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DIASPORIC MOVEMENTS OF WILLIE:

NEGOTIATING IDENTITY

SEEN IN THE POSTCOLONIAL PERSPECTIVES

IN NAIPAUL’S MAGIC SEEDS

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By

ADRIANUS BRISTO BHAGO

Student Number: 10 4214 101

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

2015

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJIPLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

ii





AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By

ADRIANUS BRISTO BHAGO

Student Number: 10 4214 101

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

2015


v

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH

UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS

Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma

Nama : Adrianus Bristo Bhago

Nomor Mahasiswa : 10 4214 101

Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan

Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:





Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata

Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain,

mengolahnya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan

mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis

tanpa perlu meminta ijin kepada saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya

selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.

Dengan demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.

Dibuat di Yogyakarta

Pada tanggal 18 Februari 2015

Yang menyatakan,

Adrianus Bristo Bhago


vi

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY

I certify that this undergraduate thesis contains no material which has been

previously submitted for the award of any other degree at any university, and that,

to the best of my knowledge, this undergraduate thesis contains no material

previously written by any other person except where due reference is made in the

text of the undergraduate thesis.

Yogyakarta, February 18, 2015



vii

Or how can you say to your brother, “brother, let me

remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself

do not see the plank that is in your own eye?

Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye,

and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is

in your brother’s eye.

(Luke, 6: 42)

LET US LOOK AT EACH OTHER WITHOUT MISTRUST,

MEET EACH OTHER WITHOUT FEAR,

TALK WITH EACH OTHER WITHOUT SURRENDERING PRINCIPLE.

(JOHN POPE)

You can’t control others’ acts, but you can control your

reaction to their acts,

and that is what counts most to you.

(Napoleon Hill)


viii

I dedicate this undergraduate thesis to:

My dear Jesus Christ and Holy Mother Mary

My beloved Mom

My wonderful Dad

My lovely sisters:

Ferty, Ivonn, Gin,

Ratna (RIP) and Era

My dearest brothers:

Arto, Visto, Arno,

K’Bosko and K’Aris


ix

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Hallelujah and hallelujah! I praise Almighty God for all Thy blessings on

me that I can finish this undergraduate thesis. I praise Thee Holy Mary that it is

because of Thy love for that I can pass all the difficult times during my working

on thesis. I believe that nothing is impossible to achieve as long as Thou Lord

stands by my side.

My deepest gratitude goes to Paulus Sarwoto, S.S., M.A., Ph.D, for

being patient in guiding and encouraging me completing my undergraduate thesis.

I thank him for his time to read, check on my work, and also for the discussions

that open my mind to gain the new ideas. I also thank him for his willingness to

support me when my spirit goes down. My deepest gratitude also goes to Elisa

Dwi Wardani, S.S, M.Hum who has given her time to read and check on my

thesis. Thank her for the discussions.

My gratitude also goes to all the lectures at English Letters Department

for their dedications and guidance for me during my study, to all the Secretariat

staff and Library staff for their best service.

My endless gratitude goes to my parents Bapa Laurentius Bhago who

gives me chance to study at Sanata Dharma University and Mama Marcelina Sin

with her love, warmth and patience. My Mama’s love, warmth and patience make

me understand that one’s life should be useful for everyone without

discrimination. Their prayer, love, patience, guidance, advice and financial

support become strength to finish my study. Mama and Bapa, I want to say sorry

if I make many mistakes. Besides, my gratitude also goes to my gentle brothers;


x

Arto, Visto and Arno, thanks for taking care Mama and Bapa. My lovely sisters;

Ferti, Ivonn, Gin, Ratna (RIP) and Era, I thank them for their love and patience. I

love my dear family.

My special thanks also go to my beloved partner, Paskaliani R. Jani, for

her patience and love in guiding me to better person. I thank her for granting a

space in her heart and letting me to part of her life. I also thank her for being my

side when I am up and down. God Love Us.

Finally I thank my classmates from the class of 2010 (Melki, Ichi, Kenzy,

Diaz, Kicos, Mendra, Febri, Fanny, Meiti, Susi, Indi, Kae Kons) IKALEWA,

SANPIO 04 JOGJA (Yoan, Pinok, Lalong, Barus, Sony, Selo, James), Mrican

Football Club, 8A United (Romi, Alvin, Eeng, Bang Grandil, Ausan, Bang

Andrew, Pa D Ary, Bang Muklas, Bang Andi, Yance, Ndek and Try Kuncoro),

Postcolonial Group (Vania, Grady and Cuimbra) and all the people that I cannot

mention one by one, for their endless support and for being my friend and family.



xi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE .................................................................................................... ii

APPROVAL PAGE .......................................................................................... iii

ACCEPTANCE PAGE ..................................................................................... iv

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH v

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ................................................................ vi

MOTTO PAGE ................................................................................................ vii

DEDICATION PAGE ....................................................................................... viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................. ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................. xi

ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................... xiii

ABSTRAK ........................................................................................................... xiv

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION .................................................................... 1

A. Background of the Study ................................................................... 1

B. Problem Formulation ........................................................................ 5

C. Objectives of the Study ..................................................................... 5

D. Definitions of Terms ........................................................................ 5

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ................................................ 9

A. Review of Related Studies ................................................................ 9

B. Review of Related Theories .............................................................. 13

1. Theory of Character and Characterization .................................. 13

2. Theory of Setting ......................................................................... 16

3. Postcolonial Theory..................................................................... 17

4. Theory of Identity........................................................................ 21

C. Review on Social Condition in Africa, India after Independence, and

England .............................................................................................. 24

1. Review on Social Condition in Africa

during Colonization .................................................................... 24

a. Scramble for Africa ............................................................... 24

b. The Effects of the Scramble .................................................. 26

2. Review on Social Condition in India

after Independence...................................................................... 27

3. Review on Social Condition in England 1957-1960 .................. 30

D. Theoretical Framework ...................................................................... 32

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ................................................................. 34

A. Object of the Study............................................................................. 34

B. Approach of the Study ....................................................................... 35

C. Method of the Study ........................................................................... 36

CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS .............................................................................. 39

A. Depiction of Willie’s Perspectives in the Different Geographical

Locations ............................................................................................ 39


xii

1. Willie’s Perspective in Africa .................................................... 40

a. Willie’s Perspective on the Idea of Home ............................. 40

b. Willie’s Perspective on Postcolonial Resistance ................... 42

2. Willie’s Perspective in India ...................................................... 45


b. Willie’s Perspective on Domestic Conflict in the Aftermath of

the India Independence .......................................................... 52

c. Willie’s Perspective on Globalization ................................... 55

3. Willie’s Perspective in England ................................................. 59


b. Willie’s Perspective on Multicultural Society ....................... 61

B. Postcolonial Identity Negotiation Revealed through Willie’s Diasporic

Movements ........................................................................................ 64

1. Willie’s Perspective in Africa .................................................... 65


b. Willie’s Perspective on Postcolonial Resistance ................... 67

2. Willie’s Perspective in India ...................................................... 69


b. Willie’s Perspective on Domestic Conflict in the Aftermath of

the India Independence .......................................................... 71

c. Willie’s Perspective on Globalization ................................... 73

3. Willie’s Perspective in England ................................................. 74


b. Willie’s Perspective on Multicultural Society ....................... 76

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ......................................................................... 78

BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................................................. 83

APPENDIX ......................................................................................................... 87


xiii

ABSTRACT

BHAGO, ADRIANUS BRISTO. Diasporic Movement of Willie: Negotiating

Identity Seen in the Postcolonial Perspectives in Naipaul’s Magic Seeds.

Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma

University, (2015).

This thesis discuses Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul’s novel entitled “Magic

Seeds”. In the story the major character searches his true identity. It can be seen

from his perspectives toward the idea of home, postcolonial resistance, domestic

conflict in India, globalization and multicultural society.

There are two objectives that the writer wants to achieve in this study. First,

it is to find out the perspectives of Willie in three different geographical locations.

Second, it is to explain how the diasporic movements reveal the idea of

postcolonial identity negotiations of Willie.

The writing of this undergraduate thesis was conducted by applying library

research. The source of review of related studies, theories and historical

background are collected through library research, journals and online sites. The

writer considered the postcolonial approach was appropriate to be applied in this

study because the novel tells about the endeavor of the major character to find his

postcolonial identity in three different locations. By applying this approach, the

writer can reveal the idea of postcolonial identity negotiations through diasporic

movements in Africa, India and London.

In the analysis, the writer finds out that Willie has particular perspective

toward certain circumstance. In Africa, he criticizes the idea of home and

postcolonial resistance. He feels uncomfortable in Africa because his life is

haunted by the emergence of superiority of his wife and he does not have

primordial relation with Africans. Subsequently, Willie moves to India. In India,

Willie also has perspective to the idea of home, domestic conflict and

globalization. Willie cannot capture feeling at home in India because the

architecture of the hotels are copied from foreign countries; he fails to join the

peasants’ movement to fight against landlord and the rapid development of

globalization destroys the original cultures in India. Then he moves to London.

This is the last route of his journey. He still questions the idea of home and the

multicultural society. The idea of home in London is revealed through the

emergence of St. John’s Wood house. He states that St. John’s Wood house gives

luxurious facilities to him that make him comfortable. He also observes the

multicultural society in London. Many people from various countries come to

London and bring their own languages, cultures and faith. The idea of

postcolonial identity negotiations is revealed by the perspectives of Willie in three

different geographical locations which represent his future struggle to formulate

the fixed identity.


xiv

ABSTRAK

BHAGO, ADRIANUS BRISTO. Diasporic Movement of Willie: Negotiating

Identity Seen in the Postcolonial Perspectives in Naipaul’s Magic Seeds.

Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma,

(2015).

Skripsi ini membahas novel dari Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul yang

berjudul “Magic Seeds”. Di dalam cerita, seorang tokoh utama mencari identitas

tunggalnya. Itu dapat dilihat dari sudut pandangnya terhadap konsep rumah,

resistensi poskolonial, konflik dalam negeri di India, globalisasi dan terhadap

masyarakat multikultural.

Ada dua tujuan yang ingin penulis capai dalam penelitian ini. Pertama

adalah untuk menemukan perspektif-perspektif dari Willie di tiga lokasi geografis

yang berbeda. Kedua adalah untuk menjelaskan bagaimana gerakan diaspora

mengungkapkan adanya negosiasi identitas poskolonial dari Willie.

Penulisan skripsi ini dilakukan dengan menerapkan studi pustaka. Sumber

tinjauan pustaka, teori-teori dan latar belakang sejarah dikumpulkan melalui studi

pustaka, jurnal dan situs jaringan. Penulis menganggap pendekatan poskolonial

adalah tepat untuk diterapkan dalam penelitian ini karena novel bercerita tentang

usaha dari karakter utama untuk menemukan identitas poskolonial di tiga lokasi

geografis yang berbeda. Dengan menerapkan pendekatan ini, penulis dapat

mengungkapkan gagasan negosiasi identitas poskolonial melalui gerakan diaspora

di Afrika, India, dan London.

Dalam analisis, penulis menemukan bahwa karakter utama, Willie, memiliki

perspektif tertentu terhadap keadaan tertentu. Di Afrika, ia mengkritik konsep

rumah dan resistensi poskolonial. Dia merasa tidak nyaman di Afrika karena

hidupnya dihantui oleh munculnya superioritas dari istrinya dan ia tidak memiliki

hubungan primordial dengan Afrika. Selanjutnya, Willie pindah ke India. Di

India, Willie juga mengkritisi terhadap gagasan rumah, konflik dalam negeri dan

globalisasi. Willie tidak dapat menangkap konsep rumah karena arsitektur hotel di

India diambil dari negara-negara asing; ia gagal bergabung dengan gerakan para

petani untuk melawan “tuan tanah” dan perkembangan pesat globalisasi yang

menghancurkan budaya asli di India. Kemudian ia pindah ke London. Ini adalah

rute terakhir dari perjalanannya. Ia masih mempertanyakan gagasan rumah dan

masyarakat multikultural. Konsep rumah di London terungkap melalui munculnya

St. John’s Wood. Dia menyatakan bahwa St. John’s Wood memberikan fasilitas

mewah kepadanya yang membuatnya nyaman. Di sisi lain, ia juga mengamati

masyarakat multikultural di London. Banyak orang dari berbagai negara datang ke

London dan membawa bahasa, budaya dan agama mereka sendiri. Ide negosiasi

identitas poskolonial ini diungkapkan oleh perspektif Willie di tiga lokasi

geografis yang berbeda yang mewakili perjuangan masa depannya untuk

merumuskan identitas tunggal.


1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of Study

Human beings have their own histories that help their young generation

to get better future. Several histories of human beings tell the fall and glory of

certain empire. One may acknowledges the fall of certain empire for instance, fall

of Rome and fall of Constantinople. On the other hand, history records some

glorious narratives for example, the glory of Sriwijaya and Majapahit. Those

histories are spread in different ways depend on the technology in that time.

Commonly, present day, people record the experiences of the ancestors through

novels, travel writings, and periodicals.

In the colonization period, the colonizers spread the news through

newspapers. The empire in its heyday is conceived and maintained through

writings-political treatises, diaries, acts and edicts, administrative records and

gazetteers, missionaries‟ reports, notebooks, memoirs, popular verse, government

briefs (Boehmer, 2005: 14).

From early days of colonization, literature is defined to interpret the way

of thinking about exploration, Western conquest, national valour, and new

colonial acquisitions. The intensive interactions between the oppressors and the

oppressed have been developed from time to time through literature as its object.

However, the imbalance relation between colonizers and colonized is one of the

objects in postcolonial studies (Ashcroft, Griffiths & Tiffin, 2000: 188). In the


2

scope of literature, postcolonial literature scrutinizes the correlations between the

colonizers and the colonized comprehensively. Boehmer emphasizes that

postcolonial literature is generally defined as the endeavor to dismantle the

colonial relationship. It is used to fight against the ideology of the colonizers.

Thus, the emergence of postcolonial writing is deeply marked by experiences of

cultural exclusion and division under empire (Boehmer, 2005: 3).

However, in colonization era, the colonizers have employed literature to

spread the ideology, to control, and to oppress the natives or the outcasts.

“Institution of literature in the colony is under the direct control of the imperial

ruling class who alone license the acceptable form and permit the publication and

distribution of the resulting work” (Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffin, 2002: 6).

Hence, the emergence of literature in that time has huge contribution to the

development of Western hegemony over the world.

