We had discussed in class that it is a part of V.s. Naipaul’s style to withhold some of the most crucial details until he makes the illusion that he has just gotten around to telling. An example of this being the Salim’s shop and the common perception the reader assumes for a shop to have shelves until the author admits all the merchandise is on the floor. Well, the author has reliably continued to play with us in this way. In a very big way. The narrator, Salim, in this second part, has been revealed to be less stable than previously mentioned, as he gets upset for the first time (Metty becoming a “family man” to someone else's family, at first having never seen Salim’s emotions, I wonder how this could even make him so upset) he is thrown off his balance for the first time (Imar his visor belonging more permanently to the town than he has in the past eight years. It is most shocking to me, however to read about Salim at the Domain party, were he appears to be a great innocent bore, and sexually creepy. Whereas before I had a respect for his dutiful conception of “just carrying on like ants” it is made clear he knew nothing else. It was not a choice for him to be so simple but he knew nothing else. Something about the way he was depicted as a seeker in the beginning of the book (his choice to move, his refusal of the girl) I imagined he had some sort of calling to find out, but I imagined he was less innocent in his decisions and knowledge, and it is either my misreading, or something to do with V.S. N’s style?
(I apologize for posting late, I had forgotten the 9pm due date!)
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