a. Caste System
According to Becker 323, there are three main headings in equality. There are equal treatments for equal, fundamentals equality and social equality. In caste
system, it is very hard to achieve those three elements of equalities. The caste system bans the members to fulfill the equality in their life. The caste system bans
the members to achieve fundamental and social equality. Caste system rules the members in their daily life. The members of each caste have different rights from
other members of other castes. They get a different treatment in education, health, place for housing and market according to the caste they belong to.
The caste system makes the women’s positions unequal with men. It rules the women to have their partners who deserve their love, how they should behave,
and how they should wear their clothes. The caste system also forbids an intercommunity marriage.
Intercommunity marriage is a marriage between castes or across the country. It is forbidden because this marriage will lower one’s caste. Beside that,
the children of this marriage will be considered as bad luck for the whole family Hutton 173.
In the novel, it is described at the age of 18, where the other girls get a marriage proposal, Ammu still waits for the proposal. She waits until her age is
22. In a wedding reception she meets a Bengali man. Five days after their meeting, Ammu accepts his marriage proposal. She does not think about the
difference between them. Marrying a Bengali man, Baba, will break the caste’s rules. Ammu is pressed by the situation that she has to marry soon. She does not
think about the caste’s rules, her family, and whether she loves him or not. She accepts the proposal and gets married.
Being pressed by the situation, Ammu decides to get married. The other reason why she accepts the marriage proposal is she wants to escape from her
father. The caste system places men in the upper position. Father’s want should be done. If the members in the family break it, they will be punished. She wants to
fulfill her safety needs. Her father’s behavior of beating her often and her mother makes her runaway from her home.
He proposed Ammu five days after their first met. Ammu did not pretend to be in love with him. She just weighed the odds
and accepted. She thought that anything, anyone at all, would be better than returning to Ayemenem.
She wrote to her parents informing them of her decision. They did not reply Roy 39.
Ammu’s marriage with Baba, a Bengali man, makes her break the marriage
rule in caste system. The caste system rules every member about their marriage. A member of a caste cannot marry out side herhis caste. They should obey the rule.
If they break the rule, they will be outcaste. Mayo 43 notes that a Brahman says that to a wife the husband is greater,
truer, dearer benefactor than all social reformers bundled together. This shows that caste system makes the women’s position weak. They have to honor their husband
and praise their husband. The caste system makes the wives weak. They often become the object of
men’s harassment. Wives should obey their husband willingness. If they do not obey their husband, they will be considered breaking the rules. Since they were
children, they have been taught that their husband is their god. They have to obey PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
and serve him well Mayo 74. Thus by marrying a Bengali man, Ammu breaks the law. She disobeys the caste rule. She wants to be equal with men, that is to
get married in accordance to her choice.
b. Patriarchal System
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