Malaya Journal of Matematik, Vol. S, No. 2, 2437-2438, 2020

https://doi.org/10.26637/MJM0S20/0637

Gender discrimination in the god of small things by Arundhati Roy

M. Gopinath 1

Abstract Arundhati Roy’s “The God of small Things” takes on big subjects –love, madness, hope, infinite joy. Through the novel as a writer she dares to break the rules. Then she has given us a book that is anchored to anguish, but fueled by wit and magic. ‘God of small Things’ this highly stylized name tells story of one very fractioned family from the Southernmost tip of India. Here is an unhappy family unhappy in its own ways through flashback and flash forwards the God of Sin. Things unfold the secrets of these characters unhappiness. Keywords Gender discrimination, Arundhati Roy.

1Department of English, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Selaiyur, Chennai-600073, Tamil Nadu, India. Article History: Received 01 October 2020; Accepted 10 December 2020 c 2020 MJM.

Contents and powerful, touchable and untouchable. The novel effec- tively cuts through clothes of nationality, caste and religious 1 Introduction...... 2437 to reveal the bare bones of humanity 2 Discussion...... 2437 The novel truly brings about the position of the women References...... 2438 folk India. It presents before us the constant struggle of the women against their incessant exploitation, torture and strug- gle which the undergo because to the male dominated conser- 1. Introduction vative frame work. The set up of the society is such that it has Arundhati Roy is charming, humorous, strong willed, inde- little or nothing to offer to the unfortunate forsaken women pendent, energetic creative with a great sense of fun. She is a like Ammu who are literary forsaken everywhere they and towering intellect with a poetic fluency with words delivered the greatest pain of it, all comes when they are inflicted by in a soft modulated voice. She is forty years old and describes ones who are so called your ‘own people’. Ammu’s life is her two favorite past times as writing and running. The novel depicted by Arundhati Roy from her childhood to her youth reveals story about her childhood experiences in Kerala. till the times she dies. Ammu is seeing braving a very trou- bled childhood rather tormented nursery years were she had been subjected to all cruelities inflicted by her father on her 2. Discussion and her mother Mammachi whom her father in a sheer fit of “A lot of atmosphere in The God of small Things”—is Schizophrenia tore her new pair of shoes. She was deprived passed on my experiences of what was like to up in Kerala. of the decent education because she was a girl her father was Most interestingly, it was the only place in the world were such a frustrated man that was he not satisfied of beating religious coincide there‘s Christianity, Hinduism, Marxism up his wife and children tore the curtains, kicked the furni- and Islam and the all live together and rub each other down. ture and broke table lamp. To him marriage was not a pious When I grew up it was The Marxism that was strong, it was relationship but point of domination of a man over women. like the revolution was coming next week, I was aware of the Ammu’s life took a new turn in Calcutta when she attends different cultures when growing up and I’m Still...... ” a marriage ceremony. There she met her husband who was on (Arundhati Roy’s The God of small Things.) a vocation from his job of an Assistant manager of a tea estate God of small Things shows the male dominated patriarchal in Assam. Ammu decided to marry him as soon as possible society where there are social biases where there is discrimi- because she knows that the people back in Ayemenem would nation on the basis a gender, caste and class. It presents the not consent her marriage. So she rushed up her decision to rift between the rich and the poor, the high and low, the weak marry him and wrote to her parents who didn’t reply back. Gender discrimination in the god of small things by Arundhati Roy — 2438/2438

She wanted to do something than nothing. Further the height of gender bias and discrimination and exploitation can be seen when Ammu receives further shock after her marriage she is seen being urged by husband to satisfy the carnal desire of his boss Mr.Hollich so that his job remains. Ammu could not take this extreme humiliation, she in tiff with her husband hit him with a heavy book and she left the place with her twins (Rahel and Estha) and reached Ayemenem, but to her horror she found out that her and her children. She wept when she saw the sorry condition of her two innocent kids who huddled to each other. The character Ammu and her life are ruined because of her tormented childhood and the negligence of her parents, same fate befalls her own twins. Estha and Rahel who turn to be sorry figures because all their lives they have hankered for love, affection care and attention. Arundhati Roy wants to express her ideas in her novel The God of small Things, she ironically remarks at man their double standards whereby first they claim to her, uphold her and flip side of it they want to dominate indulge into relentless exploitation of her. They manipulate her as a mere toy. In this way Arundhati Roy wanted to explain the exploitation of women by male dominated society. “The God of small Things”-this is highly original first novel of Arundhati Roy. The novel as won the Booker prize in the year 1997. The novel deals the problem of women’s suppression, male domination, people having lack of humilia- tion and gender discrimination. Not only that the novel was placed her on a very seat. Then she became popularity among the readers. This is a unique novel in which the writer boldly intermingles all the styles of narrative techniques –leading to a creation of a new style –a new innovation.

References [1] Bhatta, Indira, Arundhati Roy’s The God of small Things (ed.), Creative Books, New Delhi, (1919). [2] R.S Sharma, Arundhati Roy’s The God of small Things (ed.), Atlantic pub. New Delhi, (1919). [3] K.B Sunderan, The God of small Things: A saga of Lost Dreams, Atlandic publication, New Delhi, (2000).

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