[Message #1]
Julia Bick:
Have you all started the book?  I'm only sixty pages into it.

[Message #2]
Joseph Fogel:
I got forty-five

[Message #3]
Yeo-Jung Kim:
I'm in chap7

[Message #4]
Sylvia Choy:
i'm not that far either but let's talk about what we know then

[Message #5]
Amy Lawlor:
begin with an overview of the novel:
What are the characters like?  What are the themes of the story?  In what way is the setting (India) important to the story?

[Message #6]
Joseph Fogel:
Is the book about getting estha to speak?

[Message #7]
Julia Bick:
I think that is one theme.

[Message #8]
Yeo-Jung Kim:
The characters of this story I think are like... I think estha and rahel are very closely connected to each other

[Message #9]
Joseph Fogel:
Estha and Rahel may be close but even baby kammocha, I think it was,
knew that even rahel could not make estha speak

[Message #10]
Julia Bick:
So far...where i am at in the novel we still don't know how Sophie Mol died...but i think it has something to do with estha.

[Message #11]
Yeo-Jung Kim:
the narrator mentioned a little bit about how the bond between rahel and estha are like in the scene in dark hotel room after they watched sound of music in the theater.. rahel and estha sometimes had this innate feeling perhaps similar to telepathy.. and how rahel can't forget estha..

[Message #12]
Yeo-Jung Kim:
i think where the part that describes how sophie dies in this book may probably be the end of this book and also related to theme...?

[Message #13]
Joseph Fogel:
when Rahel first came back it came as no surprise that estha still seemed not to even regonize her plus im at the part where they are on their way to the play

[Message #14]
Julia Bick:
One of the major themes is family...the destruction of family, what it takes to really tear people apart.

[Message #15]
Sylvia Choy:
yeah, i think that is one of the major themes...family

[Message #16]
Joseph Fogel:
yeah they talk a lot about marriage, divorce, family bonds

[Message #17]
Yeo-Jung Kim:
think the setting contributes the characteristics of rahel and estha

[Message #18]
Yeo-Jung Kim:
it also supports the background of how sophie mol dies..

[Message #19]
Julia Bick:
This taking place in India also emphasizes what Ammu (their mother) did... she actually left her husband which is totally unheard of in that culture

[Message #20]
Joseph Fogel:
Well Rahel did go on the venture to other places before coming back home and Estha didn't he get re-re something

[Message #21]
Sylvia Choy:
yeah, that was significant, how she left her husband

[Message #22]
Julia Bick:
Chako is also a very interesting character...

[Message #23]
Joseph Fogel:
how about baby kommach falling in love with father mulligan

[Message #24]
Yeo-Jung Kim:
so i think this book shows the collision between different castes and different cultures..?

[Message #25]
Joseph Fogel:
instead of ever being wed though she just went to school and got an education

[Message #26]
Julia Bick:
that was strange...baby just seems to be one of those women who misery follows...she wants everyone to share her misery.

[Message #27]
Joseph Fogel:
hey were you really on chapter 7

[Message #28]
Yeo-Jung Kim:
i'm in chap seven but haven't read the beginning of it yet..

[Message #29]
Julia Bick:
Rahel is definitely going to play a major role in this book...she has defied her culture...she goes to school, marries then gets divorced and returns home to a broken family.

[Message #30]
Sylvia Choy:
baby seems like a bad person to them

[Message #31]
Joseph Fogel:
what kind of developement have you seen in the previous chapters?

[Message #32]
Julia Bick:
shes just complicated

[Message #33]
Sylvia Choy:
yeah

[Message #34]
Sylvia Choy:
i think that another theme is love/relationships

[Message #35]
Julia Bick:
for sure...

[Message #36]
Sylvia Choy:
marriage/divorce

[Message #37]
Sylvia Choy:
also, the women don't seem to be "happy"

[Message #38]
Joseph Fogel:
how about the fact that everyone just lets Ammu be in the story

[Message #39]
Joseph Fogel:
she doesn't seem  very happy either

[Message #40]
Sylvia Choy:
yeah

[Message #41]
Sylvia Choy:
and Rahel...since she gets divorced

[Message #42]
Julia Bick:
none of them seem very happy...Ammu lives a life of restriction...she cant go to school and they don't have a dowery for her then she marries an alcoholic...baby falls for a priest then goes to school and returns more in love with mulligan....Rahel just seems to be going where life takes her....never taking charge just always going with the flow.

[Message #43]
Sylvia Choy:
true

[Message #44]
Sylvia Choy:
I think the setting (India) plays a big part for all of their unhappiness/problems

[Message #45]
Joseph Fogel:
Let's focus on Estha a bit

[Message #46]
Joseph Fogel:
how bout that Estha

[Message #47]
Joseph Fogel:
I think he is probably the most important to this story

[Message #48]
Joseph Fogel:
but then again im only on chap 2 so i could be wrong

[Message #49]
Julia Bick:
he seems like a ghost....wandering silently in and out of the pages...that guy is carrying a lot of baggage.

[Message #50]
Joseph Fogel:
dingleberries

[Message #51]
Yeo-Jung Kim:
think the setting of the historical period in india with marxist movements and where the caste system about the untouchables to the people in high status.. and how women are treated unfairly regarded low(?) even by the police intertwine with the development of the story

[Message #52]
Julia Bick:
on that note...adios

[Message #53]
Joseph Fogel:
what is the story?

[Message #54]
Sylvia Choy:
peaceeeeeee

[Message #55]
Amy Lawlor:
end 9/12

[Message #56]
Amy Lawlor:
What are the main issues The God of Small Things deals with? Give examples

[Message #57]
Yeo-Jung Kim:
caste system

[Message #58]
Joseph Fogel:
okalakalakem

[Message #59]
Sylvia Choy:
One other main issue can be...the destruction of a family?

