The God of Small Things

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• Note the setting. Who is K.N.M. Pillai? What have we learned of him so far?

• Describe the setting and the descriptions of Chacko. How would you describe the mood?

• Who is young Lenin? What color is associated with him? Who is Latha?

• Describe Chacko’s initial reaction to Latha’s recitation of “Lochinvar.” Compare the version you have with what is on p. 257. What is the author conveying with these discrepancies? 

• How does the author characterize Comrade Pillai in these pages?

• According to the narrator, why does he send for Pothachen and Mathukutty at this moment?

• What language does Pillai speak to Chacko in? Why?

• What does Lenin perform? Compare his recitation to Latha’s.

• What is the impact on Chacko of being in this house? 

• Like the children performing recitations, Comrade Pillai seems to be acting in a drama. Describe the scene and the power dynamic Comrade has so carefully orchestrated.

• What does it mean on p. 261 that comrade Pillai “held his poverty like a gun to Chacko’s head”?

• What do we learn on p. 261 about one reason Chacko has come? Note the use of color on this page. What is the impact?

• What is the real purpose of his visit?

• What does Pillai tell Chacko about Velutha? What does his decision to tell Chacko reveal about his own bigotry? What role does history play in Pillai, his wife, and the other factory workers’ feelings about Velutha?

• Who is Pillai’s “audience outside” according to p. 264?

• What is the message about class conveyed in the following quote from p. 265? “Deftly banished Chacko from the fighting ranks of the Overthrowers to the treacherous ranks of the To Be Overthrown.”

• What is ironic about the timing of Pillai’s critique of Chacko?

• The author continues to establish suspense around Velutha’s fate. What questions does the author raise for you about Comrade Pillai and Velutha on pp. 266–267?

• Note the setting on p. 268.

• What does the phrase “chickens come home to roost” mean? What does it mean in the context of p. 268?

• What does the author imply about Baby Kochamma’s role in the persecution of Velutha on p. 268?

• What is the “instructional manual” Velutha follows? What does it tell Velutha to do on p. 270? Why is this ironic given what we know just happened between Chacko and Comrade Pillai? What can you predict might happen?

• Are you surprised by Comrade Pillai’s reaction? Why or why not? 

• What do phrases such as, “It is not in the party’s interests to take up such matters” reveal about Comrade Pillai’s motivations? 

• What does the phrase “history walking the dog” on p. 272 imply?