Lesson 4.2.2.11

4.2.2.11 The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy Quiz: AQA English Literature A, Unit 2

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 4.2.2.11, The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA English Literature A (7712), Unit 2: Texts in shared contexts, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. In which Indian state is The God of Small Things set?

    • Punjab
    • Kerala
    • Tamil Nadu
    • Goa

  2. Who are the fraternal twins at the centre of the novel?

    • Ammu and Chacko
    • Rahel and Estha
    • Rahel and Sophie
    • Estha and Velutha

  3. Which prize did Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things win in 1997?

    • The Booker Prize
    • The Whitbread Novel Award
    • The Orange Prize
    • The Pulitzer Prize

  4. Between which two years does the novel's non-linear narrative mainly move?

    • 1969 and 1993
    • 1956 and 1984
    • 1962 and 1990
    • 1947 and 1971

  5. Who is Velutha in the novel?

    • An English cousin who drowns in the river at the start of the novel
    • A Paravan carpenter at the family's pickle factory who falls in love with Ammu
    • The Oxford-educated uncle who runs the family's pickle factory
    • A local schoolteacher who leads a union of farm workers

  6. Who drowns in the river Meenachal, setting off the central tragedy of the novel?

    • Sophie Mol
    • Chacko
    • Rahel
    • Velutha

  7. What is the name of the family pickle business?

    • Ayemenem Rubber & Coir Works
    • Paradise Pickles & Preserves
    • Paradise Tea & Spice Company
    • Kerala Jam & Preserve Company

  8. Which character is Ammu's older brother and a central figure in the family's business?

    • Mammachi
    • Baby Kochamma
    • Chacko
    • Velutha

  9. What is the fate of Velutha after he is falsely accused?

    • He is sentenced to prison for theft
    • He is exiled to a village across the river
    • He escapes to another city and is never seen again
    • He is beaten by the police and killed in custody

  10. Which character plays the violin and is the twins' grandmother?

    • Baby Kochamma
    • Margaret Kochamma
    • Mammachi
    • Ammu

  11. Which character is Ammu's aunt, a bitter and manipulative figure who seeks to protect the family's reputation?

    • Baby Kochamma
    • Velutha
    • Sophie Mol
    • Mammachi

  12. Who is Sophie Mol's mother, the former English wife of Chacko?

    • Mammachi
    • Ammu
    • Baby Kochamma
    • Margaret Kochamma

  13. Which phrase in the novel describes unwritten social rules deciding who may be loved and how much?

    • The Pickle Statutes
    • The Ayemenem Codes
    • The Caste Ordinances
    • The Love Laws

  14. What is the effect of the novel's shifting time periods on the reader?

    • The reader is told the events in strict chronological order
    • The reader pieces together the cause of the drowning gradually
    • The reader is given detailed statistics about Kerala's economy
    • The reader is told the narrator's identity only in the final chapter

  15. Why is Ammu and Velutha's relationship especially transgressive in Ayemenem?

    • It breaks a church ban because Velutha is a convert from Hinduism
    • It breaks a legal ban because Velutha is a foreign-born worker at the factory
    • It crosses caste boundaries, since Velutha is an untouchable and Ammu comes from a higher-status family
    • It is kept secret because Ammu owns the factory and Velutha is her employee

  16. What does the novel suggest about the role of the police in Velutha's death?

    • The police act impartially and uncover the truth about the drowning
    • The police are shown as absent, so Velutha's death goes unnoticed
    • The police act to enforce caste and social hierarchy, showing that the state reinforces existing power
    • The police are rescued by the family, who arrange a fair inquiry

  17. What does Roy's title suggest about the novel's concerns?

    • Large statistics about caste and wealth in Kerala
    • Large historical events that shape national politics
    • Small details of religious ritual with no political meaning
    • Small, everyday details that carry emotional and political weight

  18. Which group of people is Velutha part of, marking him as untouchable in the novel?

    • The Marxist unionists
    • The Kathakali dancers
    • The Syrian Christians
    • The Paravans

  19. In the novel, which relationship is the source of the family's shame and the central taboo?

    • Mammachi's love for her violin teacher
    • Baby Kochamma's love for an English visitor
    • Chacko's love for Margaret Kochamma
    • Ammu's love for Velutha

  20. Which literary technique does Roy use to show the children's experience of events they cannot fully understand?

    • Strict third-person omniscient narration with no shifts in viewpoint
    • Child-focused narration that mixes childish and adult perspectives
    • Dramatic dialogue with stage directions and no narration
    • Epistolary letters exchanged between the twins and their father

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