[Message #1]
Anna Rudovsky:
Happy Firday Everybody! Begin with an overview of the novel. What are the characters like? What are the themes?

[Message #2]
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 #3]
Victoria Avalos:
I haven't gotten far in the book, only to page 10.

[Message #4]
Anna Rudovsky:
How do you like the story so far?

[Message #5]
Victoria Avalos:
I get ocnfused by all the characters in the story, but it seems interesting so far. I have alittle trouble getting the names right

[Message #6]
Victoria Avalos:
How far has everyone else gotten?

[Message #7]
Natalie Chen:
The characters are kind of confusing to me in the beginning of the book

[Message #8]
Natalie Chen:
I'm still in Chapter 1 but almost in Chapter 2

[Message #9]
Natalie Chen:
how bout you?

[Message #10]
Anna Rudovsky:
Well so far there are Estha and Rahel and Kammochka

[Message #11]
Victoria Avalos:
Estha and Rahel are the twins right?

[Message #12]
Anna Rudovsky:
I jsut started reading it,but so far it seems pretty interesting. Not too straigh forward sometimes though

[Message #13]
Natalie Chen:
yes they are

[Message #14]
Anna Rudovsky:
Yeah, Victoria I think those are the twins.

[Message #15]
Natalie Chen:
Estha went to live with the father

[Message #16]
Natalie Chen:
and Rahel lived with the mother

[Message #17]
Anna Rudovsky:
I think Estha being must represents something in some kind of a way. Maybe that she is being repressed in some way, and feels afraid to speak what's on her mind.

[Message #18]
Natalie Chen:
so is Estha considered crazy?

[Message #19]
Victoria Avalos:
how?

[Message #20]
Anna Rudovsky:
She's not considered crazy, I don't think, but perhaps different.

[Message #21]
Natalie Chen:
didn't Estha not recognize Rahel too?

[Message #22]
Anna Rudovsky:
And sometimes being different is considered wrong, because it's so misunderstood at times. What do you guys think of that theory?

[Message #23]
Natalie Chen:
yes, that's very true especially from what society thinks

[Message #24]
Victoria Avalos:
I agree alot of people are afraid of what different

[Message #25]
Anna Rudovsky:
What do you guys think about  the bond of the family as one of the themes. They talk about family a lot, a bit further into the book.

[Message #26]
Natalie Chen:
well the mother, Ammu is lonely

[Message #27]
Anna Rudovsky:
It's a sequence of events sort of in a way. It all started when the mother left the father, and totally took things into her own hands, which hasn't been heard of in that culture too much.

[Message #28]
Victoria Avalos:
Was she an outcast for leaving?

[Message #29]
Anna Rudovsky:
Yes, because people were afraid to be around her, because they considered her leaving her husband a sin. A disobedience of what is right and what they have been brought up to believe in.

[Message #30]
Anna Rudovsky:
Eventhough they tried not to let it show that they didn't want to be around her as much, they tried to avoid her as much as possible when they could.

[Message #31]
Victoria Avalos:
i read about the mother and children going to the police station and the officer calles her veshyas and turned her away. did that have anything to do with her reputation

[Message #32]
Natalie Chen:
What about the themes?

[Message #33]
Victoria Avalos:
 Anna mentioned family as a theme and i think it's an important one

[Message #34]
Anna Rudovsky:
There are tons of themes. You just have to narrow them down, because they all tie in with one another in some ways.

[Message #35]
Anna Rudovsky:
Why do you think the mother and the children were turned away when they went to the police station?

[Message #36]
Victoria Avalos:
At first i thought it was becasue of their social class, but i haven't read far enough to form a real idea

[Message #37]
Natalie Chen:
well..in the book..it said something about how either Rahel or Estha thought that Sophie wasn't dead yet

[Message #38]
Victoria Avalos:
i thought of that as a childs imagination

[Message #39]
Natalie Chen:
how at the funeral they heard screaming and pounding on the coffin

[Message #40]
Natalie Chen:
when they were laying her casket down

[Message #41]
Anna Rudovsky:
I think there are a lot of hidden emotions running through the characters. Like that some of them believe that Sophie isn't dead yet. They know what they believe, and they do believe it, but they're too afraid to confess and say anything. They're all repressed in one way or another.

[Message #42]
Anna Rudovsky:
I know that was scary, when they though they heard pounding and screaming from inside the coffin at the funeral. i thought they were going to open the coffin and find her inside there, alive.

