Dan - Niapaul - 2/9/2011

Stylistically Niapaul really creates his own thing here. But finishing the book I felt somewhat ungratified. Maybe I need some more time away from the novel to really get a grasp on it. There is so much that Niapual is trying to say with this work that I’m not sure all of it really came to the forefront (at least for me.) So I definitely feel that this book needs a second read before I can make any strong accusations about it. If I did a paper on this I would like to focus on the aspects of the book that have been seen as controversial, or topics that people have found or called controversial. These can be seen in the similarities of between Salim’s fictional country and the Congo. I also feel that most of the characters (Zebeth, the depiction of the president, Yvette) represent integral cultural and sociopolitical aspects that can be found in both the Africa of the new and the Africa of the old. They all play into Niapaul’s overall political commentary of the continent. 

Anna- Naipaul- 2/9

If I were to write a paper about this book it would address Naipaul’s depiction of women. As a woman, the book pushes me away, because the attitude is not a neutral but one with a negative cast, and since the author is so in control and aware of everything he is doing in the novel, and it is clear he is not making a social commentary, it reads disturbingly so that I distrust him and his characters. And who wants to spend time being held up in a book with a writer who is NOT ON YOUR SIDE? 

Since I have already written on this topic a bit, right now I am less interested in debating the treatment, and starting to wonder if the reason I find Salim to be so creepy (his sexuality included) because he has no experiences with love. Through the book we are not shown many actions triggered by a “love force”. For Salim, marriage is a contract, sex is mechanical (even with Yvette) Family love is not present. The only relationship in the book that seems to be loving is between Shoba and Mahesh but every time their union is described by Salim he mentions (over and over) Mahesh sees himself as the man Shoba wants him to be.. or something of this nature, so it is not a true love concept that Salim sees, but a twisted perception of adoration and identity. 

Perhaps Salim wanted to fall in love with Yvette and that was what began to draw him to her when he says, “My wish for an adventure with Yvette was a wish to be taken up to the skies, to be removed from the life I had--- “ (pg. 183) But then, she was ordinary too

170 and 140 Salim being bewitched by Yvette, drawn to her differences but afraid

Home is normally a safe loving memory. Pg 107 Salim says, “ Home was hardly a place I could return to. Home was something in my head. It was something I had lost.”

Loving slave/servant dynamic. Could this be the reason Salim gets so mad when he finds out 105, Metty has a child and a woman, love?

Jane- Naipaul- 2/9/2011

I would like to further explore Naipaul's employment and symbolism of the natural motifs throughout A Bend in the River. One motif I found striking- even though it doesn't quite qualify as natural- are the African masks which on page 65 Salim has a very visceral reaction to: "The bush was full of spirits; in the bush hovered all the protecting presences of a man's ancestors; and in this room all the spirits of those dead maks, the powers they invoked, all the religious dread of simple men, seemed to have been concentrated". Much besides the immediate reaction to these masks, they seem to be emblematic of Father Huismans outlook on the progress of Africa and its European ties, an vision which Salim seems to share. I also find the River and water hyacinths to be telling motifs, particularly the passage on p. 46 that details the natives reactions to the water hyacinths as the "new things" brought over from Europe as well as the passage regailing Father Huismans' death which ties in nicely to his views regarding European influence on Africa.

Rachel - Naipaul, 2/9

I just finished the novel last night - or, more precisely, in the wee hours of this morning.  It was one of those times where you close the book, place it on your desk, and think: "ohhhh...kay??"  What is this novel about?  I'm not really sure - in a bad way.  I feel like I'd have to read it again to get any significant grasp on it.

So even though I have yet to bushwhack my way through Midnight's Children, I'm pretty sure any future papers will analyze this work instead of A Bend in the River.  However, I was going to write a paper the Naipaul book, it would definitely be a feminist critical perspective.  The second most prominent idea I took away from this novel was that of wounded masculinity, and the need to dominate the feminine in order to compensate for a perceived loss of power.

-- The President's "monkey speech"
-- The Youth Guard's reaction to the monkey speech, in which they lash out at people they were supposed to protect
-- the juxtaposition of Yvette's sex versus brothel sex
-- Salim beating Yvette passage

But I have no real intent of carrying this out...so someone else can feel free to take this idea and run with it.

Joseph-Naipaul Paper -2/9/2011

For a potential paper, I would be interested in focusing upon Naipaul's style. It operates within it's own middle ground,much like Naipaul attempts to forge a middle ground between his critique of both colonizers and the colonized. Naipaul has a style that is at times both translucent and ambiguous;subordinating and additive shifting narrative voices. I think it is this managing of the middle that gives Naipaul his tone that sets you at ease and feels like a naturally unfolding narrative;much like the remarks that people make about Tolstoy.


Some quotes that I would consider:


"Going home at night! It wasn't often that I was on the river at night. I never liked it. I never felt in control. In the darkness of river and forest you could be sure only of what you could see — and even on a moonlight night you couldn't see much. When you made a noise — dipped a paddle in the water — you heard yourself as though you were another person. The river and the forest were like presences, and much more powerful than you. You felt unprotected, an intruder ... You felt the land taking you back to something that was familiar, something you had known at some time but had forgotten or ignored, but which was always there. You felt the land taking you back to what was there a hundred years ago, to what had been there always."


(This paragraph is exemplary of Naipaul's shifting style. We are given an ambiguous opening, then provided a little more detail, and then the initial message of the paragraph is subverted, while still retaining ambiguity in a different form. The narrator never feels in control, yet the land takes you back to something familiar that has been there always.  The narrator is in sensory control(he can hear himself dip a paddle in the water), yet when he makes a sound he feels as if he is someone else. These kinds of contrasts within a single space make up much of 'A Bend in the River'.


Obviously I would consider the opening sentence. Joan Didion(I believe she cited she got this remark from Henry James, but I cannot be sure) once stated that the first sentence is perhaps the most important,and after the second sentence you can't go back. Naipaul begins the book as such:


"The world is what it is; "The world is what it is; men who are nothing, who allow themselves to become nothing, have no place in it....

It wasn't only the sand drifts and the mud and the narrow, winding, broken roads up in the mountains. There was all that business at the frontier posts, all that haggling in the forest outside wooden huts that flew strange flags. I had to talk myself and my Peugeot past the men with guns -- just to drive through bush and more bush. And then I had to talk even harder, and shed a few more bank notes and give away more of my tinned food, to get myself -- and the Peugeot -- out of the places I had talked us into.

Some of these palavers could take half a day...."

(There is a kind of extended meditation even in the first sentence that seems to suggest that it could unravel at any moment at the turn of another thought. One semi-colon and two commas prevent the first sentence from being simply saying "The world is what it is". Even if Naipaul included the rest of the first sentence as the beginning of the second sentence(; men who are nothing, who allow themselves to become nothing, have no place in it.... ) it still would not have the same effect as the almost back and forth yet streamlined effect that the original opening sentence holds.)


