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God of Small Things: Daughters of Penelope Foundation Book Club Discussion Questions

This document contains 19 discussion questions about the novel "God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy. The questions probe various themes and elements of the novel including the meaning of the "God of Small Things", the importance of laws and social order, the significance of different dwellings and the river, the role of caste and religion, the twins' relationship and vision of childhood, the importance of storytelling, the subjugation of Kochamma women, various forms of dispossession that occur, the idea of punishment, attempts to "order chaos", the shocking nature of Estha and Rahel's lovemaking, the architectural structure of the novel relating to buildings within it, and whether intense love can compensate for oppression.

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Christopher Hinton
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237 views2 pages

God of Small Things: Daughters of Penelope Foundation Book Club Discussion Questions

This document contains 19 discussion questions about the novel "God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy. The questions probe various themes and elements of the novel including the meaning of the "God of Small Things", the importance of laws and social order, the significance of different dwellings and the river, the role of caste and religion, the twins' relationship and vision of childhood, the importance of storytelling, the subjugation of Kochamma women, various forms of dispossession that occur, the idea of punishment, attempts to "order chaos", the shocking nature of Estha and Rahel's lovemaking, the architectural structure of the novel relating to buildings within it, and whether intense love can compensate for oppression.

Uploaded by

Christopher Hinton
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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God of Small Things

by Arundnati Roy
Daughters of Penelope Foundation Book Club
Discussion Questions
1. Who-or what-is the God of Small Things? What other names and what divine and
earthly attributes are associated with this god? What-or who-are the Small Things
over which this god has dominion, and why do they merit their own god?
2. What are the various laws, rules, and regulations-familial, social, cultural, political,
and religious-including "the Love Laws," to which oy ma!es repeated references?
. "arious dwellings are important to the unfolding of oy#s story$ %ow is each
described? To what e&tent does each embody or reflect the forces and burdens of
history, social order, and custom?
!. %ow does the river that flows through 'yemenem in ()*) differ from the river in
())+? What is its importance in the lives and histories of the two families and in the
twins# childhood?
". To what e&tent are race, social class, and religion important? What specific
elements of each ta!e on predominant importance, and with what conse,uences?
%ow do the concept and the reality of "the -ntouchable" function in the novel?
#. Why does oy switch bac! and forth among time present and various times past?
$. .s Time as destroyer the novel#s most insistent theme? %ow are the blue
/lymouth, the pic!le factory, ahel#s toy wristwatch 0which always reads "ten to
two"1, the children#s boat, and other ob2ects related to this theme?
%. "%e was called "elutha-which means White in 3alayalam-because he was so
blac!4" and at age (( he "was li!e a little magician$" What is the full e&tent of
"elutha the -ntouchable#s role in the story?
&. To what e&tent do even the most fantastical events result from everyday
passions? What feelings and passions are predominant, and how do they determine
!ey events? Which emotions are strongest among the children, the adults?
1'. %ow does oy portray the twins# e&traordinary spiritual connection, their "single
Siamese soul," the fragile, wonder-filled world of their childhood, their often magical
vision, and their differences? .s her re-creation of the child#s world convincing?
11. What importance does oy ascribe to story, storytelling, and playacting,
including the 5atha!ali dances and stories? To what e&tent is the telling of a story
more important than the story itself?
12. .n what ways are the 5ochamma women sub2ected to male dominance,
indifference, and even cruelty, and in what ways are they decisive in their own lives,
the life of their family, and the affairs of their community?
1. 6aby 5ochamma#s harbors an "age-old fear of being dispossessed$" What !inds
of dispossession occur in the novel, and in association with which characters and
which events? With what conse,uences?
1!. "Some things come with their own punishments," oy writes$ "They would all
learn more about punishments soon$ That they came in different si7es$" What "si7es"
of punishment are specified, and who decides those "si7es"?
1". ahel reveals to Sophie 3ol a list of those she loves4 and we learn that this list
was an attempt to order chaos$ She revised it constantly, torn forever between love
and duty$" What other attempts are there "to order chaos"?
1#. oy writes that .nspector 3athew and 8omrade /illai "were both men whom
childhood had abandoned without a trace$ 3en without curiosity$ Without doubt$ 6oth
in their own way truly, terrifyingly adult$" 8an this be said of others?
1$. .s there anything truly shoc!ing about 9stha and ahel#s lovema!ing in the ne&t-
to-final chapter? What does oy mean when she writes, "There is very little that
anyone could say to clarify what happened ne&t$ :othing that 0in 3ammachi#s boo!1
would separate Se& from Love$ ;r :eeds from <eelings"?
1%. oy has said that her architectural studies determined her novel#s structure$ .n
what ways can we view the novel#s plan and construction as architectural? .n what
ways is the novel#s "architecture" related to actual buildings in the novel?
1&. =oes a single moment of true, intense love compensate for centuries of
oppression, cruelty, and madness?
2'. Why does oy end the novel with a detailed depiction of 'mmu and "elutha#s
first night of lovema!ing and the promise of "Tomorrow"?

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