SoS Harkness Q

How do Milkman and Macon Jr.'s searches for gold differ? How does this affect their character developments?

SoS Response NEW

- What made Guitar the way that he is?
- Is any of this gold real?
- What's the deal with the peacock?"

"doll-baby"

SoS Ch. 1-3 Questions

- Is Ruth's daughter actually named First Corinthians?
- Why does Ruth do such strange things? i.e.. the breastfeeding, dead father, etc.
- Was Milkman justified in hitting his father? *LEVEL THREE HYPE*

"contralto"

God of Small Things Final Response

         I found the end of this novel to be both disturbing and disheartening.  Baby Kochamma continued to be just about the worst you can be, antagonizing and terrifying the twins, saying that they killed Sophie, and that they are essentially going to rot in jail.  She began the book as an awful character, only to end it the same way.  Little to no character growth for her.  The fact that the twins ending up doing it in the end is really disgusting.  We even joked in class about this happening. I had no idea it would turn into an actual thing.  The whole ending of this novel was kind of a depressing disaster with everyone's life falling apart, or becoming really screwed up. Incest, death, prison... I mean just about anything awful that could've happened in this last stanza happened.  A fitting end to a strange novel.

God of Small Things Response

Why is "Think" capitalized when Estha is in the factory?
Is the question posed about the boat a metaphor for something, or just concrete question?
How come the man Ammu dreams of only has one arm?

"God of Small Things" is the word/phrase that stood out to me.

Is This Novel Unnecessarily Graphic (In A Bad Way)?

          Throughout The God of Small Things, a number of extremely graphic events occur, things that I'd rather not explicitly mention.  This graphic events, oftentimes described in bizarre ways and metaphors, brings up the following question: Is any of this necessary?  Personally, I say no.  As a reader, I will still understand the author's message were they to describe this events with less detail.  In this case, the writer really should tell us instead of show us.  I don't want to be shown THAT. Nobody wants to be shown that in this novel. I can honestly say I'm good. Spare me the details.  I believe that although one could argue that the digested emotions conjured up by parts of this novel, serve to emotionally bond the reader with the novel and feel pity for the characters, but I personally feel less of a connection, as it gives off more of a weird vibe than anything.  I would say that no, Roy's blatantly detailed descriptions of certain aspects of this novel are unnecessary for us the readers, and I would not advocate for continuity in these descriptions as I continue to read.

God of Small Blog Posts Pt. 2

How come Estha doesn't look back at Rahel? Is it a representation of Rahel's pensive thoughtfulness compared to Estha's general lack of awareness?

"c***," nahhh just kidding "coolie" (85).

"God of Small Things" Response

         Similar to what we talked about briefly in class, as I have begun to read more of the novel, the timeline seems to be getting even more difficult to keep up with.  I now understand why you had us create a family tree and a timeline in order to sort out the chronology of events, and the relationships between characters.  There are a great deal of characters in the novel that play a large role, so the constant switching between centuries can get confusing at times.  I was surprised by Chacko's blatantly awkward and uncomfortable manner, describing the girl's as burdens to him, and was slightly puzzled by this.

"Untouchable" Question

- How would you identify Bakha's relationship with Lakha? Deep down did they understand each other or no?

"Untouchable" Thoughts 2

- What caste is Charat Singh originally from? He seems particularly comfortable with untouchables.
- Does Lahka know what's best for Bakha given the circumstances, or is he just a slave to the Indian caste system?
- Has Bakha always felt trapped in his world, or has he just become aware of his condition and the state of his life? He seems to have become more and more depressed as the plot continues.

"Melancholy" (79)

"Untouchable" Thoughts

- Why is Bakha so obsessed with the British? Is it coming from a place of genuine fascination, longing to have their wealth, or a deep dislike/hatred?

- Can "Untouchables" play professional sports, like field hockey, or is that not allowed?

- Is Lahka just a lazy person, or in his age has he essentially "given up" doing the works his Caste is relegated to?

"Refuse" (25)

"A Temporary Matter" Response

"A Temporary Matter" had an incredible depressing tone, with things continually getting worse and worse as the story progresses.  Although there seemed to be a bit of hope during their blackout games, this all comes crashing down, making this short story ever more depressing to the reader.  This melancholy, depressing tone helps to convey the theme, that a lack of communication often results in a broken relationship.  While the relationship does seemingly get better after they communicate and play this game, the damage is irreparable.  Their relationship was never to be as strong as it once was, and a separation was inevitable.  This story is so depressing, because it really is so real, and so plausible. Real people experience this type of thing all the time, something that really brings out the magnitude of this situation.  By the end of the story, both Shoba and Shakumar are completely broken individuals.  This is a truly sad story.