"I often wonder what would have happened to me if I hadn't made that decision. I suppose I would have sunk. I suppose I would have found some kind of hole and tried to hide or pass. After all, we make ourselves according to the ideas we have of our possibilities. I would have hidden in my hole and been crippled by my sentimentality, doing what I was doing, and doing it well, but always looking for the wailing wall. And I would never have seen the world as the rich place that it is. You wouldn't have seen me here in Africa, doing what I do." 


(This sentence would show Naipaul's acerbic wit. It is funny that the narrator is counting his lucky stars that he has finally found a place and is not 'looking for the wailing wall', because he is looking for that wall throughout the book,and never finds it. I'd like to take some moments in the paper to discuss how Naipaul constructs the dark humor in 'A Bend in the River).

Karol - Bend in The River -02/09

I would like to discuss what are considered natural boundaries and what are considered artificial boundaries in Naipul's book. The specific divisions between societal convention and superstructure of the places mentioned in the novel interest me because they seem at times to transition outside of geographical space. The novel seems to delineate between place and space. Non-places as defined by Marc Auge are places that do not hold enough significance to be defined as anything other than space. An airport, a McDonalds, a hotel room all look familiar to the inhabitant even though the actual geography is hazy.

The experience of flying, for Salim, is disorienting in a way that demonstrates the airport as a non-place. "It was like being two places at once. I woke up in London with little bits of Africa on me..." (227) The Bigburger is described as coming already equipped as if it had popped out of the ground cartoonishly: "They don't just send you the sauce, you know, Salim. They send you the whole shop." (98) The domain's cartography is also unrecognizable to its inhabitants. "Our ideas of men were simple; Africa was a place where we had to survive. But in the Domain it was different. There they could scoff at trade and gold, because in the magical atmosphere of the Domain, among the avenues and new houses, another Africa had been created." (119) Africa in a sense is a space more then just a place. The whole of the population of Naipul's book make up what is Africa and that in a sense can not be superimposed over (the absurdity rests with the attempt).

Eidia- Naipaul paper- February 9th

7. A character study of Salim in relation to his concept of masculinity

In Naipaul’s novel, A Bend in the River, the concept of masculinity is not given a solid definition. Instead, the readers are compelled to use events and actions involving Salim, and determine Salim’s relations with his own masculinity.

As an example, despite moving away from his life on the coast, enduring the pains of the journey from the coast to the bush, Salim very much relied on certain aspects which still connected him to home, he still had a very fluid sense of dependency, which was further solidified by certain events. One such example is Metty’s arrival to town, including the arrival of pickles from Salim’s mother: “Ginger and sauces and spices from my mother.” (pg. 31) In the same passage, there is also a segment describing a photograph sent to Salim from his father, entailing the possibility of the co-existence of religion and modernity: “Two family photographs from my father, and a wall print on a cheap paper of one of our holy places in Gujurat, showing it as a modern place.” (pg.31). Maintaining these minute gestures between himself and his parents in a sense entails Salim’s continued openness towards drawing influences from his roots, whether they be dietary or religious. With a sense of ideal masculinity, Salim should as an individual, be able to dictate his own direction in life.

Another situation in which Salim compromises his own masculine assertions is his vulnerability to allow external figures dictate his viewpoints. With the case of Indar’s arrival, again there is a scene involving food sent for Salim from his mother. In this passage, Indar makes it a point, repetitively that Salim is to share the chutney with Metty. This scenario almost alludes to the notion that Salim is incapable of committing generous acts of humanity, as simple as sharing, without being reminded of doing so.

In his somewhat oppressed form of masculinity in more practical manners, Salim somehow discovers it hidden in his sexual encounters. He manages to accomplish himself, making himself more established in this practice. With prostitutes, Salim composed a choreographed manner of engaging in sexual activity, but at the same time concealing the fact from both Metty and Ferdinand. While Ferdinand did not inhabit Salim’s living quarters, Metty did; hence, this bringing in and taking out of the prostitutes became a crucial part of this routine, for Metty is not meant to be exposed to Salim’s new found masculinity. Engaging in his pleasure with the prostitutes, being able to conduct a sexual act was self assurance for Salim, that he did have control over his sexuality, but while he dissembled this from Metty, he was maintaining a sense of honor. He was keeping with whom he established the act with a secret, not that he was engaging in such conduct. Later, when Yvette establishes herself as Salim’s regular lovemaking partner, he does not find it necessary to retain this information from Metty anymore, for now, he is not only having sex, but he is having sex with a woman of class. He asserts his masculinity by not shying away from his deeds, for with Yvette, he acknowledges his associations with her,  for in most of their evening dalliances, Metty is present in the flat.

Will - Naipaul paper - 2/9

I want to explore the concept of "acting" in the novel, stemming from the interesting scene where Salim finds out Metty has a whole family he didn't know about.  Salim begins acting out the part of the hurt, offended master, Metty that of a childish slave.  Salim reflects, "I was acting.  But there are times when we act out what we really feel, times when we cannot cope with certain emotions, and it is easier to act" (p. 106).  In this scene and others, acting is not simply lying or pretending.  It is a way to tell the truth in an indirect manner, and also a way to avoid confronting harsh truths.

            

Another interesting passage is when Salim travels to London.  He describes "acting up" the part of the "primitive" who needs to be led by Kareisha, his affectionate  and knowing wife (231).  But he actually is awed by the strange city and is in danger of getting lost if he strays too far from Kareisha's apartment.  And always after acting out his part he has to go back to his hotel to face his solitude.  This is another instance where acting becomes a peculiar mix of lying and truth-telling.

            

Other instances of acting include Ferdinand's adoption of different characters as he grows up and searches for identity, Raymond's dramatic speeches which hide insecurity about his position in the country, and the way Mahesh and Shoba pretend that everything is normal no matter what is happening in the town.

Jason - Potential A Bend In The River Essay - 2/9

For a paper I’d like to discuss how Africa, or at least the town the story is set in, is perpetually enduring cycles of death and rebirth and how this idea is echoed through the natural world, the political climate, the cycles of economic boom and bust, and that of the more abstracted idea of characters (focusing on Salim – and I guess touching on his relationships with other characters) not being able to outpace or sidestep this endless cycle, except for one, or so it appears. I’d then conclude that the cycle continues because (at least within the novel) Africans (and African) are seen as “history-less” or ahistorical so they are something that can be controlled and manipulated for the gain of one group or another (which stems from the idea that people have control over their own circumstances), which is ultimately an illusion.

Pg. 27 – discusses the city as a perpetual ruin

Pg. 211-12 – discusses the liberation army’s intend to fight off oppressors

Pg. 260 – shows how the Domain has been repurposed and become a kind of African settlement where crops are grown.

Pg. 24 – the “businessman isn’t a mathematician” quote to show the idea of becoming trapped within one’s fate, and not knowing when to get out, particularly when this option is available and not made use of.

Posts for 2/9

Pick a motif or theme that could form the basis of a critical essay on Naipaul. Such a theme should be as specific as possible. 1. It could be Naipaul's treatment of women; 2. representations of the flora in the text; 3. some aspect of Naipaul's style, such as the use of comedy - or 4. the changing narrative voices; 5. the theme of history; 6. a character study of Salim in relation to his concept of masculinity - 7. or in relation to his search for the exotic or unfamiliar (the exotic seems to turn into the familiar for him and vice versa)  - 8. or in relation to his search for identity; 9. it could be about the representations - positive of negative - of being African or Africa as a concept; 10. it could relate the book to some historical event - it should be one that precedes the writing of the book and may have influenced the story; 11. it could be about the representation of South Asians in the book; 12. about the relationship between political and social power and education. 12. symbolism of ships and waterways? 13. the concept of "always something new" in relation to Africa; 14. the concept of abstract math and practical math? 15.


You may pick your own topic. It should be something you can cover in the length of a midterm paper. There's much more danger that it would be too large rather than too small. Whatever you discuss, you must connect it to the overall themes of the book - for instance, how does the presentation of the natural world fit with the book's larger themes and philosophy.


For this post, choose a theme and pick four passages from the book that relate to this theme. You don't have to quote the passages in full, but it should be clear which ones you mean. This is the first step towards writing the paper, since your analysis would be built around significant quotes.

I strongly suggest you begin reading Midnight's Children as soon as possible. Since this is a long book, you must not get behind. It is strikingly different from A Bend in the River.

Nick - 2/7 - Naipual

This is a novel about imprisonment. Not only how the past consciously shapes
ones future, "we had been made by the place we had grown up"(142), but also
of a Hindu kharmic past. As the details of past experience enlighten
themselves to te reader, VIA naipauls "rock down a hill" style along which
is also reminiscent of a more proverbial concrete style. As the subconscious
past enlighten itself into the reader/characters consciousness, we unlike in
a Dickens novel, do not see the light at the nd of the tunnel instead we see
the tunnel transform into another tunnel which later is proven no better nor
no worse. The novel relies not on the betterment of a post  colonial
society, but instead the cyclic nature of the outsider and their reluctance
for acceptance from the world around them, the only way to "integrate" is to
stagnate, and like naipauls writing style become known, eventually.

Anna - Naipaul- 2/7/11

I finished the book and it left a sort of bitter taste in my mouth. I am interested in two things, the speed of the novel and how it blossoms (sorry to use this word, maybe "expands"...) and Naipaul’s clever portrayal of Salim (manipulative grasp on readers conception). I respected Salim very much at the beginning of the novel, I think I wrote something to that effect on the blog- but I was conflating the writer with the narrator. At the end of the book I think Salim is despicable, human, but penned in, not so wise and I dislike the sexual depictions throughout the book (because of their violent cast), but I am curious about Naipaul and who he imagines his readers to be. I was very intrigued by his style, his ideas and his wit, but I must say after finishing the book I feel a bit distanced, like someone had perhaps spit on me. This is, I imagine actually the benefit of effective writing, but I keep stumbling across "shocking" writing and it has started to make me wonder about its values, what the leading forces are behind it. I don’t know what to make of it until I read another Naipaul.

Jane- Naipaul- 2/7/2011

"All my energy and mind were devoted to that new end of winning the person. All my satisfactions lay in that direction; and the new kind of fulfillment, continuously new" (Naipaul, 175).

The passage wherein Salim recounts his first sexual encounter with Yvette is particularly striking as it is the first time we see the narrator break away from his usual, matter-of-fact, slightly indifferent outlook. The ardor with which Salim describes the experience I believe speaks to the idea that Salim as a moralist, particularly a sexual moralist, in search of purity. The feelings of excitement he once felt toward bought-sex turned into an attitude of boredom and eventual self-loathing. Salim undergoes a nearly euphoric experience with Yvette, who little is mentioned of during the act. Here his ennui is utterly reversed and the need to dominate Yvette overwhelms him to the point of becoming violent- a means of liberating him from the repression and self-hatred he had felt thus far.

Karol - Bend in The River -02/07

I wanted to post again because so much of this text deals with economics. Especially, in the framework of hyperinflation in decolonized Africa. "That was two hundred Francs, nearly six hundred dollars..." (For a cofee and piece cheese on bread. "Prices have dropped twenty-five percent, and interest rates have risen from twelve percent to twenty and even twenty -four percent." (235) Naipul does provides a very ground level vantage point of post-colonial Africa but I'm not sure its fair to presented in this limited light because at times it infers that this is the end result of poor uneducated Affrican leadership. The truth is these problems come as a result of inter-generational disenfranchisement over what we call colonialism but could be called an occupation. Here are some articles on African hyper-inflation:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4665854.stm
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/02/world/africa/02zimbabwe.html

Rachel - Naipaul, 2/7

On page 185, Naipaul writes about the President, or "the Big Man," who incarnates the ideal of "masculine" political power:

"But now there remained a link with him [The President]: the sense of his power as a personal thing, to which we were all attached with strings, which he might pull or let dangle.  That was something I had never felt before. "  There is an almost patriarchal flavor to this text.  The Big Man (phallic choice of words, by the way) exerts his perceived importance on the general populous, while still claiming to care for the common man.


This underlines his desire to bring (Uganda?  Where are we now??) back to "African democracy and socialism."   He uses his mother's alleged job as a hotel maid to justify the purity of this claim.  Eventually he even disposes the Youth Guard, "[stripping] them of power and jobs," leaving them "humiliated and anguished men of the region."


But how does a humiliated and anguished man" act?  Naipaul writes that the Youth Guard react by treating the people they were supposed to police in a cruel, resentful manner, which is revealed on page 212.  But what does this say in the bigger context of the book?  I'm not sure, but if Fundamentals of Cognitive Psych at Lang taught me anything, it's that insecure men usually need to compensate.  (By bullying their kids, beating their wives...or, as George Carlin, Patron Saint of the New School, once said: "That's what all that asshole jock bullshit is all about.  That's what all that adolescent, macho, male posturing and strutting in bars and locker rooms is all about - it's called DICK FEAR...they have to compete with one another to feel better about themselves, and since war is the ultimate competition, basically men are killing each other in order to improve their self esteem."


Since the political landscape of the book is getting progressively more unstable...I would not be surprised.

Karol - Bend in The River -02/07

           The text makes a distinction between what is a personality and what is an identity. A personality is created out of reaction to circumstance. Characters like Indar wear their personalities like costumes. An identity is constructed as response to material being, a static and constant accretion of information that doesn't exist in past events or future hopefulness, it only is. Salim's self lies not his reactions to other selves but his response to and his flux displaced through them.
          When referring to Mahesh, Shoba, and Indar our narrator states: "The only friends in the town I had introduced him to were Shoba and Mahesh. They were the only people I thought he would have something in common with (b/c they were beautiful). But that hadn't worked. There was suspicion on both sides. These three people were in may ways alike- renegades, concerned with their personal beauty, finding in that the easiest form of dignity." (155)What the narrator sees as the power of their particular costumes as an aspect of identity is viewed inside of their triangle as threatening to each of their personalities. The characters are masked out of creation and out of sheer need for survival. The common thread of all their costumes, to the bewilderment of Salim, is that these personalities are created and not innate. Their suspicion towards each other is rooted in their distrust set upon while grappling with their own identities that aren't defined outside of reaction to environment.
          Salim is obsessed with whiteness of Yvette's skin which becomes a symbol of Salim's judgmental progression over her. He also appears to have a foot fetish but that could be intended to symbolize that he is always looking down in her presence. Overall, the author treats beauty as commodity. Interestingly enough, their foreignness becomes their commodity. The characters use beauty at first as currency until it consumes them. Salim seems to be using their beauty as currency to define himself. The selflessness he gains through Yvette is fleeting and illusory since his love for her involves a selfish favoritism for her and her alone. Here is what Zizek says on the selfishness of love:

Joseph-Naipaul-2/7/2011

1. The water hyacinth is a claustrophobic plant, and it is represented as such in 'A Bend in the River'. The hyacinth is invasive: It will cover bodies of water entirely, block sunlight from reaching plants, kill animals, etc. In "A Bend In The River", the water hyacinths are a symbol of birth, gradual disintegration, and inevitable death.

