How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
Pappachi would not allow Paravans into the house. Nobody would. They were not allowed to touch anything that Touchables touched. Caste Hindus and Caste Christians. Mammachi told Estha and Rahel that she could remember a time, in her girlhood, when Paravans were expected to crawl backwards with a broom, sweeping away their footprints so that Brahmins or Syrian Christians would not defile themselves by accidentally stepping into a Paravan's footprint. In Mammachi's time, Paravans, like other Untouchables, were not allowed to walk on public roads, not allowed to cover their upper bodies, not allowed to carry umbrellas. They had to put their hands over their mouths when they spoke, to divert their polluted breath away from those whom they addressed. (2.270)
This quote speaks volumes about the experience of the Untouchables, and it helps us appreciate the kinds of deeply ingrained attitudes that drive so much of the prejudice and hate we see in the novel.
Quote #8
The Masters would haggle with him as he trudged behind them with the boys' luggage, his bowed legs further bowed, cruel schoolboys imitating his gait. Balls-in-Brackets they used to call him.
Smallest Man the Varicose Veins he clean forgot to mention, and he wobbled off with less than half the money he had asked for and less than a tenth of what he deserved. (3.17-18)
Here we get a snapshot of the experience of a member of the lowest class, who carries luggage for the students on Estha's class trip. This is a very humanizing moment for someone who is ordinarily seen by those around him as less than human. Life isn't fair for those in the lower classes; they have to deal with the upper classes not only bossing them around, but also being unnecessarily cruel and hateful – and not paying enough in return for hard work.
Quote #9
Mammachi had never met Margaret Kochamma. But she despised her anyway. Shopkeeper's daughter was how Margaret Kochamma was filed away in Mammachi's mind. Mammachi's world was arranged that way. If she was invited to a wedding in Kottayam, she would spend the whole time whispering to whoever she went with, "The bride's maternal grandfather was my father's carpenter. Kunjukutty Eapen? His great-grandmother's sister was just a midwife in Trivandrum. My husband's family used to own this whole hill." (8.19)
Pigeonholing people is really important to Mammachi – not only to give her world order, but to show how important she is in comparison.