Comparing Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things and Chinua Archebe’s Things Fall Apart

Comparing Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things and Chinua Archebe’s Things Fall Apart

Literature is an amazing form of expression. A multitude of things can be said so in so many creative ways. Whether the story that is being told is true or fiction, the important thing is how it is told. The structure of a story is what gives it power, strength and the ability to move readers. Arundhati Roy and Chinua Achebe are two very talented authors who express their stories in two very different and unique ways. Although their stories are structurally different they have many similarities regarding class structure, societal issues, moral and family betrayals, and tragedy.

The God of Small Things, a novel, by Arundhati Roy unravels the secrets of a family in India. Arundhati Roy uses an intriguing technique to tell the story of Ammu, Rahel, Estha, Sophie Mol, Velutha, Mammachi, Chacko, Margaret Kochamma, and Baby Kochamma. Roy starts the story by in a way paraphrasing all the events that are to occur throughout the story. She then proceeds to tell about the funeral of Sophie Mol and Ammu, Rahel, and Estha’s trip to the police station. She begins the story at the end. The reader does not find out until much later who Sophie Mol is and why Ammu and the twins went to the police station. Roy continues the story by jumping from Rahel and Estha’s childhood to their adulthood. Every chapter jumps from past to present. In every chapter Arundhati Roy answers or creates more questions about her characters lives for the reader. She uses repetition throughout the story to make the reader pay attention, remember, and wonder what she is trying to get across. Roy also uses wonderful metaphors, similes, and figurative language to ...

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... one who killed his own son. He did not want to look weak in front of his fellow clan members. Okonkwo suffered internally for what he did.

Despite the fact that these novels by Roy and Archebe differ widely in structure, they share many common themes. Both authors had their own special way of getting the story out, yet wanted to show the same things. Class structures, societal issues, moral and family betrayal all play a huge part in the lives of their characters. Many times these themes had terrible consequences and even ended up causing tragedy. These three things had the ability to change history forever.

Work Cited:

Roy, Arundhati. The God of Small Things. HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. New York. 1997.

The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Vol. 2c seventh edition. Archebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart.