9% of India
● 6,000 years old from Indus Valley region
● 1500 BCE:
○ Aryans from the north combine
● No one leader (no primary person at the point)
● Values:
● Eternal Truth
● Brahman ➡️ whole world soul
○ Brahma (created)
○ Vishnu (protector)
○ Shiva (destroyer)
● Vedas (4)
○ Samhitas
○ Brahmanas
○ Aranyakas
○ Upanishads
● Dharma: your path in life (it's your duty), the soul's journey
○ Influenced by karma
○ Reincarnation stems from Dharma
● Atman: one’s connection to the universe
○ Soul is immortal
● Caste system: social hierarchy
○ Brahmins: priests/scholars (mouth)
○ Kshatriyas: warriors and kings (arms)
○ Vaishyas: merchants/landowners (legs)
○ Sudras: commoners/working class (feet)
○ Untouchable: sweepers
● Moksha: search for eternal truth
○ Samsara - cage of existence
○ Only way to escape reincarnation is the attainment of eternal truth
Characters:
Rahel: female, twin of Esta
She has a very active imagination and in one chapter believes that her cousin Sophie Mol is
being buried alive as she thinks she sees her rolling around in her coffin. She was also distant
from her family while moving from school to school because she was constantly causing trouble
and whenever she went to visit she would be ignored. She has gone through a lot and never
had any friends because she didn't have any passion to do anything, regardless of what it was.
Mammachi and Reverend E. John: grandparents for the twins, parents for Ammu
Timeline
● Intentionally blurred timeline
● Not chronological
● A different way of revealing past events -> small glimpses
○ 1993 (present)
○ 1969 (past)
● Imitation and piecing together of memory
● The death of Sophie Mol is the center
○ Rahel’s perspective shows her still being alive
○ Coping mechanism, shows a dark life
Esta’s Abuse
- seven years old, can't fully process the event
- Keeps the experience to himself
- Understands the threat
- Comprehends the pressure being applied by the man
- Feels powerless
- Understands internal,y the wrongness of the situation
- Rahel senses what Esta experienced
Surface Conflict: the struggle between protagonist and antagonist within the story’s context
- a conflict that only takes place in this story
- Will always have character names
- The twins trying to live a loved life despite being boxed in and put down by the love laws
of India
Universal Conflict: the struggle between protagonist and antagonist that can be applied to any
setting
- One’s attempt to love and be loved despite social constraints