Art Work
Below is a new design for The God of Small Things cover. Also there are six pictures, with descriptions, that relate to particular scenes in the novel. (Designed by Natalie Weber)
This photograph is from a scene in the 1960s classic film, The Sound of Music. The film comes into play many times throughout the novel. Most prominently, it is when Estha, Rahel, Chacko, Ammu, and Baby Kochamma are on their way to pick up Sophie Mol, but they stop to see the movie beforehand. This is Rahel and Estha’s favorite film, and they continually quote lyrics from the songs. It is also during the movie that the man working behind the soda counter, the Orangedrink Lemondrink man, molests Estha. This occurrence haunts Estha for the rest of his life.
This image represents the Communist India that Rahel, Estha, Ammu, Chacko, and Velutha are faced with during the novel. There are two parties, the Communist Party of India, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Most notably the Communism is shown in the novel when Communist protesters stop the family’s car on their way to the movie. Ammu tells the twins to keep their heads down, and a protestor humiliates Baby Kochamma by making her wave a flag. Here, Rahel notices that Velutha is involved in Communism.
The image of the child casket relates back to the very first scene in the novel. Sophie Mol, Chacko’s daughter, has died. Ammu, Rahel, and Estha, are watching the funeral process. The trio stands alone from the rest of the people, who continually shoot them dirty looks. Sophie Mol’s death surrounds the novel, as it frequently jumps back and forth between her death and her arrival. The reader is unaware of how Sophie Mol died; it is revealed that she drowned.
The concept of Pappachi’s moth is frequently stated throughout the novel. When Pappachi was younger, he discovered a new species of moth. The other scientists mocked him and told him it was nothing new. Years later, another man found that same kind of moth, and he was given the credit. This hurt Pappachi greatly, giving him his sudden bouts of temper. Whenever Rahel is feeling scared or sad, she feels Pappachi’s moth on her heart.
A young Rahel wears the hairstyle of the Love-in-Tokyo throughout God of Small Things. It is first introduced when the narrator describes the twins. Estha likes to have a puff in his hair, like Elvis, while Rahel wears her hair in this style, which “has nothing to do with Love or Tokyo” (37). The narrator continually makes references to this hairstyle during the entirety of the novel.
Towards the beginning of the novel, the reader is shown Baby Kochamma’s background. Father Mulligan is the young Irish monk that she fell in love with when she was eighteen. She attempted to seduce him by showcasing acts of charity. She would find a poor village child, and forcibly bath him in the fountain when Father Mulligan was to arrive. Since that did not work, Baby Kochamma converted to Roman Catholicism, and entered into a convent. She later left the convent, and returned back to Ayemenem, very obese.