| In the course of this study, I attempt a careful examination of the novels of V. S. Naipaul, with particular attention to their structure, themes, motifs, and imagery. I also trace the pattern of his growth towards maturity in both style and vision from The Mystic Masseur (1957) to A Bend in the River (1979). While the study does not primarily concern Naipaul the man or the "third world" writer, it does, necessarily, include some observation of his life and career as they affect our understanding of his work.;The study is organized into six chapters. Chapter I, "V. S. Naipaul, Wanderer Among Cultures," discusses the impact of Naipaul's background and career on his writing. Indian by ancestry, Trinidadian by birth, and English by education, Naipaul remains unable to relate to any one culture.;Chapter II, "The Trinidad Trilogy," examines Naipaul's early novels: The Mystic Masseur, The Suffrage of Elvira, and Miguel Street. These novels are grouped together because of their setting and their use of the regional languages. The confinement of the characters in their island location indicates that they are yet unexposed to the disenchantment of seeking fulfillment in self-exile. Naipaul's preoccupation with a search for a more satisfying existence grows intensely complex as his settings become more international.;Chapter III, "Beyond the Regional Barrier," concentrates on A House for Mr. Biswas, Mr. Stone and the Knights Companion, and A Flag on the Island. The scope of these novels is much larger than the earlier novels set in Trinidad. Mr. Biswas is a character with universal, or international, resonance. Similarly, the protagonists of Mr. Stone and the Knights Companion and A Flag on the Island are, respectively, an Englishman and an American. The theme of homelessness acquires a larger perspective than before in these novels, and becomes a colonial or national rather than an individual problem.;Chapter V, "The Bitter Fruits of Exile," Looks at The Mimic Men and In a Free State and finds a deepening feeling of homelessness and alienation. The shift in the locale from the Caribbean to England and Africa makes homelessness, a colonial or national predicament in the earlier novels, a universal feature of the modern world.;In Chapter V, "Prison of the Spirit," I concentrate on Naipaul's two most recent novels, Guerrillas and A Bend in the River. The dream of exile in distant lands for success and fulfillment in the earlier novels now turns to the horror of being caught in a lonesome exile. But there is also a suggestion of human continuity and regeneration in these novels as the characters continue their struggle for survival in spite of their bitter experiences in exile.;The concluding chapter, "Deracination and Human Comedy," discusses Naipaul as a life-affirmer in spite of the increasingly darker hue in the more recent novels. The deracinated Naipaul characters continue to live, accepting the imperfections and divisions in life, helped by the knowledge that ambiguities are an essential part of life and human nature. |
