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Personification
Definition of Setting
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
Setting
Explanation and Analysis:
The setting of The God of Small Things is both stationary and mobile. The story stays mostly within the town of Ayemenem in Kerala, India, varying only for flashbacks. The timeline, however, shifts around significantly between December 1969 and June 1993, as the narrator tells the story of Rahel and Estha. Ayemenem remains mostly unchanged between these two time periods: only the characters and their relationships are different.
Ayemenem is defined by the river Meenachal, the "hot, brooding" weather, and the monsoon season. The town is filled with bursting fruit, small creatures, and overflowing gardens. It is rich in nature and ominous in weather. Because of the traumatic events that occurred in the twins' childhood, Ayemenem and the river Meenachal now hold terrible memories for them. The place is now inseparable from the tragedy.
The river in particular used to be a place of wonder and exploration for the twins, as they refurbished the Old Boat with Velutha and went off exploring on the vessel. Velutha meets Ammu at the river, where they begin their ruinous love affair. However, once Sophie Mol drowns and Velutha dies, the river becomes a fateful place. Another influential location for Estha and Rahel is Abhilash Talkies, the movie theater in Cochin. It is here that Estha first experiences how cruel and violent people can be, when the Orangedrink Lemondrink man sexually assaults him.
Cochin is also the beginning of the end: Ammu, Chacko, Baby Kochamma, and the twins pick up Sophie Mol and Margaret Kochamma from the Cochin Airport. Margaret Kochamma blames herself for even bringing her daughter to India in the first place and going back to Cochin with Chacko to confirm their return tickets. These are the events that lead, albeit indirectly, to Sophie Mol's tragic death.
