Effects Of Anglophilia In The God Of Small Things

One of the central areas that the novel The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy explores is the post colonial effects of the British reign over India, particularly the rapid spread of the western culture across the nation during the early and late 20th century. Throughout the novel, Roy utilizes the characterization of Chacko in order to develop the theme of anglophilia and to demonstrate the effects of rejecting one’s own culture. The author warns the reader that anglophilia leads to the loss of one’s identity, importance and confidence through Chacko’s development into an anglophile, which is shown through his actions and reaction, euphonics, and other characters’ reactions towards Chacko.

Roy clearly illustrates to the reader a gradual change in Chacko from a confident individual to someone

The reader is first introduced to a young Chacko on page 241 where he is seen to be ordering coffee “without appearing to really notice the tall, bushy-eyebrowed waitress who took his order”. The fact that Chacko disregarded Margaret Kochamma, the white waitress, clearly indicates that he did not view the West as superior or worthy of special attention in any way. In fact, Chacko chooses to treat Margaret Kochamma as an equal, chatting with her as if they are close friends and telling her a joke about two twins. Chacko displayed no signs of anglophilia or embarrassment about his race and culture. However, Roy goes on to describe a scene of Chacko waiting to pick up Margaret Kochamma and Sophie Mol at the airport a few years later on page 137. Here,