Essay 1
Arundhati Roy’s God of Small things is a book about two fraternal twins Rahel and Estha who are separated at the tender ages of 7 but are later reunited at the ages of 31. The children are results of a dysfunctional marriage between Ammu Ipe and a man who manages a tea estate in Calcutta, India. Abraham Verghese’s Cutting for Stone is also about twin brothers Marion and Shiva who are separated at birth. It is a narration carried out by Marion Stone as the name also resonates with the title of the book. The two novels are explicit in developing the two-imagery approach whereby they bring out tow individuals who are united by blood and fate. The twins from both books are separated by circumstances, which are unique to both cases. Both novels are based on the existence of twins in separate environments but are united by fate. In addition, the twins, Marion and Shiva developed love for medicine and the same woman. This is an exemplary use of twin imagery as the passion for medicine, the same woman and blood unites them in an unprecedented way.
Abraham Verghese illustrates exceptional oratory skills as evidenced by Marion Stone’s narration as he tells the audience of his experiences. The story begins when Sister Mary Joseph Praise who is of Indian origin and a nun has an illicit affair with an impetuous British surgeon by the name Thomas Stone. The two met in Madras onboard a boat, and later moved to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia after Thomas moves to work in the ‘Missing Hospital’ which is used to mean Mission hospital in Ethiopia with Sister Mary following him where they work beside each other seven years as doctor and nurse respectively. After years of an illicit relationship, Mary conceives, but while giving birth to the two twins she dies on the operation table. After her death Thomas views taking care of two boys as too tough a task to handle and disappears leaving the two children without even a whim of their identity and more so who their father was. Thus, the two boys, Marion and Shiva grow up with hatred and resentment towards their absentee father who fled hence they view him as a coward and irresponsible.
Despite their misfortune of absence of their father, they are raised by Hema and Ghosh, who are Indian doctors working at ‘missing’ hospital. Growing up under the care of two doctors, the twins develop profound love and passion for medicine. This is one of the exemplary uses of twin imagery whereby the two twins for passion for medicine. in the brink of the revolution when the ruling Emperor Haile Selaisse does things in his own way leaving the country plagued with disease, hunger and poverty (Verghese, 21). Marion soon finds out that his brother Shiva slept with Genet, a girl Marion had always loved. This betrayal by his brother bruises his ego and hurts him emotionally as he develops depression, he sneaks out of Ethiopia and heads for America where he finds work placement at a busy, under funded New York hospital in Bronx. In the hospital, he learns many things, which make him a mature doctor and man. In addition, he happens to meet his father whom he loathes for abandoning them. However, he develops a bond with him after they reconcile.
Arundhati Roy in God of Small things is different because it focuses on family tragedies in the entire story. Rahel and Estha’s lives are destroyed by the love laws in existence in the Indian society. The love laws are in existence due to the beliefs that people are classified in form of castes. Those of lower caste are prohibited from interaction; it is paramount and a must for people within the Indian community to interact with people belonging to identical caste. Ion addition marriage or relationships with people of lower castes are prohibited. Those found to have relations or any form of interaction with people from a lower caste are banished and the lower caste individuals are beaten or even killed. For instance, when the relationship between Ammu and Velutha are discovered; Velutha is beaten up by the police and eventually succumbs to the injuries he sustained from the beating and dies. Ammu falls in love with Velutha because of the admiration he receives from the tow twins, Rahel and Estha. Their relations exist in secrecy, which is an utter show of the social prejudices against people based on their social statuses.
Baby Kochamma could be described as a master of deceit as she manipulates and deceives people to bring pain and anguish on both the twins and Ammu. Baby Kochamma takes advantage of her status in the society as well as in her family to manipulate people around her. Her anger for Velutha is instigated by the protesters forcing her to stand on the roof of her car to wave a communist flag at the same time chanting communist slogans. It proves to be one of her most humiliating experiences, such that when she notices Velutha in the midst of the crowd she despises him and places internal blame on him for her humiliation. She takes the actions of the supporters to heart and is on a path of vengeance against Velutha.
Her hatred towards Velutha could be described as consuming because it ravages the people she comes across. Her mind and body seem to be one because of her experiences with the crowd; she vouches to revenge her humiliation through causing Velutha anguish. When she chants the slogans in support of the communist group she feels embarrassed and humiliated, thus it is sufficient to state that her connection with her body and mind are an aspect of monism. The Indian community regards the presence of the body and the soul or mind as one. Thus, failure to integrate the two results in a dysfunctional human being.
