How Does Roy Characterise The Twins In The Novel, God Of Small Things?

Roy introduces the characters Rahel and Estha as twins, rather than as separate entities, in the first chapter; this emphasises their closeness, especially in their 'joint identities'. By introducing them so early on in the novel, it suggests a coming-of-age genre, a form which will follow the twins as they develop and grow into adults. The past tense and retrospective tone, through the focaliser of Rahel, reinforces as sense of looking back on events that have shaped their lives. Significant events are implied such as the 'Orangedrink Lemondrink Man' and what he 'did' to Estha, also the taste of his 'tomato sandwiches' as Estha left for Madras. The actual trauma of these events is not described at this stage, yet the statement that 'she has no right to have' these memories, infers the great effect they must have had on Estha. The theme of the small things is embodied in the twins, as a single sentence paragraph, 'these are only the small things' suggests. Roy leaves a sense of mystery around the growing up of the twins, since the question is: if these are the 'small things', who can envisage the big things? The simple consecutive sentences, 'They were two-egg twins. "Dizygotic" doctors called them' highlight the importance of their twin state while the medical term suggests that their birth was a rarity. Such memories that Roy describes through Rahel's viewpoint like, 'waking up one night giggling at Estha's funny dream' implies that they were unusually close, supporting this idea of the twins' relationship being uncommon. Even though they share a joint identity, their clear physical differences are made clear through the memories that Rahel has of relatives visiting the Ayemenem House who could easily recognise them as individuals. However these memories also give an insight into their background as the 'Syrian Orthodox bishops' asked for 'donations' suggesting a wealthy and comfortable upbringing. Furthermore, their religion is made clear to be different from the Indian norm of Hindu; another fact that labels the twins as uncommon. As the passage comes to an end, Rahel's perspective considers the present, 'she thinks of Estha and Rahel as Them' since they are 'no longer what They were or ever thought They'd be.' The capitalisation of 'Them... They' implies that Rahel considers their twin state to be distant from what they are now, another state of being altogether. Also, referring to herself in the third person, 'Estha and Rahel' emphasises the distance she feels is between their past relationship and their present one. There is a sense of regret, sadness and loss that is emphasised with the single word paragraph, 'Ever.' It could be that their lives did not turn out as they had envisaged when they were young. This sense of loss and regret is described by Roy through a list of synonyms, 'Edges, Borders, Boundaries, Brinks and Limits' which have come between the twins. Imaginative and child-like imagery develops this theme, 'Short creatures with long shadows, patrolling the Blurry End' as if there is something quite sinister from their childhood which keeps them apart. Roy creates a sense of pathos as the metaphor, 'Gentle half-moons have gathered under their eyes' highlights their age and therefore growing state of separateness from each other. Moreover, there is the shocking fact that 'they are as old as Ammu was when she died. Thirty-one.' Here the one word sentence stresses how young their mother must have been when she died, again suggesting an upbringing of upheaval and trauma.