Subsequently, literature begins to enter on the golden era. It occurs when

the ruling class and lower class have an equal opportunity to access to the

literature. In this case, the colonized people can feel the freedom, although later

they engage with “self” control. They are able to express their perspectives,

experiences and feelings toward cultural interaction between the colonizers and

the colonized throughout the world through literary work. The implication of this

freedom is the emergence of anti-colonial writers who become more dangerous

for the colonizers. Naipaul is categorized as postcolonial writer because his works

mostly examine the dilemma of the post-colonial writer. Notably, Ashcroft,


3

Griffiths, and Tiffin (2002: 86) state that V.S Naipaul‟s works examine the

dilemma of the post-colonial writer, but particularly in The Mimic Men (1976).

Naipaul‟s dilemma also can be seen in his novel, Magic Seeds. In Magic

Seeds Naipaul scrutinizes his dilemma through Willie‟s perspectives. Willie is

characterized as a man who travels from India to London. In his travel, Willie is

trying to find his “true identity”.

Notably, Magic Seeds emphasizes the diasporic movement of Naipaul.

Robert Balfour in his article “V.S Naipaul’s Half a Life, Magic Seeds and

Globalisation” examines that Magic Seeds compromises a single narrative of

migration and identity politics, describing the brutalization and diaspora of

peoples as a result of slavery, colonization and decolonization and

industrialization.

According to Post-Colonial Studies, diasporic movement is a product of

colonialism. Here, diasporic movement involves the temporary or permanent

dispersion and settlement of millions or Europeans over the entire world (2007:

61). Wolfreys, Robbins and Womack identify that diaspora as settling of various

people away from their homelands; often associated with the notion of the Jewish

diaspora in modern Israel, but extended in cultural studies, postcolonial studies

and race theory to consider the displacement of peoples by means of force, such as

slavery (Wolfreys, Robbins and Womack, 2006: 32).

Naipaul is as the descendant of diasporic movement. The descendants of

the diasporic movements generated by colonialism have developed their own

distinctive cultures which both preserve and often extend and develop their


4

originary cultures (Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffin, 2007: 62). Thus, it can be

concluded that the diasporic movement does not only lead the colonized people

into displacement but dispose them into ambivalence space where the cultures and

identities are constructed by the colonizers.

Naipaul‟s literary work, Magic Seeds, shows his own voice, where he

focuses on his diasporic movement and different ways of seeing toward

neighborhood. Magic Seeds begins when Willie has travelled from India to be a

student in London, and published a book of stories. Later on he marries a woman

of mixed Portuguese and African ancestry and lives in her Portuguese African

colony for 18 years, and at the point of the colony's independence, leaves to join

his sister in Berlin. Willie's sister Sarojini, criticizes of his passivity and lack of

commitment toward the war. Willie is supported to involve revolution group.

Willie agrees to go back to India to join guerrilla war. Actually, he joins wrong

group and undergoes a long period of aimless marching, murder and hiding out in

the forest. Later, he escapes from revolution group. He is captured and

imprisoned. His sister, however, recruits Roger, an English lawyer and publisher

who has known Willie during his student life. In a short while he is on a plane to

London, where Roger finds him a rich patron and a job on a trade journal. The

story ends with Willie reflecting on his life and on Britain's new multi-racial

identity.

The novel depicts wonderful experiences of the author with all the

strange imaginations and ways of seeing toward surroundings. In order to

understand deeper, the readers have to read the story carefully. The diasporic


5

experiences of the author attract the writer to analyze it. In this thesis, the writer

would like to analyze the diasporic movements of Naipaul‟s protagonist, Willie.

The writer sees the strong correlation between diasporic movements and the

struggle of the main character to find his identity.

B. Problem Formulations

1. How are Willie‟s perceptions on postcolonial issues in the different

geographical locations depicted in the novel?

2. How do diasporic movements reflect Willie‟s postcolonial identity

negotiation?

C. Objectives of the Study

This thesis is aimed to reveal how diasporic movements reflect Willie‟s

postcolonial identity negotiation. To get better understanding about that objective,

two problem formulations are made. First objective focuses on the Willie‟s

perspectives on the three different geographical locations. Second objective is

how diasporic movements reflect Willie‟s postcolonial identity negotiation.

D. Definitions of Terms

In order to avoid miss understanding and give clear meaning, it is

important for the writer to define some terms. The terms are significant to

comprehend the problems discussed in this undergraduate thesis. In their book

Post-Colonial Studies: The Key Concepts (2007: 61), Ashcroft, Griffiths, and


6

Tiffin explain that the word “diaspora” is taken from Greek meaning “to

disperse”. Diasporas, the voluntary or forcible movement of peoples from their

homelands into new regions, is a central historical fact of colonization. According

to Brah (1996: 178-179) the word derives from the Greek—dia, “through”, and

speirein, “to scatter”. According to Webster‟s Dictionary in the United States,

diaspora refers to a “dispersion from”. Hence the word embodies a notion of a

centre, a locus, a „home‟ from where the dispersion occurs. It invokes images of

multiple journeys. At the heart of the notion of diaspora is the image of a journey.

Yet not every journey can be understood as diaspora. Diasporas are clearly not the

same as casual travel. Nor do they normatively refer to temporary sojourns.

Diasporic movement is the act of moving of people from their homeland to

another place where they settling down, about putting roots “elsewhere”.

The writer also uses another terminology. It is negotiating. According to

International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences negotiating is an act of

interaction through which individuals, organization, or governments explicitly try

to arrange a new combination of some of their conflicting interests (International

Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences vol 11, 117). Identity negotiation is the way

how someone consults his identity with another people in order to get the

agreement.

Besides, the terminology of postcolonial identity is also used in this

study. Stuart Hall defines postcolonial identities are never unified and, in late

modern times, increasingly fragmented and fractured; never singular but multiply

constructed across different, often intersecting and antagonistic, discourses,


7

practices, and positions. They are subject to a radical historicization, and are

constantly in the process of change and transformation (Hall, 1996: 4). It means

that identity is not stable. In the contemporary era, identity is always constituted.

Subsequently, the terminology of colonization must be explained in this

research. Marc Ferro in his book, Colonization: A Global History (1997: 1),

defines that colonization is associated with the occupation of a foreign land, with

is being brought under cultivation, with the settlement of colonists. He explained

that colonization is refers to” power” of a people to “reproduce” itself in different

spaces. Thus, colonization is related to the endeavor of the colonizers to grab new

territory. They spread their ideology, cultures and so on.

According to Slemon, “postcolonial” and “resistance” are positively

shimmering as objects of desire and self privilege and so easily appropriated to

competing, and in fact hostile, modes of critical and literary practice (Slemon,

1995: 104). Subsequently, Slemon cites Cudjoe and Harlow‟s work, resistance is

an act or sets of acts, that is designed to rid a people of its oppressors, and it so

thoroughly infuses the experience of living under oppression that it becomes an

almost autonomous aesthetic principle (1995: 107). Thus, postcolonial resistance

is related to the unfriendly competition between oppressed and oppressors in

modes of critical and literary practice. It is because the oppressed is living under

oppression.

Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffin also associate the term “postcolonial” with

the cultural relations between the oppressors and the oppressed from the

colonization up to the present day (Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffin, 2002: 2).


8

According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary the word “issue” is defined

as an important topic that people are discussing or arguing about. Postcolonial

issue is the important point which related to the general discussion about the

relations between colonizers and colonized from past up to the present day.

The last term that the writer used in this study is globalization.

Globalization is the process whereby individual lives and local communities are

affected by economic and cultural forces that operate world-wide. In effect it is

the process of the world becoming a single place. Globalism is the perception of

the world as a function or result of the processes of globalization upon local

communities (Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffin, 2007: 100). Globalization operates

in the economic and cultural sector. The Western countries spread their economy

system over the third world countries. The local communities in the third

countries are not able to block the influences from first world countries.


9

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

In this chapter, the writer explores some reviews in order to support the

analysis. This chapter consists of the review of related studies, review of related

theories and the review of Social condition in Africa during colonization, India

post-independence and England. The last part is the theoretical framework.

A. Review of Related Studies

Reviewing on Magic Seeds, Alphonsa C.A in her article entitled

―Dispersed Identities and the Search for Home: A Postcolonial Reading of V.S.

Naipaul’s Magic Seeds‖ states that ―home‖ gives somebody sense of place in the

world. In this way, one acknowledges certain place in the world if they have a

home. Thus, by considering the significant meaning of home, someone

understands who they are. Further, Alphonsa highlights that:

the concept of home as a place which is give comfort, security and

stability to somebody…Home becomes a mythic place of desire in the

diasporic imagination…Home as an idea always ensures that we are

ourselves, and a place that allows one to rip off all the masks…Magic

Seeds which is a continuum of Naipaul’s constant engagement with the

live of dispossessed and unmade world they inhabit (Alphonsa, 2012:

44-47).

Alphonsa offers better insight that relocation, fleeing or movement of people from

one social space to another either willingly or forcefully is painful. As a novel,

Magic Seeds portrays comprehensively the victory of the colonizers in disposing


10

the sense of belonging of the colonized people. In other words, Alphonsa more

concern on the concept of home to reveal one’s identity.

Meanwhile, Lucia Miheala Grosu ―Mapping the Road to Identity in V.S

Naipaul’s Magic Seeds‖ has a different standpoint to understand Willie’s identity.

She observes that Naipaul in his literary work consistently uses metaphor. The

using of metaphor on Naipaul’s novel, Magic Seeds, depicts the cleverness of the

writer in keeping the hidden messages of the story. By focusing on the mapping

of the metaphor, Grosu comes into conclusion that it symbolizes one’s journey to

discover one’s identity. She employs metaphor to interpret Willie’s struggles, V.S

Naipaul’s main character in Magic Seeds, to discover own identity, his true self.

Grosu also notes Magic Seeds as follows:

Naipaul’s novel has an open ending, thus his readers are left imagining

different outcomes of the hero. We are once more allowed into his

thoughts: ―I must try now to be only myself. If such a thing is possible‖

(Naipaul, 2004: 170). Through these words, the author gives us an

indication as to how Willie is going to live the rest of his life and he also

sums up the message hidden under the hero’s life map: one has to build a

life without mirroring others' existence and celebrating one’s

individuality (Grosu, 2013: 62).

Grosu asserts that ―Magic Seeds tells the story of how identity is built and

changed and rebuilt, how an individual can reconnect with a dormant self, how a

person can grow and achieve the wisdom of accepting his own flaws, his own

mistakes‖ (Grosu, 2013: 58).

Still reviewing V.S Naipaul’s Magic Seeds Ravi Kumar Mishra, in his

article ―Sense of Place and Post-Colonial Perspectives in the Fiction of V.S.

Naipaul: Half a Life and Magic Seeds‖ discusses about the theme of post


11

colonialism and sense of place by analyzing V.S Naipaul’s two novels Half a Life

and Magic Seeds. Mishra notes as following explanations:

One definition is that a place comes into existence when humans give

meaning to a part of the larger, undifferentiated space. Any time a

location is identified or given a name, it is separated from the undefined

space that surrounds it. Some places, however, have been given stronger

meanings, names or definitions by society than others. These are the

places that are said to have a strong Sense of Place. The sense of place is

a social phenomenon that exists independently of any one individual's

experiences, yet is dependent on human engagement for its existence.

Such a feeling may be derived from the natural environment, but is more

often made up of a mix of natural and cultural features in the landscape,

and generally includes the people who occupy the place (Mishra, 2013:

12).

From quotation above, Mishra wants to emphasize the significance of certain

place to anyone existence. Broadly, particular place certainly has different

meaning to one’s life. Place itself cannot be separated from human experiences.

The novel has three settings: first there is pre-independence Africa, then post-

independence India, and finally London. All three are places that Naipaul can

identify with. Thus, sense of place is a social phenomenon which is related to

one’s experiences. Subsequently Mishra also comments on Naipaul’s characters.

Based on his paper, he proclaims that:

characters in Magic Seeds and Half a Life tend to deny one or more racial

characteristics in order to become ―more respectable,‖ in their estimation.

However, they eventually discover that their identity cannot be fixed

because they are the fruits of multiple cultures. All through the novel,

Willie is drifting without a solid and fixed identity. He cannot try to

achieve one fixed identity because of his multi-background (Mishra,

2013: 13).

Mishra reiterates that Naipaul’s characters are unable to discover the single

identity in their multi backgrounds. Thus, tendency to disclaim the one or more

characteristics are generally found in multiple cultures.


12

Another criticism on Magic Seeds comes from Robert Balfour. His

analysis is different from three critics before. In his article ―V.S. Naipaul’s Half a

life, Magic Seeds and Globalisation‖, Balfour explores:

Naipaul’s 21st century writing as a critical understanding of the

postcolonial phenomenon of globalisation as a cultural and economic

force which is a development and consequence of imperialism and

decolonisation. I shall argue that as a phenomenon, globalization differs

from postcolonialism, in the interaction it brings about between

marginalised classes and nations and those who by virtue of class,

economic power or race are defined as being at the centre in the

21stcentury (Balfour, 2007: 1).

For Balfour, however, postcolonial phenomenon of globalization as a cultural and

economic force is different from postcolonialism. On the other hand, both

globalization and postcolonialism lead marginalized class and nations to the

center of 21st century. Balfour draws attention that globalization and

postcolonialism have significant power to the marginalised classes.

In this thesis, the writer develops what Alphonsa, Grosu, Mishra and

Balfour have analyzed. Broadly, the three of them examine about Willie’s

identity. Alphonsa underlines the important of home for one’s existence. For

Alphonsa, the emergence of home itself is able to determine who we are. ―Thus

home as an idea always ensures that we are ourselves‖ (Alphonsa, 2012: 49).

Grosu’s “Mapping the Road to Identity in V.S Naipaul’s Magic Seeds” asserts

that ―for Willie the trauma of his life is not determined by economic, political or

social difficulties, but by his inability to find his own identity and thus his place in

the world‖ (Grosu, 2013: 57). Notably, Grosu explains that the inability of Willie

to encounter his true self brings him into traumatic circumstances. In line with

Alphonsa and Grosu, Mishra examines how Naipaul’s characters try to find their


13

identity in multi-background. Different from three critics, Balfour more concerns

on the postcolonial as a phenomenon of globalization. He scrutinizes the

ramifications of the globalization and postcolonialism toward marginalized

classes. His elaborations are also useful in this study. Based on the profound

considerations, the writer develops what Alphonsa, Grosu, Mishra and Balfour

have done. The purpose of this study is to examine how diasporic movement

reflects the postcolonial identity negotiation of Willie. Thus the writer’s

standpoint here is clear.

