Authors: Mr. Atul Jaryal, Dr. Rakesh Kumar, Dr. Rakesh Kumar
Abstract: Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things occupies a central position in contemporary Indian English literature because of its radical engagement with caste oppression, trauma, memory, and temporality. This paper examines the relationship between caste violence and fragmented time in the novel, arguing that Roy’s nonlinear narrative structure reflects the psychological disintegration produced by social oppression. Through the experiences of Ammu, Velutha, Estha, and Rahel, the novel exposes how caste regulations—described as the “Love Laws”—control intimacy, identity, and historical memory in postcolonial Kerala. Drawing upon trauma theory, postcolonial criticism, psychoanalytic approaches, and caste studies, the paper demonstrates that the novel transforms time into a fractured and unstable experience. The narrative’s disrupted chronology, repetitive imagery, and fragmented language reproduce the cyclical return of traumatic memory. This study further argues that Roy uses childhood consciousness and linguistic experimentation to represent forms of suffering that exceed conventional language. Unlike realist narratives that move toward closure, The God of Small Things resists resolution and instead foregrounds emotional residue, silence, and historical continuity of violence. The paper also investigates how the body, space, and memory become politically charged sites within the novel. By linking caste-based violence with temporal dislocation, the study contributes to scholarship on trauma fiction and postcolonial literature. Ultimately, the paper argues that Roy’s novel portrays trauma not as an isolated personal event but as an inherited social condition embedded in cultural systems and historical structures.
DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20281535
