Friday, February 19, 2010
The intricacies of Ammu's dream, which begins on page 205, are of extreme interest to me. The way in which "The God of Small Things," later accepted by Ammu to be representative of Velutha, is constrained in numerous ways within the fantasy presents a beautifully allegorical depiction of the societal limitations placed on Paravans. The figure in the dream only has one arm. Shadows surround the cheerful man, but they are only visible to him (for the moment, let's disregard the narrator's authorial display of omniscience in detailing this aspect of the dream). Though he seems to desire a multiplicity of actions, the constricting effects of the crowd of violin wielding spectators coupled with an internalized knowledge of untouchable possibilities leave him with the option of choosing one. For Ammu, she knows that the liberty of her actions is much different, however she stops short of acting upon any of the impulses she experiences in the dream sequence. Roy's illustration of the opposing templates of choice within the caste system is quite poignant. For "The God of Small Things," there are many choices to be viewed, but only one can be chosen. Dependent upon the choice -hold her, kiss her, see her, feel her- no other action would be possible, or even necessary because the repercussions of his insolence would be debilitating, if not fatal. Ammu's situation is quite the opposite. Like Velutha, her actions are governed by the spectators and their prejudiced expectations, but in this fantasy the choice is hers, unlike Velutha. I find this dream very well illustrates today's discussion of the obstacles facing Velutha in a caste system in spite of his near perfect character.
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I think this dream, in many ways, encompasses the entirety of the novel. The characters are constantly faced with choices that causes someone to win and someone to lose. There is not an instance where everything is whole because of a choice. I think this is especially apparent in Estha's and Rahel's choice to condemn Velutha. They want to save Ammu because the love her but are forced to hurt Velutha, whom the love dearly, in order to do so. It is a vicious cycle that makes clear how one small choice can affect history.
ReplyDeleteI felt that the dream was introduced to show that not even in sleep are you free from these social constructions, in this case the caste system. The caste system is so much a part of their lives that not even pretending can they forget the fact that they are playing a role in their choices.
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