On Willie’s Spatial Anxiety In Naipaul’s Half A Life

In the late 20 th century, there appeared a “spatial turn” in academic circle. This turn mainly lies in two aspects: putting more emphasis on space than on time; breaching the notion that space is a simple “container”, instead it is implied with rich social and cultural significances. Prominent scholars including Bachelards, Lefebvre and Foucault, etc., have been devoted to the study of spatial theory. The development of spatial theory has greatly expanded the perspective and space of literary research.Half a Life was published two weeks later after V. S. Naipaul, a representative of post-colonial literature, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001. This novel carries the same themes as in most of his works: the marginalization, anxiety and disorientation of the colonized in the post-colonial period. By the description of the protagonist’s “half-life”, this novel reveals a multi-cultural space filled with different conflicts and confrontations.With spatial theory as the theoretic perspective, this thesis probes into various kinds of spaces in Half a Life, aiming to explore the relationship between the space and the protagonist’s anxiety and its functions in the construction of a novel. This thesis is divided into the following five parts:The first chapter serves as the introduction, which makes a general introduction of Naipaul and his Half a Life. Domestic and international research situation about Half a Life is also presented in this part. Meanwhile, the research significance and layout of the thesis is demonstrated to the readers.Chapter two introduces the development of spatial theory and its major ideas,which serve as the theoretical basis of the thesis.Chapter three analyzes the spatial anxiety suffered by Willie and explores the causes by employing the spatial theory. By probing into different spaces in this novel, such as building space, personal space and social space, this part reveals the contradictions and confrontation of various spaces and their influences on the first half of Willie’s life.Chapter four discusses Willie’s approaches to dealing with his spatial anxiety: the shift of physical spaces and the construction of his spiritual space.The conclusion presents the research results of this paper. Firstly, with exploration of confrontations of different spaces and the protagonist’s remolding of spaces, this thesis reveals the spatial anxiety of the colonized in difficult situation and its causes; secondly, spatial anxiety proves to be the main factor that contributes to the development of the plot; What’s more, this research can serve as inspiration to relevant study in sociology.