The first time Naipul introduces us to the hyacinth, he outlines its progessively ominous effects on the area: "Always, sailing up from the south, from beyond the bend in the river, were clumps of water hyacinths, dark floating islands on the dark river, bobbing over the rapids. It was as if rain and river were tearing away bush from the heart of the continent and floating it down to the ocean, incalculable miles away. But the water hyancinth was the fruit of the river alone". The hyacinths have an air of "the new" to the locals, but they are looked upon as an enemy. There is certainly an interior sense of foreboding to match the physical manifestations.

Later on, the hyacinths become a way to muddle and clot a vision of older times. Father Huismans is killed, and his killers decide to make a show of their conquest. The narrator remarks: "His death need never have been discovered;he could have easily have been buried somewhere in the bush. But the people who killed him wanted the fact to be known. His body was put in a dugout, and the dugout drifted down the main river until it caught against the bank in a tangle of water hyacinths.He was buried quickly, with the minimum of ceremony". Salim believes that Father Huismans purity and naivete played a role in his demise,

The narrator later sates that "little was said about the way he died", and he laments for the loss of a man he feels was a wealth of knowledge. However, in keeping with the "topography of the void" that characterizes Naipual's writing, the narrator quickly states that we cannot remain in a "questioning mood for long". The river must keep flowing, and the hyacinths cannot be stopped from encroaching further. This echoes the kind of pragmatic attitude that Naipaul exhibits from the very first line.

Water hyacinths are mentioned twice at the very end of the novel, when Salim returns and is now a runaway on a steamer bound for nowhere. When Salim first notices the progress of the town, he admires the steamers and their easily flowing transit. They are a nice contrast to the dugouts. However, by the conclusion of the novel, the hyacinths have overtaken the river, and the steamer is pathetic(made even more so by the first class cabin). Naipaul writes:

"In this light the silhouettes of the dugouts and the people in them were blurred,not sharp. But these dugouts,when we came to them, had no produce to sell. They were desperate only to be tied up to the steamer. They were in flight from the riverbanks. They jammed and jostled against the sides of the steamer and the barge, and many were swamped. Water hyacinths pushed up the narrow space between the steamer and the barge. We went on. Darkness fell."

And later....

"At the time what we saw was the steamer searchlight, playing on the riverbank, playing on the passenger barge, which had snapped loose and was drifting at an angle through the water hyacinths at the edge of the river. The searchlight lit up the barge passengers, who,behind bars and wire guards, as yet scarcely seemed to understand that they were adrift."

Like many of the characters, these barge passengers don't seem to find their identity, or even notice that it is missing. The hyacinths have become too pervasive.

Hannah - Naipaul - 2/7/2011

4. Salim's relationships to several characters changes as the book goes on. It seems that his perceptions of Metty, Ferdinand, Indar and Yvette were premature at first, but as he spends more time with them and closely examines each person, Salim begins to see another side to them, for better or for worse. Metty was an annoyance to Salim in the beginning and was seen as concerned only with himself, but Salim begins to notice Metty's sadness and awareness of his own place away from the coast. Salim sees Metty more as an equal rather than a servant, not hiding certain things, such as his affair with Yvette.

As with Metty, Ferdinand was initially viewed as a burden to Salim and as a stubborn boy with a strong will to do whatever he wanted without thinking about consequences. Throughout the years, Ferdinand has taken on responsibilities and has been following rules. On page 165, he tells Salim he tipped the purser too much because the purser didn't use 'citoyen' to address the group. When Indar first came to Salim, Salim saw Indar as he had seen him years before: as an educated man with style. But he reassessed his views on Indar when he heard his story and saw that Indar has faced many challenges to preserve his dignity and keeps up a facade in order to feel like what he was "supposed" to be. When Salim met Yvette, he couldn't stop thinking about how intellectual and beautiful she was and soon became obsessed with her. But after sleeping with her and getting to know her, he finds out she isn't happy with her marriage or where her life is heading. She feels her life is "fluid" (pg 190) and Salim senses that she is anxious most of the time.


This shows that Salim is quick to make impressions about people, but doesn't push them away when he learns about their flaws and true intentions. He appears to be selective about who he truly cares about and is protective. 

Jason- Naipaul- 2/7

            3. Raymond position as a historian seems to become somewhat ironic as the novel progresses. Initially, Salim portrays, or at least conceives, of Raymond as a direct link to the events and past of the development of the country’s “new situation” with the Big Man. Because of this, Raymond seems to be a kind of primary source for historical recording of the country. Raymond’s presence in Africa prior to independence seems to color him as a kind of authentic historical link from the region’s past. So it would seem that he would be an authentic and truthful chronicler of the country’s changes. Though Salim begins to recognize later on that Raymond is very much disconnected from Africa. It becomes clear that Raymond’s favor with the Big Man is diminishing by the day and that in the few articles he’s managed to publish, it seems Raymond only grasps the surface of what he sees. His viewpoint is based on newspaper reports, letters, and archives and not first hand accounts. Salim mentions at one point that Raymond misses the mark almost entirely in one article and that even someone like Metty would have had a more accurate or insightful few words to say. The implication seems to be that knowledge, which would be common to any African, is completely lost on Raymond. Given this, and Raymond’s apparently undying loyalty to the Big Man, the opening novel would seem to paint Raymond as an inactive figure, someone who is allowing himself to become nothing. The notion of history, memory, and lies as European seems to enter the equation in that Raymond is attempting to chronicle the progress of a “nation” that does not measure itself in terms of progress. Many parts of Africa, particularly the bush, are described as, or at least implied to be, unchanged. The bush perpetually reclaims spaces that were either political, commercial, residential, etc. and wipes the slate clean. In this sense, a sense of “history” doesn’t really factor in to a conception of Africa since things have basically stayed constant and just “carried on” as they always have. A “history” of Africa would then be a kind of European construct, or lie, that couldn’t entirely conform to or accurately portray/capture the area’s nature.

Will - Naipaul - 2/7

6.  Salim's first sexual experience with Yvette is a moment of enlightenment.  Previously knowing only the pleasures of prostitues, he transforms into a "new self" (176) by having sex with a woman he actually cares about. By having sex with Yvette, Salim begins engaging with the world on more than just a surface level.  He begins engaging the world on a more abstract/spiritual level.  Salim sees Yvette not as a body he can buy, but as a person he must win.

