Arundhuti Roy’s The God of Small Things has secured a respectable position in the canonized works of commonwealth literature with justifiable reasons. The work was remarkably accomplished for a debut and Roy’s use of non-linear narrative using multiple perspectives works beautifully to give an indefinite impression of things. The plot of the story revolves around trauma and explores how traumatic incidents of the past influence the future and the present of individuals, propelling them to do things they cannot otherwise identify themselves with. This essay aims to identify in depth, a motif of trauma in Roy’s magnum opus. The central argument of the discussion is that the author uses silence to meet many ends in the novel. Silence in The God of Small Things is like the waters of the river which stands for different themes in the novel. The fluidity of silence cradles the entire narrative and it has been strategically explored by Roy. The question is whether silence in the story serves as a barrier to communication and a perpetrator of injustice; or if it brings the different characters of the novel closer to one another, with its pervasive presence throughout the course of the story. The essay aims to determine how the novel uses the motif of silence to suggest the anxiety of trauma, and how it drives people to commit irredeemable actions.
The motif of silence unveils the underlying trauma of the characters in the novel. A deafening silence pervades the novel through and through, and the motif is established with the setting of the plot and sustains itself till the very end when the twins consummate their relationship. The story is set in the quiet, serene district of South India. The narrative shifts back and forth between the 1993 and 1969, delineating the rather strange tales of the Ipe household, as the twins Estha and Rahel struggle to come to terms with their traumatic past. The act of unveiling the truths is carried out in silence, while chaos and sound dominate the confusing plot of the story. The novel opens with Estha and Rahel’s reunion following an indeterminately long gap since their childhood. The silent exchanges between them establishes the theme of the story and the rest of the plot is informed by alternating phases of silence and commotion; used for demonstrating trauma and passion respectively. Ammu, the mother of the twins is left dumbfounded following a traumatic incident and can say nothing apart from the words “He’s dead, I’ve killed him” (Roy: 178). On the ride back to Ayemenem in train. The scene switches back to the past and the readers are introduced to the rest of the family members. It is revealed that Rahel was once molested by the Orangedrink and Lemondrink man, which has left him with debilitating memories of childhood. Rahel choses to suffer in silence and recalls the moment in the present as she watches Estha get undressed in the moonlight, none of them say a word. Silence, in this case is both a reaction to a traumatic past and a means to communicate what cannot be articulated in words. The twins feel the sexual tension between them, their silence is an indication that they both understand and accept the predicament.
The characters in the play are either threatened to silence or succumb to it for survival; in both cases they underlying trauma is hard to miss. Ammu refrains from talking for the rest of her life following the death of her secret lover, Velutha. The twins are made to remain silent about the injustice against Velutha, and Velutha belonging from the margins is never allowed a voice of his own and perishes silently into oblivion. He is never given a choice to vocalize his stand and the readers can only anticipate the trauma with which he had to die. Rahel and Estha witness the entire incident and are traumatized to the point that they cannot speak a word about it even as adults. Ammu and Velutha has to continue their affair in complete secrecy since exposure would drive them to catastrophe. They therefore yield to silence for protecting themselves against the evils of the world. Although, secrecy does not save them from the ills that befell in the ensuing events and Ammu is once again seen resorting to silence following the traumatic incident of Velutha’s death.
The motif of silence is carefully articulated to inform the different themes in the plot, including differing versions of reality, past and the memory, blame and guilt, love, innocence, fear, romance, morality and identity. All these themes are interwoven with trauma and how the different characters respond to it. The motif of silence allows the author to explore tabooed topics like incest, sexual transgression and endogamy with the subtlety integral to works of literary fiction. In theoretical terms, Roy uses silence for communicating the things that cannot be communicated using words. The twins for instance, grapple with the traumas of their unsettling past; and they must do so in silence. Estha and Rahel hardly speak a word of the turmoil that characterized their childhood, although the author conveys their distress through a routine use of silence. Rahel refrains from talking about the sexual molestation. This suggests that he is still traumatized with the unfortunate incident in the childhood and responds to his trauma with silence.
The characters in the play use silence differently depending on their circumstance and their temperament. It is interesting to note that many of the characters in the novel use silence as a defense mechanism. The most obvious example is that of the twins who withdraw into their own world for protecting themselves against the deafening chaos of the world. Baby Kochamma might seem loud and boisterous throughout the novel, but her deliberate silence when it comes to discussing her love interest and the way it embittered her for life, is a valid point to note for discussing Roy’s use of silence. Rahel’s silence following the molestation is a response to the trauma that the unnerving experience left him with; while Pappachi and Mammachi takes extreme measures to silence Ammu’s voice in order to save them from ignominy. Velutha maintains silence for most of the novel as a strategy to escape suspicion of keeping an affair with a higher caste woman. Ammu is robbed of the capability to speak following the death of Velutha; which might be interpreted as a response to despondency.
