The God of Small Things | Topics for Discussion & Projects

The God of Small Things Key Questions

The two main situations that provide the backdrop for this story are the former colonization of India by England and the caste system that works within Indian society.

As an Indian writer writing in English for a primarily English-speaking audience, Roy must negotiate her place within Indian society while making her commentary about it. Her fiction is not anti-English, but could be thought of as commenting upon the quick dismissal of Indian tradition by those who might be best served by a readjustment of attitudes towards their own people as well as those who they think of as superior.

1. Find information on the caste system in India, and information about the culture in general of the Southwestern area of India where this story takes place. Did Roy do a good job representing the ideas and cultural concepts of this time and place?

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