Beta
340747

Tear off the Masks They Taught You to Wear: Post-colonialism and Rebuilding the Self in The Mimic Men by V. S. Naipaul

Article

Last updated: 04 Jan 2025

Subjects

-

Tags

-

Abstract

This paper aims to present Naipaul's depreciating outlook on decolonization and post-coloniality giving voice to the process of identification with the colonizer through mimicry. The paper focuses on his exposure of the consequences of colonialism from the perspective of how the West has turned Caribbean people into mere mimic men dragging them into believing that they are always in need of the Western men of power and cannot do without. In The Mimic Men, the East Indian protagonist realizes that he cannot help being attached to the Empire. Naipaul conveys his view with its passivity, fear of action, and false freedom away from the Caribbean to assert his being a product of colonialism. He sees that mimicry is a shameful truth of the ex-colonized that must be abolished and discarded to recreate their identities. The starting point in the process of real decolonization and homecoming is available through self-knowledge and through an awareness of the truth about colonial history with its ruins. Naipaul's strategy is to help them see home through the lens of literature. The findings have indicated that the consequences of colonialism should be documented. They have also asserted that as long as peoples' lives are affected by imperialistic policies, they should not withdraw or submit. Rather, they should declare the war over. Finally, positive mimicry that aims at promoting the self is advocated, not mimicry that generates ridiculed persons. The paper adopts an analytic approach supported by the opinions of critics and post-colonial theorists.

DOI

10.21608/ejels.2023.340747

Keywords

colonial education, imperial policy, Mimicry, resistance, self-awareness

Authors

First Name

Nayera Mohammed Hassan

Last Name

Ali

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Assistant Professor of English Literature Department of English, Faculty of Arts Minia University, Egypt Jouf University, Saudi Arabia

Email

-

City

-

Orcid

-

Volume

12

Article Issue

1

Related Issue

46040

Issue Date

2023-12-01

Receive Date

2024-02-10

Publish Date

2023-12-01

Page Start

229

Page End

256

Print ISSN

2735-4431

Online ISSN

2735-4830

Link

https://ejels.journals.ekb.eg/article_340747.html

Detail API

https://ejels.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=340747

Order

340,747

Type

Scientific Articles

Type Code

1,594

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Egyptian Journal of English Language and Literature Studies

Publication Link

https://ejels.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Tear off the Masks They Taught You to Wear: Post-colonialism and Rebuilding the Self in The Mimic Men by V. S. Naipaul

Details

Type

Article

Created At

28 Dec 2024