B. Review of Related Theories

1. Theory of Character and Characterization

Character is one of main intrinsic element in literary work. Knowing the

theory of character is important for the writer. Better understanding to the related

theory help the writer to analyze what kind of postcolonial conditions describes.

M.H Abrams and Geoffrey Galt Harpham in their book, A Glossary of

Literary Terms states that characters are the represented in a dramatic or narrative

work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with particular moral,

intellectual, and emotional qualities by inferences from what the persons say and

their distinctive ways of saying it—the dialogue and from what they do—the

action. The grounds in the characters' temperament, desires, and moral nature for

their speech and actions are called their motivation (Abrams and Harpham, 2009:

32-33).


14

There are two kinds of character: the major character and the minor

character. The major character is the main focus in a work of literature. The

author’s idea or thought are represented through the main characters. Therefore,

the reader’s attention is focused on them. As Henkle states in his book Reading

the Novel:

Major character has a fullest attention for the readers. They will have

opinions that he or she will represent their wish and thought, and may

become the major figure that build their expectation and desires, which in

modification shift or established their values (Henkle, 1977: 92).

On the contrary, the minor character is character that has a limited function. The

minor character is the partner of the major character in the story; it can be the

major character’s friend or enemy, to improve the story and to make some

interaction to fulfill the context of the story (Henkle, 1977: 95).

Characterization also plays an important role in building the idea of a

story. Characterization is the way the author characterize the characters.

According to Holman and Harmon (1986: 81), characterization is the creation of

imagery persons so that they exist for the readers as life. Therefore,

characterization should be conveyed in a good way in order to create a clear

image to the reader’s perception.

Rohrberger and Woods in Reading and Writing about Novel define

characterization as the process by which an author creates character, it is the

device that he makes the readers to believe a character in the particular type of

person he is. An author does this way to make a stereotype of someone existing in

a real world situation comes real during the reading (Rohrberger and Woods,

1971: 20).


15

According to M. J Murphy there are nine methods for readers to

understand the character. First, Personal Description. The author describes the

appearance of a character in details such as the face, the skin color, the hair and so

on. Second, Character as Seen by the Others. The author describes the character of

the person through the other’s eyes and opinion. The opinion that come from

people around the person about his personality can also determine his

characteristics. Third, Speech. The author gives the readers some clues about the

character through what the character says. Fourth, Past Life. Through certain

events of the character’s past life, the readers know the characteristic of him/her.

Here we learn that a character’s past experiences, particularly those which are

really meaningful can cause several effects to the person’s future life even may

change his character. Fifth, Conversation of Others. Through the conversations

done by other people, the readers know what they say about the character.

Seventh, Reactions. The readers know what kind of person the character is by

seeing how he/she reacts to various situations in the story. The readers here can

conclude if a person is temperamental or patient. Eighth, Direct Comment. The

author gives direct comment to the character. However, the author does not give

lots of direct comment otherwise the novel is uninteresting to read. Ninth,

Thoughts. The author directly mentions what a person is thinking about. By

knowing what in the character’s mind, the readers know his characteristic. Tenth,

Mannerism. The author creates the character’s behaviors where each and every

one of the behaviors shows the characteristic of the character. A person’s habits of


16

idiosyncrasies may also tell us something about his or her characteristic (Murphy,

1972: 161-173).

2. Theory of Setting

Setting is one of the main intrinsic elements in the novel. Setting has an

important role in the novel which has direct effect to the character, such as

personalities, and way of thinking. There have been many books discussed about

theory of setting, but the writer only takes three of them to analyze the novel.

Setting of the novel is the background against which the characters live

up their lives usually setting concerns with place and time in which the characters

live. These can give a great effect on their personalities, actions, and way of

thinking (Murphy, 1972: 41). In A Glossary of Literary Terms, setting of a

narrative or dramatic work is the general locale, historical time, and social

circumstances in which its action occurs; the setting of a single episode or scene

within a work is the particular physical location in which it takes place (Abrams

and Harpham, 2009: 330).

Subsequently, Holman and Harmon describe that there are four aspects

compose the setting. First the actual geographical action which contains; its

topography, scenery, and such physical arrangements as such the location of the

interior, for example, door, window, furniture, etc. It means the description where

the story takes place physically. Second the time or period in which the action

takes place. Third is the occupations and daily manner of living of the character.

Fourth the general environment of the characters, for example: religions, mental,


17

moral, social, and emotional conditions through which the people in the narrative

move (Holman and Harmon, 1986: 468).

3. Postcolonial Theory

Reviewing on postcolonialism needs more concentration in order to

understand deepest about it. Many believe that postcolonialism has two meanings.

First, postcolonialism can be defined as certain era. Second, postcolonialism also

can be interpreted as theory. Although postcolonialism has two meanings, many

people convince that it more relates to the theory.

In this study, the writer scrutinizes the constellation of postcolonialism as

theory in the postcolonial studies. Wilfred L Guerin, Earle Labor, Lee Morgan,

Jeanne C. Reesman, and John R. Willingham define the process of reconstructing

as ―postcolonialism‖. According to them, ―postcolonialism is as a historical phase

undergone by Third World countries after the decline of colonialism: for example,

when countries in Asia, Africa, Latin, America, and the Caribbean separated from

the European empires and are left to rebuild themselves‖ (Guerin et al, 2011:

361). Thus, it can be concluded that postcolonial theory is built on the advanced

awareness of the ex-colonized.

Ania Loomba in Colonialism/Postcolonialism describes the complex

relations between imperialism and colonialism. She argues that imperialism,

colonialism and the differences between them are explained separately based on

the histories transformation. In addition, she criticizes that the meaning of

imperialism can be implemented in undefined colonies as in United States


18

imperialism but colonialism doing the reverse. For Loomba, the complicated

discussion about imperialism and colonialism contributes in generating the term

of ―postcolonial‖. Postcolonial begins with prefix ―post‖ which contains

confusing problems. It connotes ―aftermath‖ that has two meanings; temporal

(coming after) and ideological (supplanting). It means that prefix ―post‖ can be

understood as after colonialism and substitute the colonized ideology with the

colonizers ideology (Loomba, 2005: 11-12).

From the previously foregrounded idea, it can be concluded that

imperialism and colonialism are part of the postcolonial discourse which refer to

the after colonialism and replacing the native ideology with imperial ideology. It

means that it foregrounds the complex relations between the colonizers and the

colonized. Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffin also associate the term ―postcolonial‖

with the cultural relations between the oppressors and the oppressed from the

colonization up to the present day (Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffin, 2002: 2).

The relation between the oppressors and the oppressed generate various

types of discussion which become urgent topic in the constellation of postcolonial

studies. Generally speaking, the complicated relations between Western and

Eastern present serious discussion on migration, slavery, suppression, resistance,

representation, difference, gender, place, responses to the influential master

discourses of imperial Europe such as history, philosophy and linguistic

(Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffin, 1997: 2). Discussion about relations between the

oppressors and the oppressed is something new. Most of people are difficult to

decide when postcolonial theory is born. According to Peter Barry, ―the ancestry


19

of postcolonial criticism can be traced to Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the

Earth, published in French in 1961, and voicing what might be called ―cultural

resistance‖ to France’s African empire‖ (Barry, 2009: 186). In addition, Barry

cites Fanon’s argument that the outcasts have to take back their historical past in

order to find out the identity and voice. Besides, the colonized people must fight

against the ideology of colonialist that humiliate the historical past of the

oppressed (Barry, 2009: 186). Here, the ideology of colonialist is emerged in the

scope of discourse.

Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths & Helen Tiffin state that discourse is

important because it joins power and knowledge together. ―Those who have

power have control of what is known and the way it is known, and those who

have such knowledge have power over those who do not‖ (Ashcroft et al, 2007:

63). Knowledge and power are particularly important in the relationships between

colonizers and colonized.

The relation between postcolonialism and discourse is discussed in Said’s

book, Orientalism. Most of people believe that Orientalism is a major book of

postcolonial theory. Postcolonialist reads Orientalism in order to understand

deeper the concept of postcolonialism. Orientalism is ―western style for

dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the orient‖ (Said, 1994: 3).

Thus, orientalism is the understandings, knowledge and the domination of

Western ideology over the Eastern world. Besides, postcolonial theory is applied

to dismantle Western hegemony.


20

Western hegemony can be seen on the ability of the colonizers in

controlling even creating the Eastern in all aspects such as politics, economies,

cultures, militaries, sciences and imaginative. In this context, creating process of

eastern world generates binary opposition that places the western people in the

strong position and the eastern people in weak position:

Binary oppositions are structurally related to one another, and in colonial

discourse there may be a variation of the one underlying binary –for

instance, colonizer : colonized, white : black, civilized : primitive, good :

evil, beautiful : ugly (Ashcroft, Griffiths & Tiffin, 2007: 19).

Those practices must be dismantled by postcolonial theory. The emergence of

postcolonial theory is supposed to cultivate the comprehensive understanding to

the eastern people in seeing the western ideology. Leela Gandhi in Postcolonial

Theory defines postcolonialism as ―theoretical resistance to the mystifying

amnesia of the colonial aftermath‖ (Gandhi, 1998: 4). In other words, postcolonial

theory is toolkit for the colonized people to fight against the colonizers’

suppressions. The colonized people must be aware the implications of the

colonization in a long time ago.

The consciousnesses of the aftermath of colonization makes colonized

people searching the strategies to reconstruct their culture, ideology, social,

economy, politic and identity. This is what Asian, African, American and

Caribbean do. However, western hegemony produces cultural bias in the Eastern

world. Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffin in The Post-colonial Studies Reader state

that postcolonial connect with cultural bias which caused by the colonial process

from the beginning of the colonial contact.


21

4. Theory of Identity

Identity is closely related to the position within society. Hall in Questions

of Cultural Identity (Hall, 1996: 4) examines that identities are absolutely rupture

which cannot be collected in single unit. Identities are disintegrated and split

vividly in contemporary era. They are always in process of mutation and

revolution.

From previously foregrounded idea, it can be concluded that a well

known critic, Hall proposes an essential definition of identity to entire people that

becomes a starting point to discover another definition of identity. Fixed identity

is something difficult for one to achieve in contemporary era. Most of the

identities are constituted.

In line with Hall, Bhabha in his book The Location of Culture describes

that identity is not an a priori or a finished product. According to him, it is only

the problematic process of access to an image of totality (Bhabha, 2004: 73). In

other words, identity is an unfinished product and it relates to questions of the

totality. However, as Bhabha and Hall contend, identity distinctly concerns with

the process of the completeness of image. Definitions of identity from Bhabha and

Hall are quite general. Hogg and Abrams in their book Social Identifications: A

social Psychology of Intergroup Relations and Group Processes review that

―identity is people’s concepts of who they are, of what sort of people they are, and

how they relate to others‖ (Hogg and Abrams, 1988: 2). Defining the conception

of identity, Hogg and Abrams concern with the questions who they are and how

relationship between human beings occurs.


22

Subsequently, Francis M. Deng contends the definition of identity

specifically. Definition of identity in his book entitled War of Visions: Conflict of

Identities in the Sudan (Deng, 1995: 1) is ―the way individuals and groups define

themselves and are defined by other on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion,

language and culture‖. In other words, the notion of identity depends on how

someone or certain group characterizes who they are. The basic identification

based on race, ethnicity, religion, language and culture.

Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann do not classify the term of

identity in a particular field as Deng noted earlier. Briefly, they associate the idea

of identity with certain realm. Berger and Luckmann’s The Social Construction of

Reality clarifies that the meaning of identity is objectively defined ―as location in

a certain world and can be subjectively appropriated only along with that world‖

(Berger and Luckmann, 1966: 132). Thus, certain place is going to be a

fundamental feature in determining one’s identity. Identity is not only about place,

race, religion and culture, but also connects with narrative. The idea of narrative

connects to the notion of identity. Gregory Castle in Postcolonial Discourse: An

Anthology states explicitly that ―identity is always a question of producing in the

future an account of the past, that is to say it is always about narrative, the stories

which cultures tell themselves about who they are and where they came from‖

(Castle, 2001: 283). Castle examines further what narrative is about. Narrative in

connection with the definition of identity is the stories which tell human beings

about who they are and also where they originated from. Kum-Kum Bhavnani and


23

Ann Phoenix in Shifting Identities Shifting Racisms: A Feminism & A Psychology

Reader remark that:

identity as a word which is much used in both academic and political

contexts…The notion of identity is as static, and therefore, unchanging,

is one which is not fruitful in discussing the construction of, the

reproduction through, and the challenge to unequal social

relationships…Identity as a static and unitary trait which lies within

human beings, rather than as an interactional and contextual feature of all

social relationships, has been laid to rest. Identity as dynamic aspect of

social relationships, is forged and reproduced through the agency/

structure dyad, and is inscribed within unequal power relationships

(Bhavnani and Phoenix, 1994: 6-9).

From quotation above, the writer draws conclusion that identity covers various

field of human beings. Notably, Bhavnani and Phoenix depict identity as a static

and dynamic and challenging an unequal condition in social relationships between

human beings. The characteristics of identity, static and dynamic, are engraved

within disproportion power of human relationships. The static identity has been

rested because it is not useful in discussing of human relationships.

Actually, Bhavnani and Phoenix reveal how the static identity cannot be

maintained in the contemporary era. They also emphasize dynamic identity which

always be shaped and constituted in social structure. Further, they say that the

constituted identity is portrayed in the unequal relationships.

Gandhi’s definition of identity is almost the same as Bahvnani and

Phoenix. The difference between them is on the object of study. Gandhi in her

book entitled Postcolonial Theory focuses on the unequal relations between the

colonizers and the colonized. She says that ―identity is always underpinned by the

presence of its Other, or that every major knowledge carries within itself the

possibility of a countervailing minor-ness‖ (Gandhi, 1998: 54). Alexander Wendt


24

in his article Anarchy is What States Make of It: The Social Construction of Power

Politics pronounces identity as following explanations:

identities-relatively stable, role-specific understandings and expectations

about self-by participating in such collective meanings. Identities are

inherently relational: "Identity, with its appropriate attachments of

psychological reality, is always identity within a specific, socially

constructed world (Wendt, 1992: 397).

Based on quotation above, the writer finds some important points. First, identity is

not stable. Second, identity is inherently relational. Third, identity is socially

constructed.

C. Review on Social Condition in Africa, India after Independence, and

England

1. Review on Social Condition in Africa during Colonization

a. Scramble for Africa

Ehiedu E. G. Iweriebor, ―The Colonization of Africa” in Africana Age’s

website comprehensively describes:

Africa experienced the European imperialist aggression, diplomatic

pressures, military invasions and eventual conquest and colonization

between 1870s and 1900. The European imperialist push into Africa is

motivated by three main factors, economic, political, and social. It

developed in the nineteenth century following the collapse of the

profitability of the slave trade, its abolition and suppression, as well as

the expansion of the European capitalist Industrial Revolution. Thus the

primary motivation for European intrusion is economic (Iweriebor,

2011).

Aggression, diplomatic pressures, and military invasions have been done in

African land by the Western people in order to grab the resources. On the other

hand, European people also spread the capitalist industrial revolution. By


25

spreading the capitalist system, the white man can control natural resources. The

richness of Africa’s natural resources is explicitly explained by Charles R. Joy in

Emerging Africa as following explanations:

even before the carving up of Africa, the nations of Europe has found

that there are other kinds of wealth in Africa besides the yellow gold dug

from the rocks, the white gold of ivory, and the black gold of slaves. In

1867 diamonds are discovered in South Africa. Later, coal and many of

the common metals are found in various parts of continent. Large

deposits of uranium have been found in the Congo and South Africa. Oil

has also become a major resource (Joy, 1967: 9).

However, Africa has many natural resources and those push the Western countries

into Africa continent. Donald R. Wright in Microsoft Encarta (2008) also rises

economic as primary factor for European to control Africa. He describes that

European nations begin scramble to grab colonies in Africa continent at the end of

the 19th

century. The western people come close to the Africa continent by

sending the soldiers. The soldiers have two functions; they act as investigator and

creator of settlements on African land. Western people take advantage on the

African resources which enrich their own country.

The most aggressive country that exploits the African resources is

England which is represented by Cecil Rhodes. Rhodes is diamond prospector

who gains control of many diamond mines in South Africa. He dominates world

diamond production. He grasps African continent for Britain from 1881.

Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe are the countries that have been seized by Cecil

Rhodes.

Subsequently, many other Western countries also exploit African

resources such as France, Portuguese and Germany. All African countries except


26

Ethiopia and Liberia are controlled by European people in 1912. African countries

can liberate from Western domination after 1950. Although most of the African

countries have got their independence, but Western people still attract by the

natural sources. The Western scientists hunt for fossils and find out many

undiscovered kinds of plants and animals in African continent (Wright, 2008).

b. The Effects of the Scramble

Western invasions to African continent generate profound ramifications

for instance, many African die in war, poverty, deprivation and cultural bias.

Wright’s ―Scramble for Africa‖ in Microsoft Encarta depicts that the condition in

Africa is absolutely different after World War I which most of the African

countries are under European control. The western people command on African

coasts. In the British context, Cecil Rhodes has spread his authorities from the

Cape until Cairo. Western colonies in Africa give enormous advantages to their

master for instance, gold in South Africa and overflowing harvest in East and

West Africa. Huge invasions to Africa continent become greatest importance

throughout Europe. The stories about Western competitions toward African

continent are become headlines in Europe. Later, after the conquest is complete;

Africa is absolutely disappeared in Western mind until the movement for African

independence of the 1950s and 1960s. Wright also states that:

Effects of the European takeover on Africans are considerable. In the

short term, the Scramble obviously led to Africans’ loss of control of

their own affairs. But it also brought enormous hardship to most

Africans. In addition to the deaths caused by the conquest itself, many

Africans died as a result of disrupted lifestyles and movement of people

and animals among different disease environments. Africa’s population

did not begin to recover from the devastation caused by the Scramble and

its aftermath until well into the 20th century. In the long term, the


27

Scramble is part of a larger process of bringing non-Western peoples into

the world economy—in most cases as exporters of agricultural products

or minerals and importers of manufactured or processed goods. Colonial

governments taxed their African subjects and used the revenues to

improve the colony’s infrastructure: building roads, bridges, and ports

that connected distant locales to the outside world. Meanwhile,

institutions to improve people’s lives, such as hospitals and schools,

appeared more slowly. Colonial rule also brought elements of Western

culture—from the French and English languages and Western political

models to Coca-Cola and automobiles. It is in reaction to European rule

that Africans developed a sense of nationalism that would help them gain

independence in the second half of the 20th century (Wright, 2008).

By reading the quotation above, it can be concluded that colonialism brings the

African people into huge troubles. Colonization in Africa generates great

implications. The implications are in short term and long term. Short ramification

refers to the victim of the imperial process in Africa such as many African die in

war. Moreover, the African absolutely cannot manage their own land. In the long

term, African cultures come to the extinct because the western people have spread

their culture in Africa. European people also apply global trade in Africa continent

which destroys African economy stability. African are not ready to enter the

global trade. The readers can observe that the western always win in the

competition because they have constituted all the things before the war begin.

They do not need extra energies to re-dominate Africa territory.

2. Review on Social Condition in India after Independence

India is Britain’s colony. Britain has placed strong influences to the

Indian people. The influences occur in all sectors. British reshape way of life in

towns and cities and in the countryside. Moreover, British spread the technologies

and administrative structures in order to reshape the Indian life. British


28

dominations also occur on the economy sector. British introduce free trade which

emphasizes the mass production and the mass consumption. The implication is on

the peasants’ life who forgotten by the government.

In this section, the writer employs Stanley Wolpert’s comprehensive

explanations about the history of India. Wolpert’s in A New History of India

portrays the condition of India after independence. Wolpert elaborates that on

August 15, 1947 the Union of India become dominion within British

Commonwealth. Nehru is emerged as prime minister and Lord Mountbatten. In

the same times, Pakistan also designates Jinnah as governor and Liaquat Ali Khan

as prime minister. The realization of independence of the India subcontinent

brings acute problems resulting from partition. Muslims is a minority in India. On

the other hand, Hindu is minority in Pakistan (Wolpert, 2009: 377).

As an independent country, India is forced to overcome all the problems

such as economy, social, and politic. In economy sector, India is haunted by huge

gap between rich and poor. The poverty rate increase significantly. Thus, poverty

is the most critical and urgent problem in India after independence. Nehru as first

prime minister must reduce the poverty rate in India. Nehru improves the national

resources. Then, he creates national Planning Commission to manage country’s

resources in 1948. Subsequently step from Nehru is Five Year Plan which brings a

significant changing in annual production of goods and services from about

eighteen to twenty billion dollars. Thus, after independence, Indian government

has done massive alteration in politic and economy segment. To situating India in


29

prosperous country, Indian government has to reform all sectors including social

part (Wolpert, 2009: 377).

The transformations are also done in social sector. Milton W. Meyer in

his book entitled South Asia: A Short History of the Subcontinent depicts the

importance of the social revolution. He remarks that the planned of social

revolution in India is as important as the political and economic changes. India

employs strong rule for foreign regime that ever control stability and economy

segment in Indian history. This strong rule aims to prevent the negative

ramifications of the Western culture to the traditions in India. Western cultures

tend to destroy the old traditions in India.

However, India uses caste system in determining the social stratification.

At times, Nehru also makes significant transformation in caste system. The

emergence of the constitution in 150 evokes the problems in the caste system in

India. In this constitution, the Harijans are classified as an exterior caste, the

untouchables. Nehru changes the rule as the realization of Untouchables Offenses

Act in 1955. This act gives a significant changing for an exterior caste which can

use wells and access to shops, restaurants, hotels and places of entertainment.

Further reformations also occur in Hindus which are enacted of Hindu Marriage

Act, Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, Hindu Succession Act, and Hindu

Adoptions and Maintenance Act. The traditional privileges, differences, and

distinctions based on custom and caste are removed. Marriage is recognized as

contractual, and it is permitted between parties of differing castes. Divorces are

sanctioned for women as well as for men (Meyer, 1976: 191-192).


30

3. Review on Social Condition in England (1957-1960)

England is the most aggressive country in scrambling the resources in

Asia and Africa. The writer provides the history of England from 1957 to 1960.

The writer applies Jeremy Black’s explanations in order to get better

understanding. Black’s A New History of England (Black, 2008: 223-225)

contends that the loss of empire signs the political experience of England from

outbreak of the First World War to the 1960s. The significant changing occurs in

economic and social sector as the aftermath of the technological innovation and

application. Transitions encompass the permanent damage of the environment

which becomes a fundamental issue from 1960. More generally, the population

rate in England decrease significantly because many soldiers die in First World

War. Although England has a problem in population rate, England starts to

move to industrial stage. It can be seen from the amount of population of rural

England. Most of the British do not attract in the agriculture. In 1921-1939, the

number of agricultural laborers fell by quarter, and the pace quickened after the

Second World War. Horses are replaced by tractors, and local water-mills fell into

disuse. The alteration also arises in music zone which attends the great musician

such as Elgar and Vaughan Williams. The crafts movement develops from the

1900s, in large part as affirmation of vernacular culture that is worth defending. In

fiction, there are ruralist writers, such as Henry Williamson. His work is Tarka the

Otter (1927).

Andrew Jackson in his blog, Designing Britain 1947-1975 says that in

1950s can be considered a golden era for British culture. The transformation


31

occurs in politic sector which the conservative system is replaced by democratic

system. The Britain makes General Election in 1951. This election can be claimed

as basic indicator to measure reformation in England. Britain is entering a period

of increased affluence and freedom, and many of the old social and cultural

structures begin to be challenged, particularly by the young. In addition, American

ways of life have entered to the British public in the end 1950. American cultures

and goods come to British. Jackson remarks how the American life styles

influence the British society. He depicts that:

By the 1960s consumption have become less connected with utilitarian

needs, and more to do with and comfort. The era of the ―lifestyle‖ have

begun, and specialist retailers began to spring up, providing outlets where

people could buy into a new identity based around design or fashion.

Manufactures are only happy to meet this demand, and ephemeral

products, often reflecting an increasing interest in fashion and pop music

began to be developed and sold.

The restoration also occurs in education sector. The state funded education system

pushes children from working class families to study at college and university.

Education is a best way to improve social status in British society. The emergence

of new education system blurs social class viewing from high culture and mass

culture. It is because through education, the working class can move to upper

class. British society also begins to question old values. Many of cultural

conventions that seem so enduring only twenty years earlier begin to crumble, and

new cultural forms such as cinema and pop music begin to be treated with the

same degree of seriousness as high culture. The rise of television, radio shows,

satirical magazines and films are become main factors of rapid development in

England.


32

D. Theoretical Framework

The theories that are explained in the previous section are used to help

the writer to examine the problems in this thesis. The analysis employs the

theories of character and characterization to know more deep about the

personalities and motivations, perspective of Willie in three different geographical

locations. In this thesis, the writer analyzes the main character, Willie. In order to

know deeper about Willie’s perspectives, theory of character is employed.

Abrams emphasizes that ―characters are on the dramatic or narrative work and

they have particular moral, intellectual and emotional qualities‖ (Abrams, 2009:

32-33). The theorist’s basic principles about characters become references to the

writer in analyzing Willie’s character especially his perspectives. Theory of

characterization becomes a significant aspect in determining Willie’s character.

The theory is used as the writer’s field of inquiry to answer the first question.

Thus, the theory of character and characterization reveal the perspectives of the

main character and then it supports the next problem formulation.

Subsequently, postcolonial theory with its discussion on colonialism and

orientalism, and also theory on setting are employed as guidance to understand

intensely about the issue that novel brings about. Most of Naipaul’s works

discusses disapora’s theme. In analyzing diasporic movement, the role of the

theory of setting becomes an essential part. The notion of diaspora itself is the

movement from one place to another place. Besides, diaspora movement also is

the nexus of the time and social condition. Thus, theory of setting becomes a

proper theory in order to scrutinize the diasporic movement of Willie.


33

The other kind of theory that writer employed in this thesis is

postcolonial theory. In Postcolonial Theory postcolonialism can be seen as a

―theoretical resistance to the mystifying of the colonial aftermath, revisiting,

remembering and, crucially, interrogating the colonial past‖ (Gandhi, 1998: 4).

The process of returning to the colonial scene discloses a relationship of

reciprocal antagonism and desire between colonizers and colonized. Postcolonial

theory examines the cultural contact amidst colonizer and colonized. In this thesis,

postcolonial theory is employed to observe the aftermath of colonialism toward

diasporic movement of the main character in Magic Seeds. The colonialism has a

significant aftermath to Willie’s existence and his family. In his migration, Willie

questions his identity. To exploring Willie’s identity, theory of identity is

required. Besides, the reviews on social condition in Africa during colonization,

Post-independence India and England in 1957-1960 are urgent to get a clear

history or depiction about historical background of the story. The reviews of

social conditions also support the writer to make a comprehensive analysis which

is supported by the strong evidences. Thus, these theories and the reviews on

social condition in various countries are very beneficial to understand the second

questions.


34

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

Chapter three is divided into three sections. First is the object of the

study. The second section focuses on the chosen approaches which are used in this

analysis. The third section concerns on the steps in completing the study.

A. Object of the Study

The object of this thesis is a novel by V.S Naipaul. Naipaul was born in

Chaguanas, Trinidad in 1932. He goes to England on a scholarship in 1950. After

four years at University College, Oxford, he begins to write. His first book is

Mystic Masseur (1957), comic portraits of Trinidadian society. The Mystic

Masseur wins the Mail on Sunday or John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in 1958 and

is adapted as a film with a screenplay by Caryl Phillips in 2001.

Magic Seeds is his last novel. It is originally published in Great

Britain by Picador, London, in 2004. In this thesis the writer uses Random

House of Canada edition published by Alfred A. Knopf Canada, Toronto in

2004. The novel consists of twelve chapters. The number of the pages is 282

pages.

V.S Naipaul’s Magic Seeds tells the story about Willie has travelled

from Africa to Berlin, India and up to London. He marries a woman of mixed

Portuguese and African ancestry. He lives with his wife in Africa for 18 years.

Later he travelled to Berlin to follow his sister, Sarojini. In Berlin, Sarojini


35

criticizes of Willie’s passivity in revolutionaries in Africa. Sarojini asks his

brother to enlist in revolution group in India. Willie agrees to join a revolution

group. In India, he joins the wrong group and undergoes a long period of aimless

marching, murder and hiding out in the forest. Years later he escapes and is

imprisoned. His sister, however, recruits Roger, an English lawyer and publisher

who has known Willie during his student life.

