One, a story about culture, class, family and the laws of love, follows the life of a couple of twins in Kerala, India as they learn one fateful day in December how drastically "things can change in a day." The other, a story about suicide and incestuous desire, chronicles the fall of the Compson family from four different perspectives. How can these two seemingly different novels - The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner and The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy - be connected? In both novels, the reader finds himself reading a child's account of the events that occur throughout the novels. The lack of insight, limited use of modifiers, and simplistic sentence structure of Benjy's section, the phonetic spelling, whimsical adjectives, and interspersed lines of children's songs of The God of Small Things both serve to present the reader childish descriptions of the stories. However, they differ not only in the level of insight achieved by each of the narrators at the conclusion of the novels, but also in the purpose of the childish descriptions. In contrast to Benjy's childlike narration which creates a sense of confusion in the reader that parallels his own confusion, the childlike quality of Roy's narration sophisticatedly creates a lightheartedness that contrasts sharply with the heavy tone and serious nature of the material, thus representing the gap between innocence and corruption. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay While Roy and Faulkner present the reader with childlike interpretations of events, they approach and accomplish this task through different methods. Faulkner chooses to tell the "Seventh of April 1928" section from the point of view of a thirty-three-year-old with mental problems. He writes simplistically: "Luster had some bobbins and he and Quentin fought and Quentin had the bobbins. Luster cried and Frony came and gave Luster a tin can to play with, and then I had the bobbins and Quentin fought me and I cried." (Faulkner 19). In the span of two sentences, Benjy repeats the word spools three times, the verb fought twice, and the verb cried twice. There is no variation; it simply reuses the same word repeatedly when there are a plethora of synonyms that could have easily been substituted in its place. Furthermore, it provides the reader with only the essential facts needed to formulate an understanding of the event. It provides the subject and verb, but there are no adverbs and only a few adjectives. What color are the coils? What are they made of? These questions could easily be answered with the addition of a few adjectives, but adjectives are scarce in Benjy's section. Benjy's limited vocabulary, virtual absence of modifiers, and simplistic sentence structure classify his writing style as characteristic of a child, as it lacks the sophistication usually associated with the more mature writing of an adult. Composed primarily of nouns and verbs, his account of passing events goes no further than a simple account of the actions he witnesses and experiences. The lack of proper punctuation serves to portray his narrative as an account. Luster asks Benjy, “Won't you help me find that quarter so I can go to the show tonight” (Faulkner 3). Although the correct punctuation here should be a question mark, the end of the sentence is punctuated with a period; this substitution flattens the speech so that there is no evidence of vocal inflection or emotion. This flattening of speech demonstrates that Benjy cannot distinguish between a question and normal speech: forhe is the same. Therefore he can only report what he feels. Likewise, although he describes what he sees, he does not possess the ability to interpret actions. For example, the novel opens with a scene where children are playing. Benjy describes, “Then they put the flag back and went to the table and he hit and the other guy hit” (Faulkner 3). Although the word hit is a transitive verb, he uses it intransitively. He never mentions what "they" are hitting - the direct object - or what the game is. It is only when Luster says "'Here, caddie'" does the reader know that "they" are playing golf (Faulkner 3). Because of Faulkner's decision to tell the story from the point of view of a mentally challenged individual, the reader experiences the events as if looking at them through the eyes of a child. In contrast to Faulkner's choice of simplicity, Roy incorporates phonetic spellings, whimsical adjectives, and has interspersed song lines throughout the narrative to give it a childlike quality. Phrases such as “Their Prer NUN sea ayshun was perfect” and “merry chop-chop-chopping” suggest to the reader that the narrator is a child (Roy 147, 121). But interestingly, the childlike quality conveys the message more effectively than if it were absent. For example, in "Their NUN sea ayshun was perfect", the phonetic spelling of the word's pronunciation emphasizes the pronunciation of the