Central to the moment is the shift of Salim's gaze.  He moves from the blind "self-regard" of brothel fantasies, to "a constant looking outward from myself" (175).  During the sex act he is continually looking at Yvette's body, "avoiding crushing the body with my own, avoiding that obliteration of sight and touch" (175).  The nakedness of Yvette's body takes on the aspect of a revealed truth, a "revelation of woman's form" (175).  Salim sees Yvette's body as perfect because he wishes to "win the possessor of that body."  If the exterior reveals the interior, then for Salim Yvette's perfect body reveals her perfect spirit.

Complicating matters is that as their sex continues it becomes "full of deliberate brutality" (176).  It is a prelude to a relationship that becomes disturbingly co-dependent as the book continues.

Naipaul - 2/7/11 - third assignment questions

1. By now there have been numerous mentions of water hyacinths. What is the significance of this detail? Find several mentions and consider the context, beginning with the first one, on p. 46. 2. One of the most persistent dualities in the book is that between the ordinary and the exotic. Consider the passage on 96 in which Salim reflects that "we had been ordinary - now they (the Africans) were ordinary." On 129, dancing with Yvette: "I never wanted to be ordinary again." But later he finds her ordinary, visiting her house. Comment on these shifts from exotic to ordinary and their significance to the politics of the book. 3. Let's go back to Raymond's speech about the elusiveness of truth on p. 130. Raymond is a historian, but is he a truthful one? Can you relate the figure of Raymond to the opening of the novel and the comments that history and memory as well as lies are European? 4. Can you find a pattern in Salim's relationship to characters about whom he cares - Metty, Ferdinand, Indar, Yvette? How does he feel about them initially? How does his view of each one change? Is there a clue here to his character? 5. Another example of Salim's shifting opinions can be found in his relationship with Yvette. Originally, she is the antidote to the "brothel" pleasures to which he has become accustomed. But later, when she kisses his trousers and at other times, he begins to view her as similar to the "brothel" women. Is Salim a sexual moralist looking for purity? If not, then how do you interpret his attitude? 6. Salim's first sexual encounter with Yvette on pages 174-176 is presented as a major revelation for him. The paragraph beginning "Women make up half of the world..." is particularly striking. With the description in mind, interpret the significance of this event for Salim. Why is this new type of relationship so important to him? 7. On p. 148 Indar discusses an episode during which he feels his masculine pride has been injured. The question of masculinity comes up again for Salim in relation to Mahesh and his excessive devotion to Shoba. He sees Mahesh's weakness echoed in his own excessive devotion to Yvette. How does the theme of injured manliness relate to the larger political themes of the book? 8. Throughout the book Salim has been an observer or outsider, often a mentor to young men, a victim of his own faithfulness. In the later part of the novel, he appears to be more involved, particularly through his affair with Yvette. Has he become more "European," like Nazruddin, or is he as "African" as ever? Or are these distinctions no longer meaningful? Support your answer with reasons. 9. Is beauty a form of power in this book? Mahesh and Shoba are concerned with beauty; Metty benefits, in the short term, from his handsomeness; Indar is concerned with stylishness; and Yvette is notable for her beauty. What is the author's attitude towards concern with appearances - in men and women? 10. Yvette, when she tells the story of her marriage (187-189), clearly feels that she made a foolish decision. Consider here character and her reasons for becoming involved with Salim (does she have any reasons)? Is Naipaul's portrait of her sympathetic? Is she disappointed with Raymond's failures... or for some other reason? 11. Most characters with some exceptions - Nazruddin and Ferdinand - seem to be disappointed in the story. How would you interpret this pattern of dashed hopes as part of Naipaul's vision? What is different about those who seem to fare better? How are the disappointed characters flawed? Discuss a few characters specifically. 12. Consider the description of Ferdinand's departure on the steamer. How does the steamer show changing times - or things staying much the same - in postcolonial times? It's appearance in the story seems jarring - is it a symbol of some sort?

Rachel - 2/2 - Naipaul

I'm not sure how to create a post to this blog (as opposed to a comment.) Can we discuss this in class tomorrow?

ANYWAY! As for the response, I decided to do #1 - an imitation of Naipaul's literary style. While using Salim as a narrator, Naipaul highlights the use of periodic sentences. For example, take a look at the first paragraph of section II. (Page 85.) It describes an ant colony matter-of-factly, without any subjective comment on it. The description is short. However, this striking, small image is really symbolic of the state of modern-day Africa, and that's the beauty of his text.

What I'm about to write is a similar description of the coffees available at The Lang Cafe...but it's also a symbol for how I view The New School as a whole. In the style of Naipaul:


"The room is simple. The coffees in it are not; they are styled to suit the taste of Whole Foods shoppers and Park Slope residents. Joy once told me, in her Jamacian accent, that the beans are imported from around the world. Roast varies with region, she said.

The sticker labels hugging the fat tanks of coffee are stamped with buzzwords like "fair trade," "organic," and "single source." They have the dark aroma of their respective regions. People crowd around the tanks, observing the eccentricity, the variety of flavor. Almost like they were about to take photos: 'look what I saw today.'"


It's coffee! It's Naipaul! It's NEW SCHOOL!

Anna - Naipaul- 2/2/11

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!)

Jane- Naipaul- 2/1/2011

:... I doubt whether the workmen who made this stuff- In Europe and the United States and perhaps nowadays Japan- had any idea of what their products were used for" (Naipaul, 40). "
Earlier in the narrative- as the town is in a state of disarray- Naipaul adopts a kind of irony when writing how these technically advanced cultures were creating products to be used in most primitive ways by the Africans buying them. Mashesh's proposed business scheme involving importing a Japanese appliance to carve wooden ice cream spoons seems indicative of the new shift in the attitude toward trade and western products as the town began to flourish- though he seems to be less interested in selling ice cream as a business venture and more taken with the idea of carving a living out of using these intricately modern, western machines.

Jason- 2/2/11 -Naipaul

11. Mahesh’s Bigburger shop stood out to me as a symbol for the outsider as a kind of parasite feeding off a host organism. Clearly, Mahesh is (or at least tries frequently) to be as opportunistic. Once he lands the Bigburger deal, it seems his efforts have paid off, though up until that moment Mahesh had tried to funnel money his way by whatever means he was capable of engaging in, whether it be a camera business or a customizable wooden plaque business. Most of his ideas consist of “feeding” off other industries; the cameras were mainly intended for the tourists who never seemed to come to the area, and the plaques for the van der Weyden hotel. But what made the Bigburger franchise a success for Mahesh was the coupling of the restaurant’s attractiveness to the van der Weyden’s visitors across the road with the African officials and army members interest in the place for its “décor and modernity” and the fact that Mahesh had made a point to make his houseboy, Ildephonse, a manager, to attract local Africans. The point seems to be that the outsider’s relationship to Africa is necessarily parasitic, in this case, in relation to the exchange of money. It is added later that Salim notices in the Bigburger, and in other establishments with an African staff, that once the proprietor is not around the staff becomes “vacant,” that they were “acting” and could remove themselves spiritually from their jobs. The implication seemed to be that though the Africans purposely disconnect themselves form their surroundings, they nevertheless engage in the parasitic relationship. Perhaps this is because both sides feel they are “putting one over” the over. Still, on page 99 Mahesh flat-out states that he’s a numbers watcher (he’s talking about Bigburger), “Noimon offered me two million. But you know Noimon. When he offers two, you know it’s worth four.” Given this statement, it’s likely Mahesh has only stumbled blindly into this kind of success and, further, his parasitic relationship to the country and people who he engages with is more or less beyond his understanding.

