Preservation or Progression: Indo-Trinidadian Cultural Fluidity as Seen Through the Works of V.S. Naipaul and Shani Mootoo

The aim of this thesis is to clarify and analyze the arguments about national and marginal identity made by two Indo-Trinidadian authors, V.S. Naipaul and Shani Mootoo. Naipaul argues that Trinidad as a nation cannot survive because it must be dependent on colonial rule. He argues that Indo-Trinidadian's are neither British nor Indian, and they lack identity and stability. In contrast, Mootoo argues that Trinidad is fully capable of establishing its own identity, and that Indo-Trinidadian culture does not need colonization nor India to define it. She argues that culture is a fluid and constantly changing idea. Mootoo recognizes the attempts at preserving Indian traditions and British standards in Trinidad, but argues that the attempt to make culture stagnant prevents progression. She also emphasizes in her work the marginal identity of gender set by societal standards, and understands that these gender identities must also fluctuate.;Part one of the thesis focuses on two novels by Naipaul: The Mystic Masseur and The Mimic Men. Both works show Naipaul's critique of Indo-Trinidadians and their mimicry and ignorance of Indian traditions and culture. Both of these works also argue that Indo-Trinidadian's will never be accepted in either Indian society or the British colonial hierarchy. Part two of my thesis focuses on Mootoo's short stories "Out on Main Street," "Sushila's Bhakti," and "The Upside-Downness of the World as it Unfolds" as well as her debut novel Cereus Blooms at Night. In these works, Mootoo expresses the marginal identities critiqued by authors such as Naipaul and shows that any attempt at preservation prevents progression in a culture. Mootoo also expresses the fluidity of individual identity in terms of gender and national identity.