word, as it is only by saying "Prer NUN sea ayshun" out loud that the reader is able to realize that The broken group of syllables refers to the pronunciation of the word. When the reader finishes reading the word aloud, they are forced to take a break from the normal act of reading and find themselves engaged in a study of the pronunciation of the word, much like the way they study pronunciation. Therefore, the form in which the word is presented to the reader reinforces the content. And in “allegro chop-chop-chopping,” the elongation of the word chopping into “chop-chop-chopping” creates a sing-song quality that portrays the act of chopping as allegro, thus reiterating the adjective that precedes it; in other words, the style reinforces the content. Roy also uses wacky adjectives. When the narrator describes a melody that Mammachi plays on his violin, he describes it as "A cloying chocolate melody. Sticky and melted brown. Chocolate waves on a chocolate shore" (Roy 174). This metaphor may seem nonsensical at first glance, because what could chocolate possibly have in common with a melody? But it is not senseless, because both are rich; one is rich in taste while the other is rich in sound. Furthermore, it is appropriate to describe the sound as a chocolate "wave" not only because the sound resonates when perfect pitch is achieved, but also because sounds physically are waves that travel through the air. And to further elaborate the metaphor, like chocolate melts in your mouth, you can "melt" into the music as you relax and indulge in the swirling melodies that envelop listeners. Additionally, the interspersed lines of children's songs throughout the work contribute to the childlike quality of the writing. As Rahel climbs the stairs with Baby Kochamma, she sings the song "Popeye the Sailorman" and fills in "Dum Dums" whenever there are breaks. The interspersed lines of children's songs, cheerful alliteration, and phonetic spelling that can be found throughout the narrative all contribute to the formation of a playful, carefree, and relaxed tone that portrays the innocence of childhood. However, although both narratives are childlike in their own right, the childlike qualities serve different purposes in each novel. Faulkner's decision to write Benjy's section in stream-of-consciousness form and the lack of transitions between the rapid scene changes creates asense of confusion in the reader. Turning to the first page of the novel, the reader comes across the following passage: "'You can never crawl this way without getting caught on that nail.' Caddy didn't get me and we crawled through" (Faulkner 3). The two statements are obviously connected, since they both concern Benjy who got caught on a nail, but the characters have changed. Where is Luster and where does Caddy come from? The change of characters is the only indication that there has been a change of scene. The fact that both scenes deal with the common topic of Benjy getting caught on a nail makes it difficult to notice that one sentence belongs to the narrative of one scene while the other is related to a completely different one: the scene change is cleverly disguised. In reality the first sentence is set in the present, but the second is set on December 25th, the day on which Caddy and Benjy deliver a letter to Mrs. Patterson. Therefore, the free association between past and present experiences created by Benjy confuses the reader so that they can properly focus through the narrator identifying with Benjy's confusion. Benjy's delay prevents him from perceiving his surroundings like normal people do. Benjy blurs the lines between present reality and the past, so it's fitting that the reader has difficulty distinguishing between the past and present, as Benjy does. Consistently throughout the novel he lacks awareness of his surroundings and himself. Repeatedly, he does not realize that it is cold and has to be told by others to put his hands in his pockets. The reader discovers Benjy from clues from those around him. For example, through the phrase “What do you complain about, said Luster,” the reader learns that Benjy complained (Faulkner 5). The reader is given no information that Benjy himself does not have; learn as Benjy learns. Because Benjy's understanding of the events surrounding him is minimal, the reader is only given messy bits of information that he must struggle with to piece together an understanding of the situation. Therefore, the writing style of Benjy's section creates confusion for the reader, paralleling Benjy's confusion that comes from his diminished mental abilities. Unlike Faulkner, Roy uses childish narration not to parallel a particular character, but to create a stark contrast between the playful lightheartedness of the tone and the seriousness of the material under discussion. On the day the Orange and Lemonade Man molests Estha, Estha has trouble sleeping at night because she feels nauseous. Roy describes, "Estha