God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy shows a surprisingly profound understanding of human nature for such a new author. Her complex novel intertwines the past and present with the subtleties of Indian class and culture to create a rich tapestry of betrayal and spirituality. It is perhaps in her portrayal of the many facets of human betrayal that Roy is at her most proficient and convincing in the novel. Betrayal is a common theme throughout Roy's novel, The God of Small Things, and is seen as adults betray children, society betrays individuals, classes betray castes, and children betray parents, and history and tradition are betrayed.

The impact of betrayal is seen throughout the differing settings of the book; both when the twins are seven years of age in 1969 and when the twins have reached 31 years of age in 1993. Betrayal involves most of the characters in the novel:...
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