In a short while he is on a plane to London, where Roger finds him a rich

patron and a job on a trade journal. The book ends with Willie reflecting on his

life and on Britain's new multi-racial identity.

B. Approach of the Study

The writer uses postcolonial approach to analyze this novel because the

postcolonial study concerns on general process with some shared features across

the globe. “But if it is uprooted from specific locations, “postcoloniality” cannot

be meaningfully investigated, and instead, the term begins to obscure the relations

of domination that it seeks to uncover” (Loomba, 2005: 22). It means that how the

native populations are destroyed, oppressed or otherwise transformed by the

process of colonization itself; how those populations struggled to achieve freedom

from the colonial forces and how the effects colonialism continue to be felt in

both the colonized and colonizing nations.

In other words, postcolonial approach is able to analyze how the

“metropolis” and the “colony” are deeply altered by the colonial process. Thus,

the aftermaths of the colonization change the all circumstances in colony side. The


36

aftermaths include all aspects of life such as economic, social and cultural. This

approach is suitable to analyze Naipaul’s novel because it deals with the

relationship between the colonizers and the colonized and how the colonization

aftermaths stimulate diasporic movement of the colonized people.

C. Method of the Study

In getting the answer of the problem formulations, the writer used the

library research method. To support the study, the writer used two kinds of

resource: primary resource and secondary resources. The primary resource on the

study was the novel itself; Naipaul’s Magic Seeds. The secondary resources were

some books that were used to support the analysis of this study especially the

books which were related to the Africa society during colonization, Indian society

after independence, and England society from 1957- 1960 and also the books

about theories of postcolonialism like Colonialism/Postcolonialism written by

Ania Loomba, The Post-colonial Studies Reader written by Ascroft, Griffits and

Tiffin, Postcolonial Theory written by Leela Gandhi, Beginning Theory: An

Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory, Colonial & Postcolonial Literature,

Postcolonial Discourse: An Anthology, Orientalism and Colonization: A Global

History. To collect the information about literature, the writer used the book

namely A Handbook to Literature, The Theory of Literature, A Glossary of

Literary Terms, Reading the Novel, Reading and Writing about Literature,

Understanding Unseen: An Introduction to English Poetry and the English Novel


37

for Overseas Students and Key Concepts in Literary Theory. The writer also

collected some information from internet contain essays and articles.

In analyzing the data, the writer made some steps. First, in order to

understand the object of study, the writer applied close reading and understanding

the whole text carefully. Then, the writer underlined the important points related

to the analysis.

Second, the writer tried to find the secondary sources, which were

important to analysis the novel and certainly related to the analysis. The third step

was analyzing the topic based on problem formulations in the first chapter.

To answer the first question, the writer tried to find out the perspectives

of the main characters. Before this step, firstly the writer identified the main

characters in the novel that were going to be analyzed. Afterwards, the writer

identified the perspectives of the main characters. The theory of character and

characteristic were important to finish this step. Secondly, the writer tried to find

out the description of Africa Society during colonization, Indian society after

independence, and England society in the novel through the setting and the

characters. Theory of setting was useful for helping the writer to answer the

question.

In answering second question, the writer employed the postcolonial

theories, which were theory of postcolonialism, theory of orientalism and theory

of identity. The theories helped the writer to understand deeper how diasporic

movement reflected the postcolonial identity negotiation of the main character.


38

Finally, the last step done was the conclusion. In this part, the writer concluded

the answers to the two questions.


39

CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

This chapter answers the problems in the previous section. Based on the

composition of the problem formulation, this section is divided into two parts. The

first part contains the evidences and the explanations of the main character‘s

perspectives in the different geographical locations. The result of the analysis is

the answer of the first problem formulation. The information and the elucidations

are related to the next objective, the description how diasporic movements reflect

Willie‘s postcolonial identity negotiation. In the second part, the writer concerns

on how diasporic movements reveal Willie‘s postcolonial identity negotiation.

A. Depiction of Willie’s Perspectives in the Different Geographical Locations

According to Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2008),

perspective refers to ―a particular way of considering something‖. Human beings

are the most intelligent creature on the planet. Human can be classified as the

smartest creature on the planet because they can use the ability of mind in creating

the tools. This ability makes human different from animals. Human also have skill

in considering something whether it is inside or outside them. As a human being,

authors also have their own perspectives. They reveal their opinions through the

characters especially the major characters.

The major characters are the main focus in a work of literature. In this

study, the writer finds out that the main character in the Magic Seeds is Willie. He

is chosen as main character since his emergence from the beginning of the story


40

until the end. This character is considered as an important figure because he

becomes center attention of the readers. Major character contributes in giving

some information or moral values to the readers. Moral values can be captured

from major characters‘ perspectives. Sometimes major characters‘ perspectives on

the literary works always change from time to time depending on the

circumstances. Setting or environments are the most important aspects in the

novel.

Setting on the literary works have significant role in shaping the

personalities, perspectives and ways of life of the characters. The significance of

the setting can be seen in Willie‘s personalities, perspectives and ways of life.

Willie makes long journeys from Africa, India and England. Willie experiences

many things in Africa, India and London. In three different geographical

locations, Willie criticizes the social, economy, and culture condition. The reason

why the writer chooses three different places is because those are significant in the

story. Knowing Willie‘s perspectives on three different geographical locations are

required to the readers in order to understand the second objective.

1. Willie’s Perspectives in Africa

In this section, the writer divides the heading into two subheadings. First

is Willie‘s perspective on the idea of home. Second is Willie‘s perspective on

postcolonial resistance.

a. Willie’s Perspective on the Idea of Home

Africa is the first place where Willie starts to questions the existence of

home. The consciousness of Willie cannot be separated from the condition in


41

Africa where he does not have home. Here, Africa as setting of place has a

significant contribution in shaping Willie‘s life.

Home has a significant meaning for everyone. Home gives security to

somebody from the rains, storms and all the things that disturb one‘s life. In

addition, home is a place where one finds love and happiness. The absence of

home gives enormous ramification to one‘s life. For instance, everyone tries hard

to rebuild their home if it burnt. Thus, home is the most special place for

everyone.

In Naipaul‘s Magic Seeds, the readers can see the significance the idea of

home on the major character. Willie lives in Africa for eighteen years. He has half

white wife. Her name is Anna. Willie does not have job in Africa and he lives

together with his wife. He lives in his wife‘s house. Willie examines that Anna

has a big house. Willie thinks that he is lucky for eighteen years in Africa:

Willie said, ‗I was in Africa. A Portuguese colony on its last legs. I had

been there for eighteen years. My wife was from that colony. I was living

in her big house and on her land, twenty times more land than anyone

here has. I had no job. I was just her husband. For many years I thought

of myself as lucky (Naipaul, 2004: 112).

Moreover, Willie also thinks that he is very poor man when he is in Africa. He

does not have any money. He always feels that he does nothing in Africa.

―Because you must understand I was poor, literally without money… I began to

feel that all I was doing was living my wife‘s life. Her house, her land, her friends,

nothing that was my own‖ (Naipaul, 2004: 113).

In short, Willie feels that he does not have anything in African land. He

is unhappy in Africa. He does not feel at home. Willie does not need to think


42

about Africa anymore. As a result, Willie does not have sense of belonging to

Africa. ―Never at home in India, when I was a boy. Never here in London. Never

in Africa. I lived in somebody else‘s house always, and slept in somebody else‘s

bed‖ (Naipaul, 2004: 177-178). Willie absolutely does not feel at home wherever

he goes. It can be seen from his statement ―never at home in Africa‖. In Willie‘s

context, he does not get the security and love in his wife‘s house. As a result, he

wants to leave Africa. Here, the readers can see the relation between setting and

the idea of home. The social circumstances in Africa do not give an opportunity to

Willie to enjoy his life. The implication is Willie never at home.

However, Willie‘s statement toward the condition in Africa reveals the

idea of home. Home for Willie is the condition where he can feel love, happiness,

warm, originality and security. The readers are able to understand that home is the

most important place for Willie. It can be seen from his descriptions about his life

condition in Africa.

b. Willie’s Perspectives on Postcolonial Resistance

Colonization in Africa brings profound ramifications to the African

people. The colonizers have grabbed all the natural resources in Africa continent.

As a result, African people enter into difficult circumstances such as poverty,

starvation, and guerilla war. Guerilla war is one of the most important issues in

Africa. In Naipaul‘s Magic Seeds, Sarojini criticizes Willie‘s passivity in guerilla

war. Although guerilla war is important war to African people, Willie does not

join it.


43

Actually, Willie does not unite with African people to join the glorious

war. He just witnesses the guerilla war from his wife‘s house. He views the

struggle of African people from his wife‘s luxurious house:

You‘ve always preferred to hide. It‘s the colonial psychosis, the caste

psychosis. You inherited it from your father. You were in Africa for

eighteen years. There was a great guerrilla war there. Didn‘t you

know?...But no. You stayed in your estate house with your lovely little

half-white wife and pulled the pillow over your ears and hoped that no

bad black freedom fighter was going to come in the night with a gun and

heavy boots and frighten you (Naipaul, 2004: 6).

The quotation above portrays Sarojini‘s criticism to her brother, Willie. She

describes that Willie always runs away from guerilla war. He hides in his wife‘s

house. Sarojini is very angry to her brother. She states that Willie‘s passivity is

inherited from their father.

Actually, Willie has particular reason why he does not join the guerilla

war in Africa. He says that ―It was always far away. It was a secret war, until the

very end‖ (Naipaul, 2004: 6). It is because Willie does not have enough

knowledge about the Africans‘ histories which it impacts on his sense of

belonging to the guerilla war. The people who can access to the guerilla war are

only the Africans. They know their own war. To Willie, he does not find a strong

reason to join the guerilla war in Africa until that war is end. In addition, Willie

reiterates his personal reasons to his sister. ―It wasn‘t like that, Sarojini. In my

heart of hearts I was always on the Africans‘ side, but I didn‘t have a war to go

to‖ (Naipaul, 2004: 6). Apparently, Willie does not have a reason anymore to

answer his sister‘s questions. He wants to convince his sister that he always

defends the Africans from the colonizers‘ suppressions. Willie sends the most


44

important message to his sister that we cannot claim someone else‘s war become

our own war. If Willie joins the Africans or the colonizers, he is not different from

mercenary who just fights to get money. Thus, the readers can capture that Willie

cannot take part in the guerilla because he thinks that guerilla war does not relate

to himself.

Willie‘s perspective toward guerilla war is different from his sister.

Sarojini sees the guerilla war as a glorious war. She describes the meaning of

guerilla war very detail to Willie. She examines that guerilla war is related to the

poor people. The poor people become servant in their own land. Willie is not

aware about that problem. Sarojini remarks that thinking about the helpless people

who become slaves in their home brings sadness and sorrow:

It was a glorious war. At least in the beginning. When you think about it,

it can bring tears to the eyes. A poor and helpless people, slaves in their

own land, starting from scratch in every way. What did you do? Did you

seek them out? Did you join them? Did you help them? (Naipaul, 2004:

6).

Subsequently, Willie explains his perspective to African people. He says that he

always sympathizes the Africans but he views the Africans from the colonists

eyes. He acknowledges that he has been in Africa, but he already forget that life.

Willie‘s answer functions as confession about his passivity in guerilla war in

Africa. He wants to say that he is not part of African people:

He said, ‗I always had sympathy for Africans, but I saw them from the

outside. I never really found out about them. Most of the time I saw

Africa through the eyes of the colonists. They were the people I lived

with. And then suddenly that life ended, Africa was all around us, and we

all had to run (Naipaul, 2004: 38).


45

The quotation above emphasizes that Willie feels the sufferings, struggles,

revenge, sadness and sorrow of the Africans. Willie wants to show his sense of

humanity to the readers. The violence in Africans‘ land is the extraordinary crime

that it is against the humanity. Although Willie understands the bad effects of the

guerilla war, he just watches it from the outside. For Willie, Africa does not give

security, happiness and love. It happens when war between Africans and

colonizers occurred. War in Africa absolutely has a great impact to Willie‘s life.

Willie undergoes internal conflict which determines his position in war between

Africans and colonizers. In this point, Willie does not feel at home anymore. He is

not part of the Africans and colonizers.

2. Willie’s Perspectives in India

In this section, the writer divides the heading into three subheadings.

First is Willie‘s perspective on the idea of home. Second is Willie‘s perspective

on domestic conflict in the aftermath of the India independence. Third is Willie‘s

perspective on globalization.


In the story, India becomes second place where Willie continues his life.

India also has significant role in shaping Willie‘s personalities. It is in line with

Murphy‘s theory of setting; setting of the novel is the background against which

the characters live up their lives usually setting concerns with place and time in

which the characters live. These can give a great effect on their personalities,

actions, and way of thinking. In India, the setting of places are Riviera Hotel,


46

training camp and peasants‘ hut. Three of them have different contribution toward

Willie‘s life in India.

Willie goes to India when British government does not rule India

anymore. He moves to India to join revolution group. As a stranger, Willie does

not have a home in India. He stays over in a Riviera hotel before he goes to the

training camp. There are many hotels and he has to choose one of them. Because

he does not know about those hotels, he allows himself to be led by the agent:

There were various hotel agents about, and Willie, choosing at random,

allowed himself to be led by one of these men to the Hotel Riviera. They

took a carriage. ‗Modern, all modern,‘ the Riviera man said all the time,

and then vanished as soon as he led Willie into the little lobby of the

hotel, as though not wishing now to be held responsible for anything

(Naipaul, 2004: 34).

Willie observes all things in the Riviera hotel. He detects the windows, menus and

all the things that make Willie surprised. ―Willie knew that it had no meaning, that

it had all been copied from some foreign hotel, and was to be taken only as a

gesture of goodwill, a wish to please, an aspect of being modern‖(Naipaul, 2004:

34). In fact, hotel is different from the ordinary home. One must pay a lot of

money to get the service of a hotel. Apparently, hotel in India cannot represent the

spirit of India. It means that all the things for instance the architecture, definitions

in the hotel, rules, menus and so on that exist in a hotel are borrowed from the

Western countries especially England. At times, a great enthusiasm to imitate any

Western thing spread all over the town in India. There is a notion that to be

modern means to be Western-like. This kind of modern image becomes trend in

the ex-colonized country.


