THE IMPACTS OF PARA-COLONIALISM IN ARUNDHATI ROY'S THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS: A POST-COLONIAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

This paper will look at the book The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy (1997) using the term para-colonialism which is the sub-branch of post colonial theory used to discuss how colonial ideologies persist even after independence in post independence societies. The article looks at the ways in which caste-based oppression in India is a para-colonial system which supports the caste and institutionalized marginalization despite the British colonial rule several decades ago. By qualitatively analyzing the text of the novel of Roy, the current study emphasizes the psychological, social and cultural impacts of the para-colonial rule over the Ipe family members, specifying on such characters as Velutha, and Ammu. The data provides an understanding that The God of Small Things (1997) not only questions the legacies of colonialism but also questions the insides of the system that propagates the same colonial influence in the form of caste, class, and gender. The paper adds to the body of postcolonial literary criticism by providing a finer point of view on the colonial power and the way it still defines the modern identities and relations in the way that can be described as subtle but devastating.