PAPPACHI’S MOTH (Woven Words)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Arundhati Roy, full name Suzanna Arundhati Roy, (born November 24, 1961, Shillong, Meghalaya, India), Indian author, actress, and political activist who was best known for the award-winning novel The God of Small Things(1997) and for her involvement in environmental and human rights causes. This lesson Pappachi’s moth is an extract from the novel The God of small things.

1. Comment on the relationship shared by Mammachi and Pappachi.

A retired high ranked officer, Pappachi was always jealous of Mammachi's talent and of the attention she received. Whether it was pickle making or her violin master’s appreciation about her talent pappachi did not like mammachi being appreciated by anyone. Despite of all the friction they had In their relationship, Mammachi bore with him. Mammachi was more used to Pappachi and was not exactly in love with him. Pappachi used to beat him with brass vases and still Mammachi could not let go of him.

2. How does Mammachi stand out as an independent and resilient woman in the text? 

Mammachi was a woman who was always disrespected and discouraged by her arrogant husband. ... With getting appreciation she got motivated and was independently kept running her pickle business without her husband consent in such difficult situations as she ever gave up and hence proved as a resilient woman.

3. Why does John Ipe consider retirement to be a dishonour?

Benaan John Ipe, Pappachi, got retired from the post of Joint Director, Entomology. For him his retirement that was a constant reminder of his old age stung him deeply.

4. What was the underlying reason for John Ipe’s disgust with the world?

John Ipe was disgusted with the world. He did not get his due. The moth, Pappachi discovered, was not named after him and it fuelled the fire that burnt within him, consuming him. He was ill humoured already, yet the fact that he was a retired government official without any fame, his wife who was seventeen years younger to him, still in her prime, was making good out of her pickle factory. This hurt Pappachi, it wounded his pride. He started beating Mammachi now regularly. Everything, from his never got fame to his wife’s success wounded him badly and his frustration proliferated.

5. Chacko’s firmness in dealing with the irrational behaviour of his father.

Pappachi used to beat Mammachi with brass vases every night in frustration and this was not new he does this from the very beginning. When Chacko came home for a summer vacation from Oxford. He had grown to be a big man. A week after he arrived, he found Pappachi beating Mammachi. Chacko strode into the room, caught Pappachi’s vase from his hand and twisted Pappachi’s hand around his back. Chacko roared with a strong voice that he don't want this incident to happen again. From that point of time, his father never touched Mammachi again and even never talked to her till he lived. The firmness of son stopped violence in the home and it was a right action taken by son. Today every other woman is badly beaten by her husband and like Mammachi they don’t even protest. 

6. The contrast between the outward elegance of a person and his private behaviour.

Pappachi, was an ex-government officer in the high-ranking post, a Director, Entomology. A well-educated and socially dignified personality who is always well dressed wore three-piece suits and golden watch pocket. In an accumulated sense, he was a sensible, qualified and respectful person in his outside life or professional life. But the reality was something else which proved under the shelter which is his personal life. In his personal life, he was a person who comes under the category of those men who are useless and bit less than an animal because he uplifted violence which is not a sign of a qualified and high ranking officer. He was a jealous person who could not see others prospering like he did with her wife, she was talented but he never showed consent in her pickle business as well as violin classes because in both case she was getting appreciated. He was a man who was not having a right be respected by others but no one knows about his personal life. Outside he was qualified and high class officer but inside he was down the class person who does not respect women.

7. Approval from the outside world and approval within the family.

In outside world, Pappachi was a dignified personality but in the family he was down personality as his karmas reflect his place. For people outside Pappachi was a respectful person but for his family, he was a person who does not deserve respect.

Approval of outside world was that he was a great personality who worked as an ex-government high ranking officer, director as entomologist but inside whom or within family he was looser. For outside world, his contribution may be enough to recognize him but inside the home, there was nothing that can add on to contribution as he always contributed his jealousy and violence to her wife. Hence, Pappachi was a person who doesn’t deserve love and respect.

8. How does the author succeed in raising crucial social issues not through open criticism but through subtle suggestion?

Arundhati Roy raised a crucial issue putting a light on male and female discrimination in society we live in. She directly hit her subtle suggestions on what actually women are facing in the society and hoe men exploit them. Roy hit the nail right on the head in describing the male chauvinistic society we live in, though suggestively. 

9. Within a few pages the author has packed the important events in the lives of John Ipe and his wife. Discuss how conciseness and economy of expression can achieve effective portrayal of entire lives.

Pappachi’s Moth represents the negativity of what actually happened (failure) instead of what could have been. Literally, it is the moth that Pappachi discovered but originally was found not to be a separate species. After further investigation however, it was determined to be a different species, but Pappachi was not given credit. This haunts him for the rest of his life and even is “passed down to his children and his children’s children” 

Roy has kept the story short yet she did not miss out anything. She has described the relation of a husband and a wife with all the necessary details though she did not ponder over the sentiments for long. She explained the face of the society we live in. Jean Genet was so correct when he said that society dwells on images and this is what Roy has tried to emphasise in her story. John having lost the chance to gain the recognition he could have felt the loss of identity along with it. Roy is economical when she describes the emotions and makes sure that nothing worthless is portrayed. All that she has spent in the short tale is worth the while. The narration is simple enough and achieves effectively the portrayal of the entire lives of the characters. The disturbance in the marriage the physical violence the emotional loss the intervention of the young child and its impact on the father. All have been portrayed wisely not wasting any time or making the reader to wait for the following happenings.