[Message #43]
Victoria Avalos:
with all the poeple at the funeral would they really continue to put the coffin underground if Sophie was banging

[Message #44]
Victoria Avalos:
does anyone know hoe she died, it mentioned her wrinkled skin but if she was only 9 did she drown?

[Message #45]
Anna Rudovsky:
That's a good question. I don't really know. Maybe they would. Just because it would seem too crazy if they opened the coffin, where someone is supposed to be dead.

[Message #46]
Natalie Chen:
i don't know..about the repressed thingy...i think if either Rahel or Estha heard it..why didn't they say anything

[Message #47]
Victoria Avalos:
does religion play a role in the book so far?

[Message #48]
Victoria Avalos:
were the twins the only ones to hear the banging

[Message #49]
Anna Rudovsky:
Victoria, I think further into the book, religion will become a very important theme, because it will get them through their hard times. Alright guys I think we're out of time now. Have an awesome weekend, and enjoy the weather.

[Message #50]
Victoria Avalos:
thanks guys :)

[Message #51]
Natalie Chen:
okay

[Message #52]
Natalie Chen:
you too

[Message #53]
Amy Lawlor:
end 9/12

[Message #54]
Amy Lawlor:
What are the main issues The God of Small Things deals with? Give examples

[Message #55]
Anna Rudovsky:
Hi Guys, Happy Friday.

[Message #56]
Natalie Chen:
hi

[Message #57]
Anna Rudovsky:
I'm not sure what we're supposed to be doing.

[Message #58]
Natalie Chen:
I think we're supposed to be talking about the issues that were brought up in The God of Small Things

[Message #59]
Talwinder Kattaria:
hello everyone

[Message #60]
Anna Rudovsky:
Oh, okay.

[Message #61]
Anna Rudovsky:
There were a lot of issues. Do you guys want to do one by one?

[Message #62]
Talwinder Kattaria:
ya happy friday

[Message #63]
Natalie Chen:
sure

[Message #64]
Talwinder Kattaria:
no lets just post whoever has a thought or comment on anything

[Message #65]
Natalie Chen:
I think that would be easier so we all don't get confused

[Message #66]
Talwinder Kattaria:
okiey

[Message #67]
Natalie Chen:
what's the first issue that you want to talk about?

[Message #68]
Talwinder Kattaria:
about the caste system

[Message #69]
Natalie Chen:
okay

[Message #70]
Talwinder Kattaria:
if this wot u all want to beghin with

[Message #71]
Anna Rudovsky:
What about the caste system? There's a lot of issues in the book that have to do with it.

[Message #72]
Anna Rudovsky:
How about we begin with the notorious affair which caused so much trouble?

[Message #73]
Talwinder Kattaria:
yea sure

[Message #74]
Talwinder Kattaria:
:-)

[Message #75]
Natalie Chen:
well the reason why it caused so much trouble is because it was not accepted in society..even until this day..but at that time period it was worse

[Message #76]
Anna Rudovsky:
Okay, so basically the whole thing of it was that Velutha was considered less human, in a way, than Ammu's family, and he was untouchable, so he had a less respectable job in the factory.

[Message #77]
Anna Rudovsky:
Right, they didn't understand it. And they were still trying to keep the different statuses of wealth separated from each other because they thought it would benefit the community as a whole if the two different statuses didn't intermingle.

[Message #78]
Natalie Chen:
Who were the Untouchables?

[Message #79]
Talwinder Kattaria:
the people who are the fourth in the hindu  caste system

[Message #80]
Anna Rudovsky:
Velutha was one of the untouchables, the one they talked about the most in the book. And of course, his father, and his brother I believe.

[Message #81]
Natalie Chen:
okay

[Message #82]
Talwinder Kattaria:
who are just there to clean and do all dirty kinda stuff for wealthy people

[Message #83]
Anna Rudovsky:
They were the ones that did the work that had to do with cleaning places and things, and unclean work as the reading on Ms. Lawlor's page indicated.

[Message #84]
Talwinder Kattaria:
yea

[Message #85]
Natalie Chen:
got it

[Message #86]
Anna Rudovsky:
Right, exactly. They were actually dubbed Untouchable because no one would want to touch them since they did such dirty tasks such as cleaning urinals, that's what I got from the readings.

[Message #87]
Anna Rudovsky:
Do you guys have anything else to add to this topic or should we move on?

[Message #88]
Natalie Chen:
Well should we talk about how the police beat him

[Message #89]
Anna Rudovsky:
Sure

[Message #90]
Natalie Chen:
Well I think that the reason they beat him is because they wanted to scare people

[Message #91]
Anna Rudovsky:
The police even forshadowed the fact that he was going to die as a result of the beating, and well enough, the very next morning he was found dead in his cell.