47

In other words, Willie‘s perspective toward Riviera hotel cannot be

separated from the function of it as a setting of place in story. Riviera hotel can

influence Willie‘s point of view where he judges that architecture in India is

copied from outside. Willie feels unhappy or not at home when foreign

architecture dominates Indians‘ buildings. Home here is not about refuge place

but the comfortable condition. Here, the readers can capture how the author uses

the setting of place to convey the messages.

Subsequently, Willie moves from hotel to the training camp. He lives

there as a sentry. This is a logical consequence as a participant of a revolution

group. The condition is different from home because there are many sentries that

Willie does not know. ―There were about forty or fifty people in the camp. Word

went around, spread from newcomer to newcomer...‖ (Naipaul, 2004: 51). This

kind of condition requires someone to be smart man to face the people who come

from multiple backgrounds with all their own discrepancies. One must learn the

others‘ behaviors and start to respect the weakness and the strong point of the

other members. However, Willie has to accept the condition in the training camp.

There are many rules that control the newcomers. The rule is very rigid. ―It was a

training camp. The sentry, not speaking, making no sound, woke them up one by

one while it was still dark. The rule of the camp was that there was to be no sound

and no light at night‖ (Naipaul, 2004: 51-52). Willie dismantles the dark side of

the training camp. The condition in the training camp is not good to the sentries.

The sentries are not treated as human beings. The sentries‘ rights are restricted by

the rules that applied in the training camp. Freedom is something expensive. The


48

implication of the uncomfortable situation in the training camp for Willie is he

feels unhappy to be there. The boredom always comes to him. He tries hard to

fight against the uncomfortable situation:

Willie thought, ‗I have never known such boredom. Ever since I have

come to India I have known these terrible nights of boredom. I suppose it

is a kind of training, a kind of asceticism, but for what I am not sure. I

must look upon it as another chamber of experience. I must give no sign

to these people that I am not absolutely with them (Naipaul, 2004: 52).

Boredom has affected Willie since he has joined the revolution group. Being a

stranger in training camp, Willie tries to look it as experience. Although Willie

accepts being a stranger in training camp, he still does not want to join the

revolution group anymore. He does not give a sign to the camp leader that he does

not want to join the revolution group. In Willie‘s context, the boredom occurs

because he cannot accept the rules in the training camp. Boredom is the

subsequent ramification of the rigid condition in the training camp.

Then, Willie also becomes disoriented in the training camp. He does not

know where he is. He begins to remember his past experiences when he counts

the bed he had slept before. He cannot repeat those experiences in the training

camp because there is no chance to Willie to rehearse them. Although he cannot

repeat those experiences but he expects that he can to be himself. It means that he

starts to know deeper who he is and where he comes from. This kind of

remembering gives hope to Willie to feel what he has done twenty years ago.

Willie thinks that knowing his identity is the only thing to help him to get the

freedom:

He became disorientated. He remembered the time when it consoled him,

gave him a hold on things, to count the beds he had slept in. Such a hold


49

was no longer possible for him. He wished now passionately only to save

himself, to get in touch with himself again, to get away to the upper air.

But he didn‘t know where he was. (Naipaul, 2004: 139).

Willie has to obey all the rules in the training camp. However, the constellation of

setting even setting of place or social circumstances gives huge contribution to

Willie‘s perspectives. He is not at home. It is not different from the condition in

Riviera hotel. In this point, Willie cannot capture the function of training camp as

a home where he is able to find the brotherhood.

Subsequently, Willie has particular task from headquarter. He is sent to

Dhulipur. Dhulipur is far from training camp. Willie goes with Bhoj Narayan. The

journey is very difficult. They have to pass all the villages to get Dhulipur. At

times, they stop over in peasant‘s hut. Willie makes detail observation to the

peasant‘s hut. There is any space for calves and hens. He also detects the master

of the house. He says that the owner of the hut is an outcast:

Even in the dark Willie could see the trimmed leaves of the thatched roof

of the important family of the village. The village was a huddle of houses

and huts, back to back and side to side, with narrow angular lanes. They

walked past all the good houses and stopped at the edge, at an open

thatched hut. The owner was an outcast, and very dark…The thatch of

his hut was rough, untrimmed. The hut was about ten feet by ten feet.

Half of it was living space and washing-up space; the other half, with a

kind of loft, was sleeping space, for calves and hens as well as people

(Naipaul, 2004: 49).

The detail observations to the houses and the huts in the urban village want to

reveal the huge gap between the Indians. Implicitly, good houses and huts

represent the one‘s social status which good houses belong to the important man

in the village and the huts belong to the workers. Condition in the hut is much

messy where human beings must give space to the animals. In addition, the image


50

of the hut‘s master is always in the negative tone for instance; outcast, dark and so

on.

In short, Willie and Bhoj Narayan shelter in peasant‘s hut in the village.

The condition in village is different from training camp and the hotel. They free to

ask the master of the house. The people are friendly. The master of the house

gives sattoo to Willie and Bhoj Narayan. Sattoo is traditional food in India. It can

be found only in the village. In addition, the house‘s master also asks Willie and

Bhoj Narayan to sleep in his house for a night. The master of the house is

welcoming:

Willie and Bhoj Narayan sheltered in the open secondary hut, with cool

thatched eaves that hung welcomingly low, shutting out much of the

glare. Willie asked the woman of the house for sattoo, for which he had

developed a taste; and he and Bhoj Narayan moistened it with a little

water and ate and were content. The sattoo was made from millet. Before

the sun went down the master of the house came, dark and sweated from

his labours. He asked them to stay for the night in the open hut where

they were. The calves were brought in, with their fodder. Rice gruel was

offered to Willie and Bhoj Narayan (Naipaul, 2004: 57).

Apparently, the enormous transformations in India do not touch the urban village.

The peasants‘ ways of life are still primitive. The peasants always work in the

community group work. The peasants‘ attitude is very welcomed that it is hard to

find in a hotel and training camp. This way of life represents the simplicity of the

peasants in India. The descriptions of the hotel, training camp and hut reveal how

Willie sees the idea of home in the town, training camp and in the urban village in

India.

Naipaul‘s major character, Willie, examines that the idea of home in the

town which is represented through the emergence of hotel, is not appropriate with


51

the idea of home in Willie‘s perspective. The ramification is we can find that

Willie is not at home in India. It is because the architecture in the hotel in his

ancestors land comes from former colonizer of India, England. Those

transformations do not foreground the authenticity of India.

Then the idea of home is also interrogated in the emergence of the

training camp. The training camp does not provide freedom, happiness,

friendship, and so on. These circumstances are absolutely opposite with the idea

of home in Willie‘s mind.

Furthermore, Willie still questions the idea of home in India which is

shown through his detail observations on peasant‘s hut. Actually, Willie starts to

feel at home in India since he interacted with the peasants in the urban village. He

can capture the warmth, simplicity, happiness and so on through the peasants‘ hut,

way of life and habit. On the other hand, Willie also views that the peasants in the

urban village are dark and outcast. This observation contains the colonizer

perspective which he characterizes the peasants as an ―outcast‖. Implicitly,

Willie‘s description toward the appearances of the peasants denies the idea of

home that he searches in hut. Willie thinks that he is not at home in hotel because

the architecture is from England or he does not like the condition in the training

camp because the extreme rule, he is still in the ambiguous position. This claim

can be seen from his perspective toward the peasants in the urban village which he

feels at home but on the other side he humiliates the peasants. Here, we can see

that the significance of setting toward Willie‘s perspectives on hotel, training

camp and peasants‘ hut.


52

b. Willie’s Perspectives on the Domestic Conflict as the Aftermath of India

Independence

British regime leaves many elementary problems in India. Indian

government has to overcome those problems. Those problems are poverty,

deprivation and rebellion. However, those problems need much energy. In the

story, Willie goes to India to enter the revolution group. He wants to enter the

revolution group because he is pushed by his sister. Sarojini sees Kandapalli as an

important person. He is the leader of the revolution group in India who stands on

the peasants‘ side. She asks Willie; ―Does the name Kandapalli Seetaramiah mean

anything to you?‖ (Naipaul, 2004: 15). She adds that ―…Kandapalli and the Tamil

movement are parts of the same regenerative process in our world. If only I could

get you to believe in that process you will be a changed man‖ (Naipaul, 2004: 16).

At times, there are many peasant movements who against the suppression of the

feudal system in India. Every village has their own war and own leader to fight

against landowner.

Actually, Willie does not know who Kandapalli is. Sarojini introduces

Kandapalli to Willie. She reminds Willie in order to remember Kandapalli.

Sarojini says:

Sarojini said, ‗Every morning when you get up you must think not only

of yourself but of others. Think of something that‘s close to you

here…Think of where you‘ve been in Africa. You might want to forget

poor Ana, but think of the war there. It‘s going on now. Think of your

house. Try to imagine Kandapalli in the forest. These are all real places

with real people (Naipaul, 2004: 18).

The quotation above portrays how Sarojini tells Willie about responsibility toward

neighborhood. There are many people who must be helped. Human beings should


53

be sensitive to the issues of war that kill many people. Most of the victims are

from the helpless and the poor people. Many people die in the guerilla war to

struggle their rights. One‘s life will be useful when he or she gives help to the

weak. On the other hand, Sarojini says that Willie can forget his half white wife in

Africa, but he has to remember the guerilla war there. It means that Sarojini does

not sympathize to the Western people who suppress the Africans. Implicitly,

Sarojini wants to invite his brother to follow Kandapalli‘s group. Joining the

peasants‘ movements is the way for Willie to understand who he is. Hearing the

stories from his sister, Willie decides to go to India. Willie brings wonderful spirit

to India. ―He was full of his mission, full of the revolution in his soul…‖

(Naipaul, 2004: 29). Willie has a target when he joins the revolution group.

In short, Willie enlists himself as a new entry in the revolution group in

India. He expects that he can do more to India. His motivation to join the

revolution is to help the poor and helpless people. Ironically, Willie joins in the

wrong group which he unites Kandapalli‘s enemies. He cannot fight for the poor

and helpless people. As a result, Willie does not feel comfortable in joining the

revolution group:

I am not among the poor and the villagers in this camp. There has been

some mistake. I have fallen among the wrong people. I have come to the

wrong revolution. I don‘t like these faces. And yet I have to be with

them. I have to get a message out to Sarojini or to Joseph. But I don‘t

know how. I am completely in the hands of these people (Naipaul, 2004:

50).

Willie does not like the people in the revolution group. It means that Willie cannot

feel at home anymore. It is because he joins with wrong people. Their spirit is

different from Willie‘s spirit. From the beginning, Willie associates his mission


54

with peasants‘ mission. This mission makes Willie at home in India. The

condition totally changed when he meets Kandapalli‘s enemies. The implication is

he wants to leave training camp. In fact, Willie cannot escape from the training

camp. Willie is really desperate to face this situation. Actually, there is resistance

of Willie. It is not significantly showed in the novel. It can be seen from Willie‘s

statement ―I don‘t like these faces‖. Willie wants to reveal that as a soldier he has

to survive in the emergency situation and to think the next step to get out of the

training camp. Then, Willie decides to tell the mistakes to his sister. He writes a

letter to Sarojini. ―Dear Sarojini, I think something terrible has happened. I am

not with the people we talked about. I don’t know how it’s happened, but I believe

I am with Kandapalli’s enemies” (Naipaul, 2004: 52). Willie believes that he has

joined Kandapalli‘s enemies. Willie writes Kandapalli‘s name in his letter. It is

dangerous for Willie. Later, Willie rethinks that he has to omit Kandapalli‘s name

in his letter. ―He thought that was too open. He crossed out Kandapalli‘s name,

and then decided that it was too dangerous for him to write to Sarojini‖ (Naipaul,

2004: 53). In order to avoid another problem, Willie decides to cancel his letter to

Sarojini.

He has to accept the terrible condition in training camp. Willie observes

all the sentries. He detects that most of the people who enlist themselves to the

revolution group are in Willie‘s age. ―They were all people in their late thirties or

early forties, Willie‘s age, and he wondered what weakness or failure had caused

them in mid-life to leave the outer world and to enter this strange chamber‖

(Naipaul, 2004: 53). There are many Indians who become landowner‘s soldier to


55

take the peasant‘s land. Those soldiers are loyal to their powerful master. Their

tasks are to collect the taxes from the peasants and if the peasants do not pay the

taxes; the soldiers will take the peasants goods including the land. This condition

makes Willie‘s life getting worst. Social circumstances in his ancestor‘s land do

not give him happiness, brotherhood and love. Willie cannot capture the idea of

home in his ancestor‘s land.

c. Willie’s Perspectives on Globalization

Indian people begin to develop their country. They make significant

transformations in all sectors. They start to modernize the technology, education

system, government structure, social system and culture. The transformation in

India cannot be separated from the emergence of British people. British has

important role in developing the technology in India. Besides, British people also

spread their cultures, way of life and way of thinking. Gradually, Indian people

follow British‘s ways of live, ways of thinking and cultures and they forget their

original cultures.

However, British‘s cultures, ways of life and ways of thinking bring

positive and negative impacts to the Indian people. The positive impacts to the

Indian are on the technology and education sectors. India can adopt the

technology from England in actualizing prosperous society. On the other hand,

some of British‘s cultures also bring negative impact. For instance is ways of life.

It is the most vivid example of the British‘s influence to the Indian people.

In the story, Willie criticizes the Indian ways of life. He is really

confused when he observes the Indian habits. He believes that Indian people adopt


56

foreign cultures. Because many Indians adopt foreign styles, Willie looks them

different from himself. Willie thinks that there is huge gap between himself and

Indian people. It can be seen from Willie‘s observation toward Indian people in

the airport:

He saw India in everything they wore and did. He was full of his mission,

full of the revolution in his soul, and he felt a great distance from them.

But detail by detail the India he was observing, in the airport pen, and

then in the aircraft, the terrible India of Indian family life—the soft

physiques, the way of eating, the ways of speech, the idea of the father,

the idea of the mother, the crinkled, much used plastic shop bags

(sometimes with a long irrelevant printed name)—this India began to

assault him, began to remind him of things he thought he had forgotten

and put aside, things which his idea of his mission had obliterated; and

the distance he felt from his fellow passengers diminished (Naipaul,

2004: 28-29).

The globalization has shocked the social life and social system. The history of

globalization is related to the story of colonialism. Since colonialism cannot

survive in the constellation humans‘ civilization, the Western countries create new

type of colonialism that can be accepted in all over the world. Globalization

emphasizes the idea of mass consumption and mass production. In addition, the

Western countries try to formulate the global culture which it glorifies the

dominant culture. India has experienced the strong impact of the globalization

which the Indians have different perspective to themselves, way of life and way of

thinking. Implicitly, globalization has constituted the social group in the social

life.

