On Willie's Pursuit Of Cultural Identity In Half A Life

As one of the three brilliant immigrant writers in British literary arena,Naipaul has occupied an important position and has won numerous awards.The multi-cultural background of his birth in Trinidad,his Indian lineage and his university education in the UK has made him more sensitive to race,culture and politics and became more concerned about the cultural dilemma of people in the "third world".In his works,colonial people's cultural identity crisis and pursuit in the post-colonial period is the eternal theme.Willie,the protagonist of Half A Life,is a typical example.The novel describes the half-life experiences of the post-colonial fringe character,Willie,from India to London and then to Africa.The research on Half a Life mainly focused on dispersion and the study of Willie's cultural identity in the background of post-colonialism at home and abroad.Based on the practical significance of the text and the historical background of the novel,this paper explores how space affects the cultural identity and pursuit process of characters by using the theory of spatial criticism and Stuart Hall's theory of cultural identity.The thesis is divided into five parts:The first chapter is the introduction part,introducing Naipaul and Half a Life and the related theories.The second chapter discusses the emergence of Willie's identity crisis in different spaces.The impact of British education and the infiltration of British ideology led to Willie's yearning for the so-called center of civilization and the eagerness to get rid of India and his humble birth.The third chapter expounds the pursuit of Willie's cultural identity.Willie tried to find his position by the starting of his writing career and transnational marriage.The fourth chapter describes the failure and causes of Willie's pursuit of cultural identity.Section one discusses Willie 's failure to pursue cultural identity.His literary career in London ended and he was excluded by Western society.His marriage with Ana turned out to be a failure and he was called "Ana's London man" in Africa rather than his independent identity.Section two points out the reasons for his failure in pursuing cultural identity.One is the suppression of his personal space by hierarchical society.Immigrants are marginalized and are not recognized by Western hierarchical society.The other is the influence of traditional Indian culture on him,making it impossible for him to integrate into western society.Chapter five is about the restoration of Willie's cultural identity.In Africa,Willie witnessed the brutality of Western governments and the suffering of the colonized.He tended to be maturer in spiritual space.Willie eventually realized that he is living someone else' life and decided to make some changes.The last chapter summarizes Willie's experience of the cultural identity crisis and the process of pursuit,as well as the role of space and its enlightenment to the marginalized people in the post-colonial background.