19th Annual Student Research Conference
Language & Literature
The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same: Political Hypocrisy within Arundhati Roy’s Novel The God Of Small Things
J. M. k.
Dr. Hena Ahmad, Faculty Mentor
In this paper I will demonstrate that The God of Small Thingss by Arundhati Roy represents an important criticism of Marxism. The time frame of the novel is set during a period in India of intense political protest. The Marxists appear to offer an alternative to the current oppressive system. A large portion of the Indian Marxists are interested only in the advancement of “touchable” workers and see no reason to help the “untouchables.” In the scenario Roy portrays, any Marxist revolution will only result in the trading of places of the middle class and the upper class for power as the lower class gains no ground. To support these claims I will cite The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx, and writings from C. Wright Mills.
Keywords: Marxism, India, Roy, Marx, Mills, political, protest, middle class
Topic(s):English
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 50-4
Location: VH 1320
Time: 3:30