However, those transformations still haunt Willie‘s mind. Willie

understands that he sees India from someone else‘s perspectives, but he does not

want it to dominate his life. Long time ago, Willie has been to India. He describes


57

that India is a simple world where everything has been constituted. It can be seen

from following quotation:

Willie thought, ‗Twenty years ago I wouldn‘t have seen what I am seeing

now…I have come from a world of waste and appearances. I saw quite

clearly some time ago that it was a simple world, where people had been

simplified. I must not go back on that vision. I must understand that now

I am among people of more complicated beliefs and social ideas, and at

the same time in a world stripped of all style and artifice (Naipaul, 2004:

30).

Willie sees that Indian people are from various backgrounds. He has to adapt with

those people who come from multiple backgrounds. The globalization has

developed rapidly in India. Although most people continue to live as citizens of a

single nation, they are culturally, materially, and psychologically engaged with

the lives of people in other countries as never before. The new definitions of the

transportation, building and all the rules are the product of globalization. Those

transformations must be adjusted in order to avoid negative impact to one‘s life:

And soon India, with all its new definitions of things (taxi, hotel, railway

station, waiting room, lavatory, restaurant), and all its new disciplines

(squatting in the lavatory, eating only cooked food, avoiding water and

soft fruit), engulfed him (Naipaul, 2004: 31).

Moreover, Willie also describes how the road in India is very crowded. The

scooters and taxis struggle to get a space with horsedrawn. This is the most vivid

example of the negative effect of the globalization. There are many cars that make

the road crowded. In addition, the taxis and scooter will produce the air pollution

and global warming. On the other hand, the large number of taxis and scooter as

product of globalization will replace the traditional transportation. Implicitly, the

globalization enlarges the inequalities in the social life which it impacts on the

poverty rate in the developing countries. The poor will become poorer and the rich


58

man will become richer. Thus, it can be ensured that the victims are always from

the lower class. They are always suppressed by the emergence of global economy:

Pedal rickshaws and scooter rickshaws and taxis competed for space with

horsedrawn or mule-drawn carriages that tilted dangerously downwards

at the back, seemingly about to throw out their heavy load of women and

children (Naipaul, 2004: 34).

The local communities for instance, the village people cannot survive in the

global competition because global economy is much more related to the huge

capital. The capitalists easily control the global market which they determine

standard of certain product for instance; paddy, tobacco and so on. The products

that have a good quality will be sold in the supermarket and the rest are for the

peasants. Thus, if the peasants want to taste the good product, they have to go to

the town which they spend a lot of money. ―In the towns he also began to eat

better food. Strangely, the food in the countryside—where the food was grown—

was bad; in the town every day could be a feast day‖ (Naipaul, 2004: 76).

Moreover, the globalization erases the third world countries way of life.

Most of the people in the developing countries imitate the Western way of life

which the nutrition is the most important thing than the quantity of the food:

In the villages, when times were good, the peasant heaped his plate or

leaf with grain, and was content to add only flavourings of various sorts;

in the towns even poor people ate smaller quantities of grain, and more

vegetables and lentils. Because he was eating better Willie became less

liable to small illnesses and the depressions they could bring on (Naipaul,

2004: 76).

The developments in India are from outside. Willie believes that those

transformations are artificial. There is no authenticity. ―Willie knew that it had no

meaning, that it had all been copied from some foreign hotel, and was to be taken


59

only as a gesture of goodwill, a wish to please, an aspect of being modern‖

(Naipaul, 2004: 34). Indian people adopt the western cultures to be modern.

3. Willie’s Perspectives in England

In this section, the writer divides the heading into two subheadings. First

is Willie‘s perspective on the idea of home. Second is Willie‘s perspective on

multicultural society.

a. Willie’s Perspectives on the Idea of Home

After released from prison in India, Willie goes to London. Willie does

not have a home in London. The meaning of home here refers to physical refuge

which gives comfort and security to the inhabitants. The questions of home

always emerge in every place where he stops over. Willie sees that London

already changed in all sectors. The transformations in London absolutely impact

on Willie‘s life including his point of view. Here, we can see the contribution of

particular setting in shaping characters‘ personalities. Murphy elaborates

comprehensively that setting of the novel is the background against which the

characters live up their lives usually setting concerns with place and time in which

the characters live. These can give a great effect on their personalities, actions,

and way of thinking (Murphy, 1972: 41).

Willie is really confused with the condition in England. In his letter to

Sarojini, he states that Willie sees himself as a guest in London. British are very

nice people. The house is very nice:


60

Things are changing here for me. I don’t know how much longer I can

keep on living as a guest of these nice people in this lovely house in this

lovely area. When I arrived I was in a daze (Naipaul, 2004: 271).

Apparently, Willie has different perspective to London. Willie really understands

that he is a guest in London. This expression symbolizes the consciousness of

Willie toward his status in the former colonized of India. Although Willie

acknowledges that he is stranger, he has own perspective to the significant

transformation in London which he admires the social circumstances in that

country. However, Willie‘s detail description to the stabilities of London

indirectly justifies that Western countries are the safest place in the globe where

the ex-colonized people can get the security.

Then, he also describes how London looks like. He states that London is

better than thirty years ago. It can be seen from his letter to Sarojini. ―Now I know

London better and this St. John’s Wood house has spoilt me for living anywhere

else (Naipaul, 2004: 271). In other words, Willie wants to say that St. John‘s

Wood house provides comfortable condition to Willie. St. John‘s Wood house is

one of the symbols of the stability of London which it makes Willie cannot move

to other place. By considering the preceding quotations, the writer sees that Willie

already capture the idea of home.

Moreover, Willie is hardly to accept his life which he regrets his birth in

Africa land. He says that ―I was born at the wrong time. If I was born now, in the

same place, the world would have a different look. Too late for me, unfortunately‖

(Naipaul, 2004: 272). The repentance of Willie is stimulated by the surrounding

circumstances. Actually, Willie was born in Africa when the Western countries


61

grab the Africans‘ land. Implicitly, the emergence of the Western countries in the

Africa continent produces the repentance to the Africans‘ next generation. Willie

prefers to choose to be born when Africa liberates from the Western countries.

Apparently, Willie does not understand or does not remember that although he

was born when Africa free from the Western countries domination, he is still

suppressed by the Western people. The colonizers have applied the master plan to

constitute the histories, cultures and identities of their colonies over the world and

replace those sacred things with the Western histories, cultures and identities.

Thus, the readers can see that Willie‘s position in London is a stranger.

Inevitably, Willie‘s perspective on the idea of home cannot be separated from his

observation on the social circumstances in London. Willie will not feel at home if

the setting do not give him security, happiness and all things that he wants. Willie

cannot feel at home in London is because he feels as a stranger. Thus, happiness

and security are not enough for Willie to feel in London.

b. Willie’s Perspectives on Multicultural Society

In the novel, Willie also describes the multicultural society in London.

Willie witnesses many people from India, Pakistan and Japan enjoy their life in

London. He thinks that the world has been united. There is great difference when

Willie lived in London thirty years ago. It can be seen from following quotation:

The streets of the centre were very crowded, so crowded that sometimes

it was not easy to walk. There were black people everywhere, and

Japanese, and people who looked like Arabs. He thought, ‗There has

been a great churning in the world. This is not the London I lived in

thirty years ago (Naipaul, 2004: 188).


62

London becomes multicultural state where people from various countries live

together there. The people from various countries are easily found in the roads in

London. The roads are very crowded. Implicitly, Willie describes that London

populations increase significantly.

Then, Willie really understands that the great transformations are

supported by huge power that he does not understand. However, huge alterations

eliminate the stories of poverty and injustice in Willie‘s mind. In the following

quotation is another proof about Willie‘s outlook to multicultural society in

London:

Increasingly on the winding main road there were Indians; and

Pakistanis; and Bangladeshis dressed as they might have been at home,

the men with layers of gowns or shirts and with the white cap of

submission to the Arab faith, their low statured women even more

bundled up and covered and with fearful black masks. Willie knew about

the great immigration from the subcontinent, but (since ideas often exist

in compartments) he hadn‘t imagined that London (still in his mind

something from central casting) could have been so repeopled in thirty

years (Naipaul, 2004: 213-214).

The emergence of the people from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in London

makes Willie curious. He makes detail observation on those people. Most of the

people from various continents use their traditional clothes. Seemingly, they

enjoy live in London. Willie still does not understand how Indians, Pakistanis, and

Bangladeshis feel at home in London. Arabs are free to express their faith even

they use cover and fearful masks. Willie says that he only knows the great

immigration from subcontinent but he does not really understand about what

exactly happened behind the great immigration in London.


63

Willie sees that those people are the same with him. He describes that the

man from West Indies are happy in London that has cosmopolitan company. On

the other hand, the Malaysian man does not want to talk to anyone in training

center. In addition, Pakistan man focuses on his faith. Willie thinks that Pakistan

man want to spread his religion in the training center. In other words, the people

from various countries in the world just concern about themselves. They do not

care anyone around them. It can be seen from the following quotation:

He was thinking of people like himself, as it seemed to him: the big black

or mixed man from the West Indies, who had worked his way up and was

immensely pleased to be in this cosmopolitan company; the very neat

Malaysian Chinese, clearly a man of business, in a fawn-coloured suit,

and white shirt and tie, who sat in the lounge with his delicate legs

elegantly crossed and seemed self contained, ready to go through the

whole course without talking to anyone; the man from the Indian

subcontinent in his absurd white shoes, who turned out to be from

Pakistan and a religious fanatic, ready to spread the Arab faith in this

training centre devoted to another kind of learning and glory…(Naipaul,

2004: 221).

However, multicultural society in the United Kingdom reveals the

domination of the imperial cultures. The people from various countries over the

world come to the ―center‖ because they believe that they can find the freedom

there. The Western countries always claim that freedom is only found in the West.

Here, we can see that people from entire the world come to the ―mother country‖

act as justification of the Western dominion cultures. The African, Indian, Asian

and American are as ―margin‖ and the United Kingdom is as a ―center‖.


64

B. Postcolonial Identity Negotiation Revealed through Willie’s Diasporic

Movements

The following analysis elaborates postcolonial identity negotiation of

Willie by employing postcolonial perspective. Most of people believe that

postcolonialism has two meanings. First, postcolonialism can be defined as certain

era. Second, postcolonialism also can be interpreted as theory. Although

postcolonialism has two meanings, many people convince that it more relates to

the theory.

By allowing the foreign cultures diffuse with one‘s own culture, the

single identity is impossible to achieve as we can see in the earlier section. This

problem is also experienced by Willie when he makes diasporic movements in

three different geographical locations; Africa, India and England. Being a

diaspora in three different geographical locations, Willie‘s perspective can show

what happened on his identity when he views the idea of home, postcolonial

resistance, domestic conflict, globalization and multicultural society because his

identity or his position may be reflected through his perspective toward certain

circumstance. Thus, to answer the second question in the problem formulation, the

writer analyzes Willie‘s diasporic movements in three different geographical

locations (Africa, India and London) as how they reveal postcolonial identity

negotiation.


65

1. Willie’s Perspective in Africa

In Naipaul‘s Magic Seeds the writer finds that postcolonial identity

negotiation occurs in Willie‘s diasporic movements in three different geographical

locations. The writer observes that Willie has a particular ways in negotiating his

postcolonial identity in Africa, India and England. The particular ways can be

seen from his opinions toward certain condition in three different geographical

locations which those views represent his position or identity. The writer observes

that Willie‘s postcolonial identity negotiation is began from Africa since he

interrogates the idea of home and the postcolonial resistance until London where

he finds many people from various countries.


His perspectives on the idea of home become strong indication for the

writer to decide that Willie is searching his identity. Here, the idea of home is not

only related to the refuge place but it is much more related to one‘s identity.

Home discloses someone to where she or he comes from and where she or he

belongs to. Bill Ashcroft in Post-Colonial Transformation remarks that:

In the case of diasporic peoples, ‗place‘ might not refer to a location at

all, since the formative link between identity and an actual location might

have been irredeemably severed. But all constructions and disruptions of

place hinge on the question: ‗Where do I belong? (2001: 125).

The question of the idea of home always appears in Willie‘s mind wherever he

goes including when he lives in Africa. The struggle to find his true identity

comes to Willie when he is aware that he stays in his wife‘s house. The writer


66

sees that this awareness becomes turning point for Willie to question everything

around him that related to his identity:

Willie says that ―I was in Africa…I was living in her big house and on

her land, twenty times more land than anyone here has. I had no job. I

was just her husband. For many years I thought of myself as lucky‖

(Naipaul, 2004: 112).

Here Willie is depicted clearly by the author. Willie‘s perspective toward his

wife‘s superiority is examined vividly that Anna dominates everything in African

land. In this point, the writer sees that Willie‘s expression justifies the unequal

position between Anna and Willie. The complex relations between Anna and

Willie contain ―a politics of identity, a politics of position, a law of origin‖ (Said,

1996: 226). In other words that the position of Anna is in strong side which it

justifies her identity as a colonizer. On the other hand, Willie‘s position is in weak

side by which it confirms that he is a colonized person. This relation have been

discussed by well known critic, Said. He says that ―the feature of Oriental-

European relations was that Europe was always in a position of strength, not to

say domination‖ (Said, 1979: 40).

The imbalance and inequality relation in Anna‘s house makes Willie

uncomfortable and later he decides to leave Anna. Besides, Willie has to leave his

wife because all he was doing was living his wife‘s life (Naipaul, 2004: 113). He

is desperate living in someone else‘s life: ―I was tired of living her life…Her

house, her land, her friends, nothing that was my own‖ (Naipaul, 2004: 113).

Implicitly, the superiority of Anna dominates Willie‘s life where he cannot refuse

and control it. The consciousness of Willie toward the condition of his life in

Africa reveals that he is searching his true life, true self and true identity.


67

Actually, there is no true self or true identity in the contemporary era.

Willie‘s struggle to find his true identity is something impossible to achieve.

