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Situational Irony
Style
Explanation and Analysis:
The style of The God of Small Things is very fluid, in part because it makes liberal use of flashbacks. The story shifts between December 1969, when Rahel and Estha are children living in Ayemenem, and June 1993, when the twins return to Ayemenem as adults, having not seen each other in 24 years.
This non-linear narrative allows the author to take liberties. Roy often does not preface chapters or sections with clarifying details about the timeline, forcing the reader to exist in the grey. Details about maturity and weather are the only clues regarding the timeline's location. Roy also cleverly reveals everything to reader before it formally happens in the plot. However, the timeline is blurred and the details are magnified so that the reader does not have the capacity to fully comprehend their meaning.
The God of Small Things also uses a third-person omniscient perspective. The narrator knows what happened in 1969, what will have happened by 1993, and what each character is thinking at all times. This choice in perspective increases the fluidity of the storyline, as the reader has the sensation of knowing everything and nothing at the same time. Roy also implements free indirect discourse to more seamlessly describe the thoughts of several different characters. By incorporating characters' thoughts into the narration, Roy adds flexibility to the story and intimacy to the reader's relationship with the characters.