Karol - Bend in The River -02/02

Indar, during his long speech in chapter 9, describes the Domain as a "construct," but adds "all men live in constructs." Discuss the significance of the Domain as a comment on development in postcolonial Africa.

        Salim is attracted to Indar because of his style. To Salim there is a gloss or patina to him that is unidentifiable to him but this particular speech (150) suggests that Indar's world view adopts life as a game to either be won or lost. The keynote of his story happens after this when he realizes London was built by men. Upon this realization he goes into a tirade on manhood (152). The nexus becomes that the men who built these things, things that he once saw as larger then life, are also the men who stole his manhood.
        Even though, I find this kind of machismo troubling the perceived symbols of castration and emasculation seem to be thematic to this self awareness. An obsession with dominance in Indar's case manifests as the belief that everything is a "construct" ie mailable and easy to manipulate once one figures out how that construct operates.  Sequentially, his next step is join a bohemian acting troupe where he learns how to be things that he doesn't want to be.
       The gloss that Salim feels around Indar is absurdly more of a cheap flashiness then a high end gloss.  The "construct" of the Domain, to him, acts a mere court to glamor. Even more so because of the weak leadership of the president whose construct it is. According to him leadership, notwithstanding slaves, is that at its best it can evoke or reclaim manhood.

Will - Naipaul - 2/2

6.  We get a few clues in the text as to the nature of this new "Africa of words and ideas."  The first is when Salim sits in on a lecture given by his friend Indar.  Indar is drawn as a socratic philosopher figure:  "he tried to get the young men to examine the words they were using" (p. 121).  Indar seems wise, yet he also does little but obfuscate questions.  It is unclear what "ideas" Indar, the new Africa, and the new president are espousing, but the ambiguity may be the point.

            This is illustrated in the party Salim attends, where he meets Raymond and Yvette.  Raymond describes the president as very open minded, hungry for ideas.  "He feels that all ideas can be made to serve the cause" (p.134).  The president's self-made image is both modern and in touch with tribal roots, a soldier and a peace-maker, a man from the bush and one at the highest reaches of society, conservative and revolutionary, in touch with the past and ready to move forward.  The president uses whatever ideology is politically or economically viable at the moment; his hunger is constantly in need of new ideas to digest and repurpose. 

            In constructing the new Africa, the president is establishing a unified national identity.  The picture of the president, seemingly hanging in every room of every building, is symbolically "a picture of all Africans" (p. 134).  This ignores tribal and religious differences which are highlighted elsewhere in the novel.  This nationalism may not be as inclusive as it seems.  Would Metty, a person of mixed race and self-proclaimed former "slave," fit into this "picture of all Africans"?  The type of ideological rhetoric the new president engages in may too easily devolve into simple lies, like the European colonials who had "both the slaves and the statues" (p. 17).

2/2: Naipaul: more questions!

NOTE: on Wednesday we will only discuss to the end of Chapter 8 (p. 140). We'll catch up on Monday. 1. Can anyone write an imitation of Naipaul's style? A couple short paragraphs will do. 2. The most important theme in Book One appears to be issues of power and hierarchy. Most of the relationships illustrate shifts in power relationships. In Book Two, Ferdinand gains more prestige and the Domain creates a new source of prestige. Is there a philosophy behind Naipaul's presentation of ever-shifting power relations? 3. On pages 88-89 and after we learn about Mahesh's business scheme and uses for western products. Can you relate these developments to i) the earlier discussion of math and/or the discussion of African use of products on p. 40? Have Salim and Mahesh become "mathematicians" as Nazruddin warned against? 4. From the beginning of the book to where we are now find some passages in which Naipaul characterizes "Africa" and "Africans"? With the boom and changes after the rebellion, is there any change in the narrator's concept of the "African"? 5. On page 95 Salim reveals, "I began to see the town as ordinary for the first time." We know that ordinariness and otherness are a continuing theme in the novel. Why does Salim's view of the town change? What is the significance of the change? 6. In the second part, the theme of "real" versus "unreal" becomes dominant. Compared to the earlier chapters, there are a lot more philosophical discussions. Look at the passage beginning "I became confused myself..." on page 124-125. What is "the Africa of words and ideas" and how does it differ from other representations of Africa in the novel? 7. Indar, during his long speech in chapter 9, describes the Domain as a "construct," but adds "all men live in constructs." Discuss the significance of the Domain as a comment on development in postcolonial Africa. 8. Salim gets to know a writer in the new world, Raymond, who is something of an official writer for the Big Man. On 136-137 Raymond talks about the difficulties of writing. Is this a Naipaul figure? What is the significance of the writer figure to the themes of the book (truth vs. falsity; being "nothing" vs. being something etc.)? 9. If tradition and religion underwrite many of the events in the first part, politics seems to be the active force in the second. On p. 133 Raymond, the white historian who "runs the show," praises the Big Man, the new African president. Comment on this passage in light of the imporatnce of history in the novel? How is Naipaul commenting on post-liberation African politics here? 10. While he initially felt like an outsider in the Domain, Salim finds himself accepted within it to some extent. After a night of music and a dance with Yvette, Salim declares that "I had found the kind of life I wanted; I never wanted to be ordinary again." (129) Explain this change in light of Salim's character through the novel up to this point. 11. On p. 97+, we read about Mahesh's Bigburger shop; it is obviously a satirical detail. Discuss the character of the Indian Mahesh as a symbol of an outsider's relationship to Africa. 12. A shift is described on p. 96: "We had been the intruders, the ordinary men... Without effort we had become, in a real way, the masters..."  How and why did "we" become the masters, and how was this shift brought about by the death of Father Huisman? 

Karol - Bend in The River -1/31

3. Most readers, beginning the book, would tend to associate the main character with VSN. However, their origins are different. Can you tell us a bit about VSN and look for associations between author and the character of Salim?

I apologize for posting so late. It took me a little while to place who V.S. Naipul was because I had been introduced to him through Paul Theroux's book  Sir Vidia's Shadow: A Friendship across Five Continents. Having no idea who the man was before I knew his drama it is refreshing to put a voice to the caricature that Paul Theroux presents.

My first impression of this novel is the imagery of unexpected awkward statement like the "beauty of numbers" (24) or  "Ghosts from the future" (27) the statement are then explained and push the narrative  along. The synthesis of enumeration in the first awkward statement then  explanation gives a consumerist hue to the tone of the book. I am also biased because I read what Edward Said said about this book before I began reading it.  Is it neocolonial to reject socialism and choose consumerist symbols over socialist ones? There are free market liberals out there.

