Locating Identity: A Postcolonial Reading Of V. S. Naipaul's The Enigma Of Arrival

After World War II,a large number of former colonials flooded into Britain,including many immigrant writers.Their active participants provide British literature with a new international vision and lead it into a new era.As an Indian by blood,and a Trinidadian by birth,V.S.Naipaul also came to England in the meantime and started his writing career in London.The special background and the unique life experience endow Naipaul with a double perspective and unique writing style.The Enigma of Arrival is one of Naipaul's most highly acclaimed novels combining his anguish as a colonial with his anguish as a writer.Placed at the intersection of autobiography and fiction,it maps out the geographical and cultural journey of the post-colonial migrants towards the mythologized center of civilization,the imperial metropolis.Through this semi-autobiographical novel,we can find Naipaul's review and introspection of his dream-seeking journey,as well as his active exploration of his cultural identity.Based on theories of identity in postcolonial criticism and postcolonial background,this thesis analyzes how Naipaul eliminates his identity obstacles and constructs a new hybrid cultural identity through constant traveling and writing.This thesis is composed of three parts: an introduction,three chapters and a conclusion.The introduction briefly presents the life of V.S.Naipaul,and discusses the controversy over the genre of The Enigma of Arrival,whether a novel or an autobiography.In addition,the comments of this novel at home and aboard will be recorded and analyzed briefly.The first chapter mainly discusses the crisis of Naipaul's cultural identity,the causes of his sense of cultural inferiority and his imitation of western writers.Indian by ancestry,Trinidadian by birth,Naipaul is destined to face the crisis of identity from the moment of birth.In the process of his dream-seeking journey,ethnic identity and cultural differences cause the split of man and writer,and make him a mimic writer.Furthermore,it also argues that Naipaul's detestation of his own culture and his concealment of his own colonial identity are results of the colonial education.The second chapter follows Naipaul's journeys to locate his cultural identity.The poor and backward Trinidad makes him yearn for the distant empire center from his childhood,and in order to become a writer,Naipaul embarks on a journey from the margin to the center.However,he finds “the heart of empire” is quite different from his imagination.The sense of dislocation and alienation in London makes him eager to go back to his tropical island.During his recursive trips between Trinidad and England,he gradually corrects his former erroneous judgment and eventually abandons his prejudice against the culture,history and traditions of Trinidad.The third chapter analyzes the unity of the two aspects,man and writer,of his identity,as well as the role of traveling and writing in this process.Through traveling and writing,Naipaul bridges the gap between the man and writer,and accepts the diversity and hybridity of his identity.Moreover,by observing the people and natural landscapes in the village of Wiltshire,he comes up with the idea that only change is eternal,and achieves his arrival of second life.The conclusion part makes a comprehensive summary of the full text,and points out that Naipaul's dream-seeking journey parallels with the construction of his identity.In the constant traveling and writing,he recognizes his colonial background and cultural roots,bridging the gap between man and writer,digesting the sense of dislocation and alienation,and constructs a new hybrid identity.