An Analysis Ofnaipaul's Quest For Authentic Existence In The Enigma Of Arrival

V.S.Naipaul is known as a typical representative of the world literature,and he is also unanimously regarded as a leader of the post-colonial literature by the domestic and foreign critics.His literary creation belongs to the post-colonial period,but his works are not entirely consistent with the post-colonial studies,with both overlapping and separate parts.As one of Naipaul's three most important autobiographical novels,the novel The Enigma of Arrival,is not only a narrative of Naipaul' s past,but also the results of the author's philosophical thinking about life and existence.Naipaul's reflections on his own past experiences and the changes of his life in The Enigma of Arrival are exactly the same as the concerns of existentialism.Taking the existentialism as the theoretical foundation,this thesis analyzes Naipaul's exploration and quest of his authentic existence in The Enigma of Arrival so as to highlight the realistic meaning of man's existence.Firstly,Naipaul's being-in-the-world,e.g.his self-existence and coexistence with others,is analyzed,characterized by an isolated self and a social one.Secondly,the fallen state of Naipaul's life is discussed.Such state of life is caused by the control of the state of average man,the confinement of alienation,and the loss of identity.Finally,the thesis explores Naipaul's authentic existence through his comprehension of the transcendence of time,being-towards-death,and the unification of the self.Although Naipaul has been torn by the affliction of belonging nowhere,yet his persistence of the spiritual struggle between the West and the East,the colonized and the decolonized,and between the writer and the man helps him find the rest place of his soul and accomplishes his wish of seeking the authenticity of existence.It is quite meaningful to study Naipaul's complicated life experience to deduce the authenticity of human existence,which is essential and helpful for people today to form an appropriate value of life in the age of big bang of information and technology.