Political Allegory and Class Struggle in Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things

Abstract

The God of Small Things (1997) by Arundhati Roy is a rich narrative and symbolic representation of delicately revealing the reality of post-colonial Indian society. The paper seeks to unveil the political allegory and investigates the oppositions between different social classes unveiling deeper insights into power structures and social hierarchies depicted in the novel which enhances reader’s comprehension of Roy’s examination of power dynamics and socio-political challenges in post-colonial Indian society. This paper aims to reveal the political allegory in the text through Thematic Analysis using the Marxist lens, delving into the intricate socio-political dynamics portrayed in the narrative. The findings of the research highlights how Roy uses events, characters and settings to represent the broader social and political systems symbolically.