Comparing the Work of Arundhati Roy and Seamus Heaney :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

Comparing the Work of Arundhati Roy and Seamus Heaney Arundhati Roy writes a provocative story of growing up in India in his book entitled, The God of Small Things. The novel is placed in two different time periods about 23 years apart and moves smoothly from one time period to another. Roy’s predominate story is of Estha and Rahel who are â€Å"two-egg twins†¦born from separate but simultaneously fertilized eggs† (Roy 4), but along with their story are several other stories that spotlight members of immediate Ipe family members and persons living nearby. Woven into Roy’s novel are his views of life in India. Also examined here is Seamus Heaney’s book of selected poems, Opened Ground. The poet laureate of Ireland portrays in his writings his views Ireland, from his life as a child to the troubles Northern Ireland has faced because of England in the last century. These two countries are different in cultures and traditions and are located at opposite ends of the global yardstick. But common to both are pr oblems of unrest; in India those associated with English influence and domination; in Northern Ireland problems concerning English sympathizers and those opposed to English rule. These similarities and differences will be examined here. Roy begins by speaking in the present time focusing on Rahel return to India after a long absence. The author includes a careful description of the desolateness that currently envelopes the once active house, a house filled with activity but little happiness. After Ammu, the twin’s mother, is divorced, she returns to the house and fills it with her young and active twins. Rahel and Estha lived guarded lives as children, finding happiness for the most part only in their relationship with a neighbor of a lesser class, Velutha, a carpenter who became involved romantically with Ammu. Eventually, Estha was separated from his twin and sent to live with his father. In years past, her grandmother, Mammachi, spent unnamed hours on the front veranda, fleeing from her brutal husband, the Reverend Ipe and playing her violin. When Sophie Mol, Chacko’s daughter arrives from England for a visit, she is received on the veranda and served cake. And the property near the house also once held a factory of Mammachi’s named â€Å"Paradise Pickles and Preserves† and employed several people. The house held a bustle of activity. But when Rahel returns, all the activity that occurs outside involves rodents running in overgrown gardens and frogs swimming in scummy ponds.