Paper 2 Exemplar – May 2014 – Question 6

“Looking closely at how weakness and strength are represented in at least two works you have studied, discuss the significance of the relationship between the two”

Strengths and weakness are two attributes present in many things, and are not exclusive to books.  Generations of people have come to experience strengths and weaknesses – both of which have certain consequences.  Such a theme can be seen in The God of Small Things by Arundhuti Roy and The Reader by Bernhard Schlink.  The God of Small Things centralizes its plot around two winds, Estha and Rahel, and the misfortunes that occur to their family.  It is told in a fragmented manner where the storyline is non-chronological.  The Reader tells a story which starts with a scandalous affair between a fifteen year old boy and a thirty-six year old woman; Michael and Hanna.  Set in post World War Two, the plot is written in first person and follows Michael’s thoughts.  Throughout both novels, relationships experience a shift in power dynamics which conveys the concept of a change in what is perceived as strength and weakness.

Both novels demonstrate the significant role in which social expectations play in determining what is considered strength and weakness.  In The God of Small Things, Roy constantly mentions the “Love Laws,” which are described as “laws that lay down who should be loved.  And how.  And how much.”  These laws refer to many social expectations for people in India, and thus the strength of these expectations is shown through the weakness of the people.  An example of such a law would be when Rahel explains to Sophie Mol that “(she) must love (her) as (Sophie Mol) in (her) cousin.”  The fact Rahel and Estha succumb to these laws indicate that this mindset is introduced to children at a very young age, when they are most impressionable and weak.  Despite their obedience towards the “Love Laws,” Estha and Rahel display an affectionate relationship with Velutha, an untouchable in the caste system, which foreshadows their strength against the love laws.  Similar to the love laws, Michael from The Reader experiences social expectations that determine whom he and his generation are to love.  His generation – the second generation – was supposed to feel guilty for and shun their parents’ involvement in the war.  This guilt can be seen when Michael recalls, “It is the love of our parents for which we cannot be held responsible…yet perhaps it is the love for our parents that we felt most responsible for.”  Regardless of their parents’ role or contributions to the war, Michael reveals that the second generation was expected to shun and condemn the first generation.  They were led to believe it was their responsibility to right their parents’ wrongs.  Already, it can be seen that the strength of people in the war has shifted to the second generation.

The narrative voice in which each novel is written exposes readers to when the narrative figure experiences strength, and they experience weakness.  The God of Small Things although written in a third person perspective appears to voice Rahel’s thoughts and views on different experiences.  This can be shown through Roy’s use of neologisms, such as “Sophie-Mol-shaped-hole” to demonstrate Rahel’s lack of knowledge on the actual names of certain objects, but also the creative essence of being in her own “world.”  Another situation in which Rahel’s style and thoughts are evident in Roy’s narration can be seen when Rahel angers Ammu, who says, “Do you know what happens when you hurt people?  They love you a little less” – a thought which haunts Rahel and evokes a great amount of guilt.  The use of this rhetorical question by Ammu reveals not only her anger, but also the scale of her strength and influence over the twins.  This strength is eventually lost after what readers assume to be Velutha’s death and cause her to lose her mental stability.  The strength and weakness demonstrated in this relationship is mostly a parent-child one, however, in The Reader, the strength of the relationship initially resides with Hanna.  Her power is seen through her constant referrals to Michael as “kid,” despite the fact they become lovers.  In the second part of the novel, readers come to see that the strength Hanna had over Michael eventually diminishes, as “it wasn’t that (he) forgot Hanna.  It was that at a certain point, the memory of her stopped accompanying (him) wherever (he) went,” and that “she stayed behind that way a city stays behind when a train pulls out of the station.”  The use of this simile not only refers to Hanna’s job as a train conductor, but also acts as the transition for Michael from strong to weak.

The theme of unsaid things is predominant in both texts as it symbolizes the oppressive nature behind strength.  In The God of Small Things, readers may notice that Rahel and Estha are often scolded for saying things or asking naïve questions, leading them to adopt a “silence.”  Estha was even described with “once the silence came in, it never left him.”  Roy describes the situations with, “And the air was filled with thoughts and things to say.  But at times like these, only the Small Things were said, and the Big Things were left unsaid.”  The capitalization of “Things” indicates the importance of the unsaid, and this sense of forbidding was established through the adults scolding Estha and Rahel, possibly just as they were when they themselves were younger.  The juxtaposition of “Big and Small” can also relate to the physical size of the twins against the adults, which further emphasizes the weakness of the position they are in.  In The Reader, however, the theme of the unsaid is portrayed differently, as it is the unsaid things the second generation is attempting to uncover.  It was portrayed as their duty to do so, as they “tore down windows and let in the air, the wind that finally whirled away the dust society had allowed to settle on the horrors of the past.”  The use of this metaphor portrays the speed and enthusiasm the second generation had towards “unearthing” the unspoken things, and the pride they took in doing so.  Although Michael played a part in this discovery process, which also demonstrates the power and strength he gains, certain things, such as Hanna’s illiteracy remain unsaid, which suggests that despite their latest power dynamic situation, some of Hanna’s strength and Michael’s weakness remains.

Both novels display many examples of strength and weakness, although the situations in which they are applied differ greatly.  In The God of Small Things strength and weakness is seen to change mostly between Ammu and her children, whereas in The Reader strength and weakness is characterized through the first and second generation, as well as through Hanna and Michael’s relationship.  Strength and weakness is therefore present in all of the most significant sections of both plots, meaning their influence has contributed heavily, and their relationship depends on the presence of one another.  There can be no strength without weakness and no weakness without strength.