[Message #92]
Talwinder Kattaria:
ya it was quite tragic

[Message #93]
Anna Rudovsky:
I kind of got confused with the book a little bit. Were they in the jail because of the affair or because of Sophie Mol? Because somewhere in the book, Velutha somehow was considered to be involved with her drowning.

[Message #94]
Natalie Chen:
I think it was mostly about the affair and that they just used the death of Sophie Mol as like another excuse

[Message #95]
Natalie Chen:
what do you think?

[Message #96]
Natalie Chen:
i'm not quite sure

[Message #97]
Anna Rudovsky:
Yes, I think so too.

[Message #98]
Talwinder Kattaria:
i think because he dared the caste system ..so tats y  i guess all tat happened

[Message #99]
Anna Rudovsky:
He was an untouchable, they just pinned whatever problems they had on him, and used the fact that he was lesser of a human being than them to justify their treatment of him. It's kind of what the West did to the East. They treated them really badly, and then to pardon their actions they said that they were just trying to help improve their ways of lives.

[Message #100]
Natalie Chen:
Do you think that the reason why they tried to blame him for Sophie Mol's death could be that they just wanted someone to blame then?

[Message #101]
Anna Rudovsky:
Amma and Velutha knew that they were going to pay for what had been going on between them, but they chose to put it in the back of their minds because they loved each other so much. It was worth it to them, in a way, because in some sort of crazy way they got to be together, even if for just a little while.

[Message #102]
Natalie Chen:
Just to like solve the case

[Message #103]
Anna Rudovsky:
Maybe, but wasn't Sophie Mol's death a complete and total accident. Why explain something that doesn't need an explanation, why place blame where there is no blame involved. You know what I mean?

[Message #104]
Talwinder Kattaria:
ya i guess so

[Message #105]
Natalie Chen:
yea...that's true

[Message #106]
Natalie Chen:
okay..are you ready to move on now..or do you have other things to say on this

[Message #107]
Talwinder Kattaria:
did both of u read through all the book?

[Message #108]
Anna Rudovsky:
Kay, I think we've pretty much exhausted this topic. Let's move on to another one?

[Message #109]
Anna Rudovsky:
Yeah, I had to read it twice, because I got really confused, and lost the first time around. It helped a lot.

[Message #110]
Talwinder Kattaria:
ohkie

[Message #111]
Anna Rudovsky:
Oooh I'm sorry Natalie I didn't see your message about moving on.

[Message #112]
Natalie Chen:
yea

[Message #113]
Talwinder Kattaria:
im just in middle of tat book ..confusing :-(

[Message #114]
Natalie Chen:
it's okay

[Message #115]
Natalie Chen:
yes the book was confusing

[Message #116]
Anna Rudovsky:
Let's talk about unconditional love. Ammu's love for her kids. Mammachi's love for Ammu.

[Message #117]
Natalie Chen:
okay

[Message #118]
Natalie Chen:
that's a good one

[Message #119]
Talwinder Kattaria:
ok. so, lets move on with next topic ..upon ur wish

[Message #120]
Anna Rudovsky:
oh and Chako too since he was also Mammachi's child. Sorry I'm spacing out a little bit. It's hard to focus during the last class of Friday.

[Message #121]
Natalie Chen:
it's okay...understandable

[Message #122]
Talwinder Kattaria:
ya ..fridays are always freaky

[Message #123]
Natalie Chen:
well i think any parent would have the love for their kids no matter what

[Message #124]
Talwinder Kattaria:
ya thats true

[Message #125]
Anna Rudovsky:
Yes, but the part where Ammu told Rahel that she loves her a little less when she was misbehaving at the airport really stood out strongly.

[Message #126]
Amy Lawlor:
natalie--to your question #100

they wanted to punish Velutha for his affair with Ammu
and Sophie Mol's death was a convenient reason.

[Message #127]
Natalie Chen:
okay

[Message #128]
Natalie Chen:
yes..i forgot about that

[Message #129]
Talwinder Kattaria:
its like they wanted to punish him for loving Ammu

[Message #130]
Talwinder Kattaria:
otherwise, everything was just a fake scense to remove him out of their lives especially Ammu

[Message #131]
Anna Rudovsky:
have a nice weekend

[Message #132]
Talwinder Kattaria:
bye

[Message #133]
Amy Lawlor:
END 9/26