The Indian Caste System And The Love Laws Essay - 1434 Words

This upheaval of identity can be seen in way the colonial trauma pervades the social, political, and cultural environment depicted in The God of Small Things. The social, political, and cultural environments in turn invade the lives of the characters of the novel. The Indian caste system and the love laws, for instance, are driving forces in one of the main conflicts of the novel. The caste system, which was existed in its present form in the novel due to the British colonists favoring certain castes above others, categorized groups of people within Indian society and classified some as superior to others, with the Untouchables being the lowest classification of the human. The love laws determined â€Å"who should be loved, and how. And how much† (Roy 33). These histories work in tandem to create the tragedy of Ammu, the twins’ mother, and Velutha’s, an Untouchable and friend to the twins, doomed relationship. Because of these socially constructed class structure s, Ammu and Velutha’s relationship was forbidden and when Velutha’s father, Vellya, informs Mamacchi and Baby Kochamma of their relationship, they are completely horrified. Vellya’s relationship with the Ipe Family also somewhat parallels the colonized people’s relationship with the colonizer. Vellya, as an Untouchable, occupies a lower social position than the Ipe Family and sees them as superior. By informing the Mamacchi about her daughter and his son’s relationship, he maintains the social class structures and theShow MoreRelatedThe God Of Small Things By Amitabh Roy Essay1541 Words   |  7 Pageslearning more about the Indian culture. Although the majority of my family was brought up in the culture, I was still intrigued to understand how my lifestyle differed from traditional Indian values. 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Every day, Dalits are butchered, assaulted, abused, raped, lynched, shot or openly mutilated without considering any consequences of the offenders. The deaths of pregnant women who are not able to pay the bribes at government hospitals, some boys with eyes raised completely out for falling in love with a girl of a superior caste, and horrid stories of employees boiled to death because ofRead MoreGod of Small Things960 Words   |  4 Pagescharacters in the novel. The character or characters who engage in unlawful sexual acts are punished while unwanted or undesired race is purged. In this Indian society that worships England, Love Laws, and the Caste System race and sex creates intra-racial racism within the Indian communities that is reinforced with force through the government and Caste System. Intra-racial racism is a result of internalized racism while internalized racism is a result of Anglophilia. 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