Why wont writers allow children to simply be children?

Discuss the presentation and significance of children, or the state of childhood, in The God of Small things in light of this complaint.

Literature has the adept ability to take one common theme and develop vast ways of exploring it. The state of childhood has been an extremely profound topic in the history of written word. For centuries, authors have written coming-of-age novels depicting key events that shape a childs life. In The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy depicts childhood through twins Estha and Rahel. Roy uses flashbacks to pinpoint moments that form the adults they become. However, Roy does not use the common loss of innocence theme that many authors do. Unlike many works of literature, the children seem to be very analytical rather than nave. Estha and Rahel show keen awareness of the world around them and how they should act. The children in this book are not typical children. The loss of innocence portrayed in The God of Small Things catalyzes Roys ability to represent the childrens understanding of the world around them. Estha and Rahel are not ordinary twins. As Roy describes, ..Esthappen and Rahel thought of themselves together as Me, and separately, individually as We or Us (Roy 5). Roy continues to explain that they are physically separate but of one mind. For example, she writes that Rahel remember giggling at Esthas dream without Estha ever telling her the dream. In truth, the twins seem to be one person separated by physical bodies. They are unusual and misunderstood by normal people in the way that they understand one another. In truth, there are certain

people in a persons life that is their other half. They can understand what the other is saying without a spoken word. They can recognize body language and facial expressions the way no one else can. In this way, Estha and Rahel are no different from other childhood relationships. The separation lies between the events that shape their lives and how these two children react and respond. Simply, adversity teaches children the horrific nature of mankind. The kids that undergo the toughest problems are more apt to understand the world at a younger age. Children are supposed to be carefree, running around the world with smiles on their faces and love in their hearts. Roy depicts children in a harsher, realistic setting. Estha and Rahel are not normal children. They undergo circumstances and events that no child should ever endure. For example, Estha is molested by a man at a young age. This devastating event tore Estha apart. Slowly, Estha became more and more fearful, and over time he stopped talking entirely. This one single act led to his prolonged loss of innocence. Instead of talking to Rahel about it, he keeps hush because he wants to protect Rahel. Not many young children have the courage to keep their individual deterioration a secret for the sake of another. Children are usually loving, but by nature, selfish. They all want whatever they can get their hands on, whatever the other kids have. Esthas relationship demonstrates the love between the twins even through their horrific childhood. Moreover, the general knowledge of the twins was developed at a young age. Because they went through a traumatic childhood, they knew more than the average kid. They look at the world in the conditions they experienced it in: cynical. As shown on page 143, Estha asks Rahel where people are sent to Jolly Well Behave.

Rahel responds, To the government(Roy 143). From this young age, readers can see how they see the world. Already, the government is a wicked place in their eyes. To no avail, most people in the world today put blame on the government. More comparably, people are scared of the government and the power it can attain and utilize. These children understand this fear, maybe not completely, but enough to recognize how the people around them feel. It is this type of knowledge that shows up throughout the book. Estha and Rahel, through their own experiences, come to know the world as the harsh reality that it can be. The loss of innocence of both children can be traced back to neither one knowing who they truly were at a young age. Because they felt they were one mind, they did not develop an identity for themselves and themselves only. Rahel could not even think of something to write to Estha because she felt she was just writing to herself. Estha signed his own notebook Esthappen Un-known. This could be due to Ammu not knowing what surname to give him. However, Roy most likely included this to show Esthas confusion of who he truly was, who he truly belonged to. Estha and Rahel are not given the normal family life that children are usually given. They do not have the perfect parents and two-story house that readers want to read about. They are the example of its opposite, a story of two kids who struggle to find meaning and identity in a cruel life. Arundhati Roy gives readers a tough experience. Readers enjoy reading about the good. It is exponentially easier to read a story with a happier ending than to read a story that is wrenching. Yet, Roy did what any author aspires to do. She is able to make the readers feel something. She uses children because children

are supposed to be children. By normal logic, they should be smiling and laughing and dreaming. Roy needed to use the children to explain the harsh reality that bad things happen. Traumatic events shape the formation of a persons identity. Estha and Rahel were not ordinary children. They were not living a perfect life as perfect kids. They were, however, the perfect way to incorporate human truths in a realistic and uneasy setting.