[Message #60]
Joseph Fogel:
did any of you guys finish the book?

[Message #61]
Sylvia Choy:
truthfully no

[Message #62]
Joseph Fogel:
that makes 2 of us

[Message #63]
Sylvia Choy:
but i have somewhat of an idea what the whole book is about

[Message #64]
Sylvia Choy:
haha

[Message #65]
Joseph Fogel:
what is it about?

[Message #66]
Yeo-Jung Kim:
I think.. the caste system sends the message that not all human beings are equal. The Hindus think of God as who put themselves into different lives--made some of them wealthy and happy and the others(the Untouchables) wholly miserable. Is this related to some animal gods that India has...?

[Message #67]
Joseph Fogel:
I thought the story was completly different

[Message #68]
Yeo-Jung Kim:
i finished the novel but i think i should read it again...

[Message #69]
Joseph Fogel:
what makes you say that

[Message #70]
Yeo-Jung Kim:
there are a lot of themes meanings and symbols in the text so i think i should consider them and read it again instead of just having skimmed through the story like, uncarefully

[Message #71]
Joseph Fogel:
oh

[Message #72]
Joseph Fogel:
so what are some of the themes you do know?

[Message #73]
Sylvia Choy:
well, some of the themes that i thought applied to the book are Abandonment, Colonialism, Domestic Violence, Family Relationships, Grief, Human Worth, Individuality, Love, Marital Discord, Rebellion, Scapegoating, Sexuality, Society, Time, Women's Health

[Message #74]
Sylvia Choy:
i looked on Ms. Lawlor's webpage and there is  summary along with some themes of the book

[Message #75]
Sylvia Choy:
i thought that these applied best, from my point of view

[Message #76]
Yeo-Jung Kim:
the caste system is unfair, women's rights should be acknowledged as men's.. Untouchables and Touchables are the same people and God of Small Things is that Velutha who is an Untoucable but delivers the messages that all Hindus are equal human beings in small ways.. hard to notice

[Message #77]
Sylvia Choy:
so u can kind of have an idea of what the book was mainly about...pretty much drama

[Message #78]
Sylvia Choy:
yes

[Message #79]
Sylvia Choy:
are u getting a better idea, Joseph?

[Message #80]
Yeo-Jung Kim:
Some of the symbols of equality and peace are the History house, the River maybe and the boat perhaps..?

[Message #81]
Sylvia Choy:
i'm not too sure

[Message #82]
Sylvia Choy:
are u guys doing essay question #1 or #2?

[Message #83]
Joseph Fogel:
sorry I was lookin gat what others were saying

[Message #84]
Yeo-Jung Kim:
1

[Message #85]
Joseph Fogel:
they have a few good ideas

[Message #86]
Joseph Fogel:
they mentioned communication as a major role in the book

[Message #87]
Amy Lawlor:
so you have some good themes listed here, what does the book say about those things?

[Message #88]
Sylvia Choy:
yeah

[Message #89]
Joseph Fogel:
the characters interacted with eachother but in what ways?

[Message #90]
Yeo-Jung Kim:
The theme of love can be well described of the last scene where ammu and velutha make love

[Message #91]
Sylvia Choy:
the theme of abandonment can be seen as to how Rahel and Esta gets separated...

[Message #92]
Joseph Fogel:
there is a lot of detail in this book, like an amazing amount

[Message #93]
Sylvia Choy:
and Rahel has no friends

[Message #94]
Sylvia Choy:
and esta stops talking...self-abandonment?

[Message #95]
Yeo-Jung Kim:
the author did not just say they had an affair the end but she described it in detail which quite emphasizes the true meaning of love and she put that in the end too which the end of the story usually means the summary or the conclusion--state the main point

[Message #96]
Sylvia Choy:
the details may offer the idea that, like u said earlier, all people are equal...despite the caste system

[Message #97]
Joseph Fogel:
did it ever say why esta did stop talking

[Message #98]
Joseph Fogel:
I wanna read "Squanto and the Lone Ranger Fist Fight in Heaven" that seems like a good book

[Message #99]
Sylvia Choy:
esta stopped talkin because (in my opinion) he had nothing to say to anyone anymore. he was sad that things changed and are not the way they used to be...it was pretty much after sophie mol's death.

[Message #100]
Amy Lawlor:
 he stopped talking when he was sent to his father's

[Message #101]
Yeo-Jung Kim:
the separation between rahel, estha and their mother is a big blow to the family. it's greater than the rules of the society. it changed the life styles of Rahel and Estha. rahel becomes easily rude and estha loses language/communication. a law can't break the bond between family members. A family member's death cannot break the bond between the rest of the family members. ammu gets abandoned by her traditional family according to the caste system rule but still they are a family and estha and rahel meet at aymenum again when they become adults. And they acknowledge their bond relation. nothing can come between them which is another symbol for love i guess.

[Message #102]
Yeo-Jung Kim:
i'm sorry mine is too long

[Message #103]
Amy Lawlor:
Estha blames himself for Ammu's death because he is the one who said "yes" when the policeman identified Velutha as the kidnapper

[Message #104]
Joseph Fogel:
as you were saying death can not break a bond I think death just makes it more stronger

[Message #105]
Joseph Fogel:
It brings together unityand has families come together to stay strong

[Message #106]
Yeo-Jung Kim:
oh yes that makes sense estha tried to search for the remain and presence of ammu's by looking very carefully at his twin sister

[Message #107]
Joseph Fogel:
ill type what we discuss so we can look over it later

[Message #108]
Joseph Fogel:
Tradition

[Message #109]
Joseph Fogel:
you have to deal with the rules and reprcutions of the life you are born into

[Message #110]
Amy Lawlor:
END 9/26