Would you consider Velutha a tragic hero?

Answer

Would you consider Velutha a tragic hero? Show your reasons. 

This writing will also cover the answer to the following question.

Sketch the character of Velutha. 

Velutha is the younger son of Vellya Paapen. He represents the untouchables in “The God of Small Things” (1997) by Arundhati Roy (1961-Present). He is a carpenter by profession and an active worker of the Communist Party. Velutha is the young rebel in the novel. Still, he breaks the rigid conventional and religious rules by responding to Ammu’s sexual advances, forgetting the fact she is a “forbidden fruit” for an untouchable like him. As a result, he faces dire consequences that ruin both.

Velutha’s efficiencies: In the novel, Velutha is unparalleled as a carpenter, mechanic, and engineer. Baby Kochamma refers to him as “Dr. Velutha” when he fixed her garden cherub’s silver inextricably. He never feels that he is an untouchable, especially when he takes up his profession. With full confidence, he easily surpasses his fellow workers who are jealous of him. But he does not bother about that. Though Velutha is untouchable in the eyes of his fellow workers, he is more than conscious about his duties to the working class.

A trade unionist: Velutha’s participation in the workers’ march has created ripples in Ammu and others in the Ayemenem family. He emerges as a brave trade unionist who succeeds in erasing his identity as an untouchable by fighting for the rights of the downtrodden in his white shirt and mundu. This is very significant for us.

Velutha as a lover: Velutha lives the life of a lover, and Ammu, the young divorcee, makes him a lover. His relationship with Ammu develops gradually. But the other members of their family don’t accept this love affair.

 It was a time when the unthinkable became thinkable, and the impossible really happened.

It intensifies after Ammu returns with her children to her parent’s home. When he was a kid, Velutha used to make little wooden toys for Ammu