Communism is also a dominant theme in the book as the presence of inequalities in the society. Velutha is a vibrant member of a communist movement within his hometown of Calcutta, whereby during a demonstration by the communists’ supporters they encounter the Ipe on their way to the airport to pick up Margret. The aspect of Margret who is an American coming to India is facilitated by the presence of globalization in the world. The presence of industrialization enables Chacko to return back form America after he fails to get work placement after his bitter divorce from Margret. The ability of Chacko to look for work in India after being accustomed to a lavish lifestyle in America can be attributed to the fact that after the Indian independence the country was able to forge economic development via the use of
The two books are exceptional in bringing out the social prejudices instigated against people who are considered as unprivileged. Numerous themes are illustrated within the two pieces of literature; betrayal, love, separation, forgiveness and social injustice. The two authors use imagery in utterly different ways. However, in some aspects, imagery is used in identical ways to bring out the themes of betrayal, death. Betrayal is one of the most dominant themes in the two books especially in the God of Small things whereby Rahel and Estha are betrayed by their aunt Baby Kochamma. Twin imagery is evident because Baby Kochamma instigates plans to have Ammu banished form their household, which leaves the two twins distraught. This means that the two twins are inseparable in terms of their suffering in the hands of a wicked aunt.
Verghese’s Cutting for Stone brings forth numerous themes, which are part of any healthy society. The theme of betrayal is however the most dominant them within the narrative. Marion’s trust and relationship with his brother is broken by his impeditive actions of sleeping with a girl whom he loved and cared for dearly. In addition, during the post-colonial era, the colonies were left in a desolate state by the colonial imperialist leaving behind shattered economies, impoverished communities and diseases because the natives of the colonies were not allowed to attend schooling to gain knowledge which would have been vital in sustaining their needy populations. The reasons for travel by Marion could be described as efforts to seek greener pastures due to the presence of a run down economy by the Italian governments and by the Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie. Dualism is depicted clearly in the book when Marion moves away to the United States after he becomes distraught when he learns that his brother had slept with a girl whom she cared for and loved deeply. This resulted in him seeking to move away form her to seek his own space (Gasman, 47). The ability of him to move away and separate his thoughts form his body is seen as possible because he manages to excel in the medical profession in New York hospital.
When Ammu’s brother Chacko invites his former wife over to visit in India with his daughter she readily accepts his invitation. Her ability to move from America to India in a short span shows the presence of a new approach of globalization. Because India was a British colony
In addition, dualism is evident in the conflicts between good and evil in the two writings. This happens when Marion and Shiva are at a crossroads when the two are separated because of Shiva’s actions. The ability of Chacko and the society to castigate Ammu and Velutha for their relationship is a clear indication of the absence of reason among the society (Roy, 58).
In the same aspect, Marion is torn between good and evil when he contemplates whether to forgive his father bearing in mind that he abandoned them when they were unable to take care of themselves. His past haunts him as he harbors deep resentment for his bother when he contemplates to mend relations with his brother who betrayed him. It becomes clear that the presence of the mind and body are intertwined thus
*In Aristotelian ethics, reason forms part of the greatest power betrothed to man. Hence, Marion’s utilizes his ability to reason well when he finds himself in a dilemma to reunite with both his father, whom he harbors deep resentment for abandoning him, and his brother whom he fell out with after he betrayed him with a girl whom he loved and adored very much. The two twins are however united by natural circumstances, which enforce the presence of dualism and twin imagery.
As for Thomas Stone his brashness, enables arrival at the conclusion of presence of monism because it seems his body and mind are one such that he does not contemplate nor regret his actions for abandoning his own children without them having the ability to care for themselves. He can be described as irresponsible because of his inability to take care of Marion and Shiva who are his own flesh and blood (Gasman, 47). In addition, his ability to move to Ethiopia as part of his employment strategy is an illustration of the globalization effects. In the colonial period the presence f expatriates was a sign of colonial rule, however when Thomas Stone is an illustration of global acceptance of the colonies as part of the world.
In conclusion, there seems to be an emphasis about the existence of tow worlds from a dualism approach; this is because the twins have identical ideals but are separated by the social prejudice that plagues their respective communities or societies. In addition, the world seems to exist in a dual perspective because of the presence of people who consider themselves as superior than others such as the Italians in Ethiopia and the Ipe family in India who are considered of a higher caste. Moreover, people like Velutha who are considered as people of lower caste or dalits are victimized and treated as lesser than human. This is clear indication of the passage of the social system, which was in existence in the colonial period whereby the colonialists segregated the natives, colonial rulers, and their families. However, in the Indian community it is part of tradition to consider some of lower value than others who are Dalits (Roy, 58). As for Cutting for Stone, there are various reasons that the mind and the body are one, the two brothers and their father having experienced tribulations in their lives come together and depend on each other for moral support, which is an illustration of a monism whereby the body and mind are but one item (Lee, 78).
Work Cited
Aristotle & J A. Giles. Nicomechean Ethics. London: J. Cornish, 1870. Print.
Gasman, Daniel. Haeckel’s Monism and the Birth of Fascist Ideology. New York: P. Lang, 1998. Print.
Lee, Richard E. Dualism. Albany, N.Y: SUNY Press, 2010. Print.
Roy, Arundhati. The God of Small Things. New York: Random House, 1997. Print
Verghese, A. Cutting for Stone: A Novel. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009. Print
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