Cultural Imperialism, Interpellation, and Speaking Back in Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things
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This paper explores the ways in which the twins in Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things respond to and counteract cultural imperialism and interpellation to become subjects of their own experience. Among others, I appropriate the idea and theory of Althusser in postcolonial contexts to discuss how these characters are not controlled or silenced as children or after they return as adults. They employ a variety of strategies to resist and subvert hegemonic language, culture, and power. The little twins use the vernacular language to transgress and counter standard English usage and proper pronunciation, and the twin brother uses silence and invisibility as daily practices of the self. In the end, this study shows how the practices of appropriating and transforming the hegemonic discourse help these “bad subjects” speak back to the authorities. Such a failure of interpellation raises the possibility of opening up a negotiatory space for agency as it leads to subversion in the text.
Abstract
This paper explores the ways in which the twins in Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things respond to and counteract cultural imperialism and interpellation to become subjects of their own experience. Among others, I appropriate the idea and theory of Althusser in postcolonial contexts to discuss how these characters are not controlled or silenced as children or after they return as adults. They employ a variety of strategies to resist and subvert hegemonic language, culture, and power. The little twins use the vernacular language to transgress and counter standard English usage and proper pronunciation, and the twin brother uses silence and invisibility as daily practices of the self. In the end, this study shows how the practices of appropriating and transforming the hegemonic discourse help these “bad subjects” speak back to the authorities. Such a failure of interpellation raises the possibility of opening up a negotiatory space for agency as it leads to subversion in the text.
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