Naipul takes a travelers risk in explaining this African non-place. Things are described as African and non-African the way a seasoned traveler would describe them. There is also this ambiguousness as well as acknowledgment of boundaries, natural boundaries, where African violence occurs. Or where it occurs in the Western imagination. There is no doubt that is a pro western narrative. 

 To answer the question:  Naipul is nothing like the protagonist in his book. Neither in ethnicity nor vocation. With this author it is important or me to separate the man from the work. Patrick French, in his biography of Naipul, accuses Naipul of being a sadist and a batterer of women.

Anna - -1/31/11 – Naipaull

I think that the quiet start to the book makes for a firm grounding. Naipaul is ensuring his readers are serious. In order to get into the novel, A Bend in The River, you have to first pay close attention to the setup. Naipaul is not going to hook you in falsely with a mystical boom, he is going to set the landscape, the political scene, the serious tone and if you can tune in to hear the authors voice speaking low, as if to a grandchild, two notches below the voice of the others telling big stories in the den, you will be ready then, to hear the wisdom of a wise man. His thoughts, the self-depreciating ones, the honesty of his self-assessment and of the characters around him, are quite impressive.

I am interested in the way Naipaul draws impressions of new characters faces. He remarks especially on Ferdinand’s as being exotic as an African mask.  This has a bit of mysticism to it, I am not sure if it is racist, or in his intention anyway as what the narrator means is Ferdinand appears guarded, i.e. “masked”. His mother is the token exotic so far in the novel, Zabeth. She is the nearest thing to a “hook” the novel has in drawing the reader in. Is it fair to lead with a strong mystical tactic? I was surprised upon finishing the first chapter to see Naipaul then leading in a fresh direction, as if rolling out the dough of the first batch, the setting, rolling out some scenery to the right, rolling out some politics to the left. At any rate, it shows the depth with which the book will dive, not just an adventure story, not just a social narrative.

Dan -1/31/11 - Naipaul.

The first 20 pages or so really serve as an intro into this very detailed world that VSN brings the reader into. He opens with Salim’s first person narration introducing characters he has met as he opens up shop in a country in Africa. The way VSN brings the reader in with these first few pages is swift throwing the reader straight into this uneasy place.

             VSN uses Salim at first as somewhat of an onlooker or a guide into the world of the story. Salim goes into his background and various people and situations he has been in over the years. This is a useful tactic with a story that has a setting as dense as this. What really struck my attention was how some of these slaves (Salim’s family’s) were used more as servants than actual slaves. Sometimes even "preferring" the stability of slavery to freedom.  VSN uses Salim as a window or a vehicle into the world of the story.

Nick K

           Naipaul's style is highly organized. His chapters begin with a statement of sorts, or a piece of his history that he feels needs to be addressed; usually something unimportant. Chapter 2 is emblematic of this. As Naipaul's description of why he is not yet married unfolds, we learn of his ties to race, religion and the growing unrest not only of the narrator but also of Africa. And as these pieces of the metaphoric puzzle come together we breeze through the explanation of why he isn't married and move on to the next thing. His narrative voice, especially in this chapter, is like a ball rolling down a hill: we are constantly moving forward with the story but we need to see it whole.
           Yet it is not this simple, as the "ball rolls" the tone and syntax changes constantly. The best example of this is on page 9 with the two paragraphs beginning "But at night..." and "What a journey..." They both address more spiritual things like ancestry and such, but the tone of "you felt the land taking you back to something that was familiar," is incredibly different from the more serial style of the next paragraph. Naipaul shifts from concreteness to a quicker staccato style, which emphasizes the state His Africa is in. Both he and his place are coming feeling the tension of tradition and rebellion, highlighted through the style of  Naipaul's narrative.

Eidia- 1.31.11- Naipaul

7. Character transformations:

In terms of character transformations, there are several characters who have been examples of such a phenomenon. To this point, the prime witness of these transformations has been Salim; however, while he mentally notes the progression and gradual transformation of his fellow acquaintances, it should also be noted, that Salim as a person has begun to undergo a metamorphosis. 

Aside from the Salim's gradual rate of progression from a coastal dweller, to a trader, there is the obvious choice for this subject matter: Zabeth. 

Initially, Zabeth is mentioned as a trader, who keeps solely to her status as a marchande, but later with the inquiry of her distinct "smell", it is discovered that Zabeth is a practicer of witchcraft; furthermore, there is the mention of a son, Ferdinand. All of these discoveries, as well as transformations, from a woman of business, to a sorceress, and finally a mother, further develop Zabeth's character, they are solidifying qualities which make concrete a personality. They are definitive; hence, accomplishing Zabeth as an individual with many facets. 

In Salim's case; however, there is a fluidity. Yes, he has definitely transformed, for there are several examples of this. One such example is his diversion from a traditional Muslim upbringing, which has obviously been diluted by his own references to sipping lager and Portuguese wines at his new situation, as well as his several dalliances with local women, which he with much difficulty dissembles. Despite these elements, Salim's transformations are a subtle set, for he is still fluid, experimenting, mending, never at an extreme end of the spectrum of change.

Whereas Salim is adapting to a new place, new people, another character who parallels  his situation is Ferdinand. While Salim is confronting his new freedom, his ability to provide for himself, be responsible for a business as well as a caretaker for Metty, there is Ferdinand's transformation, his constant battle of altering both mental and physical qualities, which are affected by influences from both political aspects, as well as cultural ones. As a young student at the local lycee, it is quite clear via the text that Ferdinand is attempting to seek a balance between the cultural and the political, for he is attempting to be accepted, but the difficulty asserts itself with acknowledgement of his efforts. As an example, his mannerisms, body language, sporting his blazer, all possess a sense of experimentation, seeking a comfort level, which ultimately fails, for when the violent outburst occurs via political turmoil, Ferdinand immediately brings forth his cultural inheritance of bewildered, panicked, African style of anxiety mode. As a result, it is clear the Ferdinand is attempting to adapt and mold himself for the hierarchal authority, while Salim slowly incorporates smaller elements of transformations, adding to his existing identity, without diminishing his original sense of individualism. He is almost at an equilibrium. 

Jane - 1/31/2011 - Naipaul

 I found the character of Metty to be emblematic of the conflict between exoticism and the familiar in A Bend in The River. Salim describes the differences between the wealthy families of his native town and the slaves to be only behavioral, since, after centuries of interracial breeding, the Arabs and Africans look virtually indistinguishable. Once Metty is uprooted from the compound to join Salim, Salim anticipates that he will become withdrawn and despairing over the carnage he witnessed, but, instead Metty flourishes in the village- becoming well liked among the inhabitants of the village. He goes as far as to adopt a new name- a French word for interracial. This struck me as ironic that he would adopt a foreign word for something deemed in his native land as pejorative that now seems to be a way for him to own this prejudice or perhaps to say that it is no longer relevant. The dynamic between Salim and Metty becomes as master and slave is also altered- now becoming more equal companions.

