TGOST Ch. 11 & 12

This chapter starts out talking about a dream of Ammu's, which I found really weird, no offense. It was about her and a one-armed man, and it was just really weird. First it talks about how he can only do one thing at a time, and then they are in an ocean or something, and he cannot swim with one arm, but she can. The two don't touch though. This just seems very weird and random to me.

Rahel and Estha find their mother dreaming, and they watch her and think she is having a nightmare or something. They wake her up slowly because it says that you can never wake dreaming people up suddenly or you will give them a heart attack. She says that she was having a good dream, and that she was happy. The children seem unconvinced.

Ammu realizes that the kids have been to see Velutha, and she tells them they should not have, but she does not seem very passionate. There is no yelling or screaming. She just kind of says, how many times have I told you not to go over there, that's bad. The twins then see the stretch marks of being pregnant on Ammu's stomach, and they ask her many questions. They decide which stretch marks each of them made by kicking their mother's stomach. Ammu gets tired of the children being so close to her and shrugs them off. I thought this was kind of mean the way it was said in the book. It was like the children were just toys that could be pushed aside when they were unwanted. Ammu seems very depressesed because when she looks at her body in the mirror, she cries a lot.

Chapter 12 is all about Estha and Rahel at the temple watching some dancers act out a play. The play is about a family and their problems, and it is very violent. The siblings are very interested in this play, probably because it reminds them so much of their own family and their problems. I think that this helps the two realize that they are not the only ones in the world with problems, and it might make them feel a little better. This play also might symbolize a big decision for Estha, since the play relates to the family. In the play the son makes a very big decision about the other sons. This part really showed the culture of India, and it was kind of cool.