twins suffer the most are “both men whom childhood abandoned without a trace…truly, terrifying adult”. Shows the empathy towards childhood which Roy has yet also highlights just how much innocence can be forcibly removed by society.