Hannah-Naipaul-1/31/2011

Nazruddin has an interesting conversation with Salim about the "math" of business. He states, "A businessman isn't a mathematician. Remember that. Never become hypnotized by the beauty of numbers" (page 24). On a scale from one (or zero) to presumably twenty, Nazruddin condemns a man who "... buys at ten, sees it rise to eighteen and does nothing. He is waiting for it to get to twenty... But he has wasted a quarter of his life" (page 24). He tells Salim that he should be a true businessman and when the quality of his business reaches twelve from ten, he should cut his losses and go on with his life. In my opinion, Nazruddin is telling Salim to be content with where he is on the coast. Instead of running around trying to find a new life, I feel that Nazruddin is suggesting to avoid "... a little mathematical excitement" by staying close to home and with people Salim grew up with. He should cherish the relationships and commitments he has made with family and his community.

Nazruddin's intentions towards Salim didn't seem honorable at first because he was taking advantage of Salim's desire to get away, but he trusted him with the store and told him that "Business never dies in Africa; it is only interrupted". Nazruddin, instead of waiting for his store and life to get better, decides to make a change and hopes the same for Salim.

Jason- 1/31/11- Naipaul

The narrator, Salim, is definitely illustrated as someone who identifies and feels the suffocating grasp of his own community’s traditions and expectations for the life he is meant to live. There is a prescribed hierarchy in which master and slave conform to (the house slaves), particular unspoken arrangements of future marriage (between Nazruddin’s daughter and Salim), and an overarching sense that things will conform to traditions indefinitely. Of course, the narration describes Salim’s awareness of an impending end to his family’s way of life, though despite this consciousness of his place in the scheme of things, there are certain contradictions within Salim’s character. He seems completely ready to set out for adventure and escape the imminent collapse of his way of life on the coast, though once outside, he appears less intrepid as he might be; particularly when compared to Metty and Ferdinand. Further, Metty, Salim’s “slave” creates a much broader and immersed life for himself once outside of the east coast. One other aspect of Salim’s character seems to be the faithfulness that is perceived in him by Nazruddin that Salim himself does not believe he possesses. It is unclear exactly with this “faithfulness” is that Nazruddin believes Salim to have and that Salim denies, though despite this there are instances where Salim appears to exhibit a kind of “faithfulness” in the forests and rivers of Africa and the villagers who make their lives there. Salim at times seems to see a kind of eternal and calming quality within the natural African world while at others he appears to recognize this very same thing as an impossibility in the face of European colonialism and the kind of savagery he sees in the villagers who occupy the land.

Will - Naipaul - 1/31/11 12

Will Simescu - Naipaul - 1/29/11 12Religious belief is a powerful, yet inconsistent, force in the novel. Often in the story it takes hold of people in times of uncertainty and violence. The old Asian couple Salim dines with once a week lost their business and their family during the uprising, yet they console themselves with religion and tradition: “They had done all that their religion and family customs had required them to do; and they felt . . . that they had lived good and complete lives” (p. 70). The night Metty tells Ferdinand about the violence in his coastal town, he describes the leader of the rebels who tore the town apart. When asked by Ferdinand why the man lead the rebels to kill the Arabs in the town, Metty replies: “He said he was obeying the god of Africans” (p.79). Religion is used to give meaning to bewildering violence. The most devout follower of any faith in the story, Father Huismans, also meets the most horrific end. A white European, he has an interest in African religious beliefs and constructs a museum out of tribal masks collected on his numerous trips outside the town. Though apparently fond of Africa, his museum reflects the hegemonic Western view of Africa: a dark continent whose history will be subsumed within the larger narrative of stabilizing European progress. Within this worldview, it is not contradictory or idolatrous for a white Christian priest to take an interest in African religious masks. The masks are stripped of their context and rendered as bits of local color, remnants of an almost extinct indigenous African culture. The narrator writes: "While he lived, Father Huismans, collecting the things of Africa, had been thought a friend of Africa." (p. 84) But Father Huismans’ efforts to “preserve” these objects fall into the “strategy of containment” discussed in “Intro to the Indo-European Novel.” His objectification of African belief contributed to the continued oppression of the African people. When he ends up with his head on a pike, he himself is objectified as a symbol of the white European oppressor.

1/31/11: Naipaul: Rachel

3.) Salim comes from a family of Muslim traders who moved to Africa, where they set up shop and became successful. (Yes? Yes, am I getting this right??) Salim is not ethnically African, just nationally.

To quote V.S. Naipaul's biography on the Nobel Prize site: "Born in Trinidad in 1932, the descendant of indentured labourers shipped from India, this dispossessed child of the Raj has come on a long and marvellous journey." They make it sound so inspiring...

9.) Being "nothing" = not incorporating YOURSELF into the idea of human history. Being "something" = a person like Father Huisman, who sees himself as part of a "historical river's flow"..he collects the relics of Africa to expand human knowledge. It's as though it were a big project he was helping complete.

Due 1/31: A BEND IN THE RIVER: choose from these questions

Pick one or two to issues, based on these questions, to address and include anything else you like in your post, especially responses to other posts, impulsive reactions to the reading, or links to outside materials. Posts can be informal - this is a chance to brainstorm about a splendid and subtle work. 1. Every first person literary work has a character who is not in the story: the implied author. And the character of the narrator, who is, of course, a part of the story. How does VSN create our impression of this character (the "I") in the beginning of the novel? Surely, it is not an aggressive or direct characterization. 2. The Nobel committee compared Naipaul to Conrad due to some similarity in their subject matter. And, indeed, VSN appreciates Joseph Conrad. But their writing styles are not similar at all. Look at a passage from Conrad and compare the style to Naipual's in the first chapters of this book. 3. Most readers, beginning the book, would tend to associate the main character with VSN. However, their origins are different. Can you tell us a bit about VSN and look for associations between author and the character of Salim? 4. Please sumarize the story so far. What happens? 5. Comment on Naipaul's approach as a storyteller. Surely, you'd expect a novel about a man relocating to a newly independent African state to be full of adventure. But the early chapters are a bit staid and quiet. Why do you suppose Naipual uses this approach? 6. Let's return to the idea that poor VSN is "self-hating." The early chapters contain many descriptions of Africa, not all of them wildly positive. What do you imagine is his intent in describing a post-colonial country this way? Specifically, how does VN use the words "African" and "European"? For instance, Zabeth's life was completely "African" - what does this mean? 7. Various characters undergo transformations in the way they are seen within this excerpt. Zabeth for one seems like a simple tradeswoman initially, but is later seen as a witch; Nazruddin is another; also, Ali or Metti: comment on the significance of these changes? 8. A related issue is the concept of exoticism: some characters are seen as exotic and a duality between the exotic and the familiar runs through the book. Who or what is exotic and has the glamour of exoticism? 9. The book begins with another duality: being "nothing" versus being "something." How does this duality play out as the book explores African identity versus European influences, particularly the issue of self-consciousness and memory and history? 10. Salim himself seems to embody this duality: nothingness versus identity. He is of the same age as Ali/Metti and Ferdinand, yet he is separate from both. Comment on his dealings with Nazruddin, Metti and Ferdinand. 11. One curious passage is Salim's conversations with Nazruddin, and Nazruddin's advice about business and math. What is the significance of this "math" thing? Also: are Nazruddin's intentions toward Salim honorable? 12. Few characters seem to be practicing Muslims. How does the spectre of religious belief hang over the story and influence events?