The motif of silence also helps exposing the cultural tensions and the class relations in post-independent India, and hints at the underlying trauma pervading it. The love between Velutha and Ammu is forbidden as per social conventions and hence they are prompted to continue with their affair in the discreet mode. The secrecy cannot save them from peril and their exposure demands subduing the entire incident. Ammu is locked up so her voice may not be heard while Velutha’s death is hushed into oblivion. The caste system of India made it punishable for people to indulge in inter-caste relationships; and hence Ammu and Velutha are forced to remain silent about their affair; perhaps because they are too traumatized about the perilous consequences exposure might entail. Baby Kochamma’s attempts to persuade the twins in keeping silent about the truth of the situation is triggered by survival instinct. Whereas Ammu is traumatized to silence following the death of Velutha. Silence therefore, serves as both an outcome and the anticipation of trauma. Different characters use it differently to suit best their purpose.
The oddities in the behavior of the twins illustrate their emotional trauma; Estha seems more affected of the two. Esthappen, who was the happy boy, Elvis Pelvis, is claimed by the silence just as the hungry waters of the silent river claimed their innocent childhood and the youth of Ammu, the life of the little girl, the existence of Velutha. The jovial kid in the past drops all speech all together following a series of mishaps and finally choosing to remain silent for most of his adult life. The incident of Sophie and Velutha’s demise had left an indelible mark on the lives of the characters, it tore apart the twins from each other, stole the words from the mouth of Estagappen. What remained in its place was a deep gorging void, an emptiness of silence. He has simple lost the will to speak to anyone. Even after his reunion with Rahel, Estha did not, or perhaps could not come out of the cobweb of silence. Although, it is intriguing to note that silence could not claim his ability to communicate. His sister knew him and understood him well, as she was capable of penetrating the silent veil. The novel traces the silent suffering of individuals, their silent rebellions, and reveals how these rebellions are silently quelled. It explores the primal and universal instinct of love, the yearning for companionship, the silent ways in which it operates and the loud impact that it leaves.
The silence motif is intrinsically related with some essential themes in the novel such as repetition, memory, figurative language and failure of words. The characters observe the flashbacks in complete silence although there is the indication that while they share these silence, there are serious exchanges between them; the significance of which is left to the readers to figure out. The family members fail to communicate their feelings by using words; quite uncannily, they are able to communicate some of their deepest emotions through silence. This is evident in the relationship between Pappachi and Mammachi. They might have a turbulent marriage but when it comes to taking a joint decision, they do so silently. It is almost as if silence is the only thing that binds them together in the chaotic relationship. As mentioned earlier in the discussion, Ammu and Velutha copulate silently in the dark; they speak very little during their meetings and it might be due the fact that both of them are too traumatized to speak about the truth of the circumstance.
The motif of silence in The God of Small Things , apart from conveying a sense of trauma in the characters, is also used to reverse archaic models in literature. Traditional literature has habitually used silence for subduing voices. Nabokov’s Lolita , Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Shakespeare’s Hamlet are notable examples. In a radical reversal of established norms, Roy uses silence for giving a voice to the voiceless. This is precisely why the silences in the novel has almost a theatrical effect. Be it Ammu’s discreet gestures of demonstrating attraction towards Velutha or the unheard or barely heard voices in the narrative strands of Keluagra and Ammu. Mainstream novels have generally silenced such marginal voices. But Roy interrogates such practices and turns it inside out. She takes the readers to the heart of the matter that plagues the society.
Conclusion
As the arguments point out, Roy’s use of silence as a powerful motif of the novel serves to meet the loose ends and concretize the plot development. Most of the characters responds to trauma with silence and uses it as a defense mechanism to protect themselves against the pandemonium that is the world. Arundhuti Roy tactfully employs the motif of silence to convey the things that words fail to communicate. The story, like silence, does not have any definite meaning, it appeals to different readers in different ways, depending on their perspectives of life and society. Even in the film adaptation of the book, the motif of silence comes across powerfully with the deliberated pauses in scenes and the characters communicating more in gestures than in words. Moreover, the motif of silence aptly conveys the intensity of the trauma, the burden of which must be borne out by all the central characters of the novel. When all expressions fail, they have silence to fall back on for communicating the inexplicable. Since the anxiety of trauma is difficult to convey in words, the novel uses silence to give an expression to the traumatic experiences of the characters.
Roy, Arundhati. The god of small things (1997). na, 2002.
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