Alone wearily went to the bathroom. She vomited a clear, bitter, lemony, sparkling, fizzy liquid. The acrid aftertaste of a Little Man's first encounter with Fear. Dum Dum" (Roy 113). Taken alone, the phrase "Dum Dum" conveys a feeling of finality and portrays the gravity of the situation. However, when looking at the phrase in the context of the novel, the reader is forced to recognize that it is the same phrase featured in Rahel's version of "Popeye the Sailorman". Because of its origins in the song, the phrase carries with it a lightheartedness that contrasts starkly with the gravity of Estha's situation. That this phrase that adds humor to the children's song is found at the end of this song is unacceptable and cruel. It is a deliberate challenge, as its placement dramatically portrays a child's loss of innocence after being exposed to the cruel world. Estha had left the theater so he could joyfully sing a song from "The Sound of Music" in peace without disturbing anyone, but instead of experiencing the expected joy and pleasure of singing, he encounters Fear. What was lost that day can never be recovered. It is therefore a statement about the cruel and corrupt world that stealsthe innocence of his children. It is in this word that Estha suffers, an unsympathetic world in which while a child vomits out of disgust and fear, his mother ironically smiles while having pleasant dreams a few doors down the hall. The two narrators also differ in that while one grows in maturity and knowledge of the world, the other remains stagnant. The last paragraph of Benjy's section begins, "The father went to the door and looked at us again. Then the darkness came again and he stood black in the door, and the door went black again" (Faulkner 48). The simple structure, limited use of modifiers, and limited vocabulary characteristic of Benjy's section style at the beginning of the novel are still present in his narration at the end of the novel's section. The fact that his writing style hasn't changed shows that his level of maturity and knowledge of the world hasn't increased in any way. In contrast, the change in the use of speech and language. the narrator's depth of insight in The God of Small Things signals to the reader that the narrator has matured following the events of the novel. An example of the change in the use of language and the development of intuition is in the use of the phrase "Dum Dum" to signal that a lesson has been learned. The first time the narrator uses the phrase outside of the context of the Popeye song is when the narrator answers Ammu's question as to whether Rahel had already learned her lesson. Rahel had: Excitement always leads to tears. Dum Dum" (Roy 94). The first lesson learned is that of books, but as the story progresses, the phrases "Dum Dum" are encountered after life lessons are learned. For example, when the twins discover that Sophie Mol is dead and they come to the realization that they might go to prison, that realization is followed by a “Dum Dum.” And again, when they witness Velutha's gory death, they learn two lessons: one, that “The blood can barely be seen on.” a black man (Dum). Dum)," and two, "But it smells sweet. Like old roses in the breeze (Dum Dum)" (Roy 293). The shift in the placement of the "Dum Dum" phrases from the lessons after the book to the lessons after life shows that they are gaining more knowledge about the world and are becoming more mature. Furthermore, this growth can also be seen through comparing the narrator's interpretations of the same scene at different points in the novel. Towards the beginning of the novel, the twins witness a scene in which a policeman touches Ammu's breast with his baton. The narrator responds by saying that “Inspector Thomas Mathew seemed to know who he could blame and who he couldn't. Cops have this instinct" (Roy 10). The twins only see that the inspector is humiliating their beloved mother, and therefore they think that the policeman is bad. However, when this scene is revisited later in the novel, the narrator states : Later, when the real story reached Inspector Thomas Mathew, the fact that what Paravan had taken from the Touchable Realm was not stolen, but given, worried him deeply. Thus, after Sopie Mol's funeral, when Ammu went from him with the twins telling him that a mistake had been made and he touched her breast with the truncheon, it was not spontaneous police brutality on his part. He knew exactly what he was doing, calculated to humiliate and terrorize An attempt to instill order in a world gone wrong (Roy 246). The next explanation conveys an understanding of society's opinions and rules regarding the relationship between Untouchables and Touchables and how their mother had broken those rules, whereas before they had only seen the cruelty of the policeman's action. Now I am able to see the action from the point of view of the policeman and society. This level of thinking and intuition is?, 1997.