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PAPER ID:IJIM/V.2(IX)/94-98/18
AUTHOR: Mohd Ishaq Bhat and Yasmeena Jan
TITLE :THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS: VOICE AND EXPRESSION TO THE SUFFERINGS OF SUBALTERN
ABSTRACT:Literature is a vehicle of ideas and views. The progressive ideas of a fictional genius spread through his/her works of literature. These works later on become classic and deserve immortality. They are universally received. These fictional works attain eternity through the ages. Great literature should tell us about social realities as class exploitation, injustice and above all the insult and abuse the subaltern. The experiences of women are shaped by absence and invisibility: what does not get noticed, discussed or included. In the orthodox and conservative society like ours, women have always been undervalued due to patriarchal assumptions. They have been tutored that their greatness lies in their sufferings and therefore, happiness of others is always prioritized to their own. In fact, their perceptions of their aspirations and expectations are within the framework of Indian social and moral commitment. The paper seeks to study the work of Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things, as a text of the silent voice of subaltern. It throws light on some important things of life. It has universal appeal because it voices the hidden and suppressed emotions of subaltern. It is a panorama of Indian social life. It shows the endless struggle of women and untouchables for carving their identity in this cruel, conservative and elite dominating society. They are vulnerable and deserted too so have to suffer at the hands of law makers. Being a social activist she raises the existential questions of subaltern and quest for their identity with a silent voice in a modern, democratic and complex world. The paper presents the constant struggle of women for their identity through the main characters as Ammu and Velutha who have feeble voice lost in the cacophony of life.
KEYWORDS: Subaltern, Gender, Identity, Patriarchy, Stereotype, Cacophony, Quest, Conservative, Panorama.
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