Bhabha in his book The Location of Culture says that ―identity is the problematic

process of access to an image of totality‖ (Bhabha, 2004: 73). It means that

postcolonial identity does not acknowledge the single identity. Naipaul‘s major

character, Willie, has a certain image of identity in his mind which makes him to

search his true identity. Unfortunately, the image of the pure identity is destroyed

by the emergence of Anna‘s superiority by which she constructs Willie‘s life in

Africa. Thus, pure identity exists only in Willie‘s imagination. There is no

authenticity. Hall comments that identities are absolutely rupture which cannot be

collected in the single unit. Identities are disintegrated and split vividly in the

contemporary era. They are always in the process of mutation and revolution

(Hall, 1996: 4).

b. Willie’s Perspective on Postcolonial Resistance

Postcolonial identity negotiations also revealed through Willie‘s opinions

toward postcolonial resistance. At times, African people struggle to fight against

the Western countries who grab their land. Many African people die in war.

Wright‘s Scramble for Africa (2009) explains that:

The early years of the Scramble were accomplished with minimal

bloodshed, but that would not be the case in the 1890s and afterward.

Some of the most powerful African states put up strong resistance,

requiring Europeans to send in well-armed forces. Massed African

armies with outdated weapons defeated European forces on occasion, but

more frequently modern weaponry won out, producing some of the most

one-sided battles in the history of warfare.


68

Willie has no idea about what to do in facing his own dilemma. His own dilemma

has to do with his position in viewing the guerilla war in Africa. To African

people, guerilla war is a glorious war. It means that guerilla war is the most

important war to Africans. Although guerilla war is important to African people,

Willie never joins the guerilla war. Ironically, Willie witnesses the guerilla war

from his wife‘s house. Willie cannot show his resistance toward the colonizers in

Africa. Willie‘s passivity to the glorious war shows his position. If Willie joins

the guerilla war; it is clear that Willie stands in African side. It means that he is

part of the colonized people. On the other hand, Willie will become part of the

colonizers if he helps the colonizers in guerilla war. Willie‘s position in guerilla

war in Africa is on the middle. He does not join in African side or in colonizers

side.

However, Willie‘s positions in the struggle of Africans in a guerilla war

in Africa represent his identity. The emergence of Willie in glorious war resonate

the image of the opportunist where he cannot decide his standing point in the war.

His position in the guerilla war is ambivalent. It can be seen from his perspective

toward the war. ―In my heart of hearts I was always on the Africans‘ side, but I

didn‘t have a war to go to‖ (Naipaul, 2004: 6). Willie states clearly that he always

supports the African. Then he also says that ―I always had sympathy for Africans,

but I saw them from the outside‖ (Naipaul, 2004: 38). The ambiguous expressions

of Willie raise various interpretations. First, he takes the free area to free himself

from the conflict between Africans (colonized) and Portuguese (colonizer).


69

Second, he situates himself in the free position because he does not absolutely

oppose the colonizer or to join the Africans.

Here, Willie‘s constellation in the guerilla war in Africa does not show

his resistance to the colonizers. Willie‘s passivity in the guerilla war implicitly

reveals the important point that whoever does not get involved in the fight against

the crime means he defends the crime. The writer observes that Naipaul‘s major

character, Willie, hides behind his ambiguous statement: ―In my heart of hearts I

was always on the Africans‘ side, but I didn‘t have a war to go to‖. He states that

he does not have a war to go to because he does not have primordial relation

between him and Africans. In this point, Willie shows his trickiness to defend

himself from the accusation that he is on colonizers‘ side.

2. Willie’s Perspective in India

Willie‘s struggle to interrogate his originality continues in his ancestors

land, India. It seems that Willie has primordial relation with India. In fact, Willie

cannot capture the intimate relation between Willie and his ancestors‘ land. He

sees himself as a stranger in India. He is separated, thrown and alienated from his

ancestors land. This condition can be analogized with vagrants‘ condition. They

are homeless and lost of the boundaries as a human being. In this context, the

vagrants do not have a place to identify their identity and to give them security.

The logical implication is Willie keep interrogates his true home, true self and true

identity.


70


The endeavor of Willie in searching his true home, true self and true

identity can be seen from his perspectives toward hotel, training camp and

peasant‘s hut in his ancestor‘s land. For Willie, hotel is not his true home, true

identity because the architectures of the hotels in India are borrowed from the

foreign countries especially England. ―Willie knew that it had no meaning, that it

had all been copied from some foreign hotel, and was to be taken only as a gesture

of goodwill, a wish to please, an aspect of being modern‖(Naipaul, 2004: 34). The

consequence is he cannot see the authenticity the history of India anymore.

Naipaul‘s major character can capture the meaning of home in hotel if it gives him

knowledge about who he is. Thus, although the Riviera hotel has provided the

luxurious accommodations and security for Willie, he still cannot know his

originality, his true identity.

The struggle of Naipaul‘s major character, Willie, to search his true

home, his true self occurs in training camp. Actually the emergence of Willie in

the training camp is to join the revolution group that he has expected before. He

wants to help the peasants because he can see his true self in the images of the

peasants. Willie expects that he can find the warmth, happiness, brotherhood and

the simplicity of the peasants in the training camp. In fact, he absolutely never

find what he has imagined. Willie feels different from the leader of the training

camp because the leader‘s appearances like a businessman or civil servant. ―The

rule in the camp, enunciated by the leader—a man of about forty, who looked like

a businessman or civil servant…‖ (Naipaul, 2004: 53). Willie also acknowledges


71

that he had been away from India too long. He couldn‘t assess the backgrounds of

the people around him (Naipaul, 2004: 53). The spirit of the people in the training

camp does not correspond with Willie‘s spirit which he wants to fight together

with the peasants to resist the landowner. Willie is not able to find his true home,

true identity in the training camp.

Actually, Willie finds his true identity when he shelters in the peasant‘s

hut which he can capture the simplicity, brotherhood, happiness and warmth

through the images of the peasants‘ in the urban village. On the other hand, Willie

indirectly mocks the master of the hut by calling him as ―outcast‖ and ―dark‖. The

writer sees that Willie‘s perspective to the hut master shows his ambiguous

position by which he half accepts his identity.

b. Willie’s Perspective on Domestic Conflict in the Aftermath of the India

Independence

Independence is the condition where all the people can feel the freedom.

―In post-colonial usage this usually refers to the achievement by a colony of full

self-government‖ (Ashcroft, Griffiths & Tiffin, 2007: 116). Indians achieved their

independence on 15 August 1947 which gives new spirit, new hope for them to

get better future. Gandhi cites Salman Rushdie‘s novel Midnight Children to

portray the euphoria of the Indians in responding their victory: ―For the next three

decades, there was to be no escape. Soothsayers had prophesied me, newspapers

celebrated my arrival, politicos ratified my authenticity‖ (Rushdie via Gandhi,


72

1998: 5). Thus, the atmosphere in the post-colonial state is seemingly better than

pre-colonial period.

On the other hand, the national independence can be seen in the different

way. Gandhi cites Said‘s opinion that ―the cosmetic veneer of national

independence barely disguises the foundational economic, cultural and political

damage inflicted by colonial occupation‖ (Said, 1989 via Gandhi, 1998: 7). In

other words, the national independence that had been achieved implicitly hiding

the bad effects of the colonial occupation.

In Magic Seeds, the author describes the domestic conflict as the

implication of the independence of India. The Writer sees that domestic conflict

between peasants and landlords justifies what Said stated in the earlier section.

The former colonizer of India, England, left the feudal system which is not

appropriate with the Indians. The feudal system has significant contribution in the

domestic conflict in India. The peasants fight against the landlord as the

representation of the colonizers.

By analyzing the condition in India, Willie‘s sister supports Willie to join

the revolution. He follows the revolution in India because he has full of mission in

his soul (Naipaul, 2004: 39) which he wants to joins the peasants‘ movement. In

this point, the writer sees that Willie associates himself as a part of the peasants.

Willie‘s mission to help the peasants is seemingly gone since he joins the

wrong group. The condition in the training is hard for him. It can be seen when he

says that joining the revolution group is failure for the man in early forties


73

(Naipaul, 2004: 53). Here, Willie shows his position in the domestic conflict in

India which he stands on the peasants‘ side.

c. Willie’s Perspective on Globalization

However, Willie‘s diasporic movement in India does not give significant

contribution to him in finding his identity. Willie‘s struggle to search his true

identity is also challenged by the development of globalization in his ancestor‘s

land. The history of globalization in India cannot be separated from role of

England as mother country. Globalization is operated world-wide. The local

communities and individual lives are influenced by economic and cultural forces.

Global power changes all the systems in the world including in India. The

globalization has changed every aspects of Indian‘s life such as cultures, ways of

life and ways of thinking and so on. Ashcroft in Post-Colonial Transformation

examines that:

Globalization is the radical transformation of imperialism, continually

reconstituted, and interesting precisely because it stems from no obvious

imperial centre. While it is often understood in terms of large-scale

phenomena, its homogenizing tendencies are effected in a heterogeneous

array of local situations (Ashcroft, 2001: 213).

British still colonize the Indians. It is based on Ashcroft explanation about the

nature of globalization. It is also supported by the strong evidence that many

Indians begin leave their original cultures. The European cultures, ways of life,

ways of thinking are spread widely in India which those things blur the Indians‘

identity. It is what Willie experienced when he makes a journey to India:

…the terrible India of Indian family life—the soft physiques, the way of

eating, the ways of speech, the idea of the father, the idea of the mother,


74

the crinkled, much used plastic shop bags (sometimes with a long

irrelevant printed name)—this India began to assault him…(Naipaul,

2004: 28).

Apparently, Indian families adopt the way of life from foreign countries

which this action destroys the original culture. Willie cannot accept those

transformations that exist in his ancestor‘s land. In the transformation era a new

culture is brought from outside and then is introduced to the society with their old

existing culture. Here, in the postcolonial perspective the constellation of

globalization in India acts as justification of the domination of First world over

Third world. The Western countries which are represented by England spread

their domination over Indian. As Ashcroft said before, this relation is radical

transformation of imperialism.

The implication is there is no pure Indian cultures, ways of thinking and

identity. Here, identity should be understood in the larger context. It is not only

about ethnicity but also about ways of thinking, cultures, customs, habits, the idea

of father and mother. For Young, any model of cultural interaction between one

culture and another merge in their product which is characterized with the same

term: hybridity (Young, 1995: 6). From Young‘s definition, we can conclude that

Willie will not find the original culture in India.

3. Willie’s Perspective in England

The last route of Willie‘s diasporic movement is in England. The social

condition in England is totally different from two places that had been stopped

over by Willie. Willie sees that London is a modern city. In the constellation of

postcolonial studies, London is characterized as a mother country. Ashcroft,


75

Griffiths and Tiffin in the Post-Colonial Studies: The Key Concepts states that

London is ―mother country‖. Mother country is related to the metropolitan by

which it is a parent state of colony. The metropolis in European thought was

always constituted as the seat of culture, and this meaning is readily transferred to

the imperial/colonial relationship (Ashcroft, Griffiths and Tiffin, 2007: 123).


Willie feels the gloriousness of London which is described clearly in the

story. Naipaul‘s major character, Willie, is apparently surprised with the

transformation in London. The rapid transformation gives serenity to Willie at

least in a security aspect. In short, Willie gets everything what he wants.

The writer sees that Willie views London differently from two locations

before; Africa and India. Willie does not show his criticism toward the

transformation in London. Willie‘s action justifies the status of London as

―mother country‖ which everything is always better than the colonies. Ironically,

the comfortable condition does not help Naipaul‘ major character, Willie, to find

his true identity. He states clearly that ―I don‘t know how much longer I can keep

on living as a guest of these nice people in this lovely house in this lovely area‖

(Naipaul, 2004: 271). He is a guest in London. According Collins Concise

Dictionary and Thesaurus guest refers to ―a person who receives hospitality at

someone else‘s home‖ (2003: 418). Thus, based on the definition from the

dictionary, London is just someone else‘s home. Willie does not categorize

London with all facilities as his home, his true self, his true identity.


76

b. Willie’s Perspectives on Multicultural Society

The huge transformation in London always attracts all the countries over

the world including the ex-colonies such as India, Africa, Australia and America

to come to the ―center‖. Those different countries absolutely always bring their

own cultures, language and so on. Those countries are commonly known as

―margin‖ in the postcolonial studies. Since many people from different countries

move to London, there occurs the intensive interaction between margin cultures

and mother cultures. Gandhi cites Maria Louise Pratt opinion that ―the colonizer

as much as the colonized –is implicated in the transcultural dynamics of the

colonial encounter‖ (Gandhi, 1998: 131).

Willie examines comprehensively which Malaysians, Indian, Arabs,

Pakistan, British and so on interact with each other. For Pratt, ―this encounter

produces an estrangement of familiar meanings and a mutual ―creolisation‖ of

identities‖ (Gandhi, 1998: 131). In other words, England as multicultural state

does not provide pure African, Indian, Asian and American. There is no pure

identity in the contemporary era.

Willie‘s diasporic movements from Africa until India are seen as

interrogating and negotiating his true identity. Hall in Questions of Cultural

Identity (Hall, 1996: 4) examines that identities are absolutely rupture which

cannot be collected in the single unit. Identities are disintegrated and split vividly

in the contemporary era. They are always in the process of mutation and


77

revolution. Thus, Willie‘s struggle to formulate his true self, true identity is

something impossible. It is because the characteristic of identity is instability.


78

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

V.S Naipaul’s Magic Seeds gives clear depictions about postcolonial

conditions in three different places such as Africa, India and England. The writer

explores the main character named Willie. He is Indian descent who makes

diasporic movements in three different geographical locations.

In this thesis, there are two problem formulations that are analyzed and

answered. The first problem is Willie’s perceptions on three different

geographical locations. The writer finds out that Willie has own perceptions in

three different places which confirm his existence. The interrogation and

negotiation of true identity and fixed identity are presented through Willie’s

perspectives toward certain circumstance.

The writer begins with the elaboration of Willie’s perspective in Africa.

His outlook much more concerns on the idea of home and on the postcolonial

resistance. Willie’s views on the idea of home are revealed directly in the novel.

Willie cannot be himself in his wife’s house which forces him to leave Africa. In

addition, Willie also comments on the guerilla war in Africa. Willie does not join

guerilla war because he does not have enough knowledge about the Africans’

histories and also he does not have primordial relation with Africans. The logical

consequence is Willie does not have sense of belonging to the guerilla war in

Africa.


79

Subsequently, Willie continues his passage to India. He also criticizes

surrounding circumstances in India. The criticism is related to the idea of home,

domestic conflict as the implication of the independence of India and

globalization. His criticism on the idea of home is revealed through his statement

on hotel, training camp and peasant’s hut. For Willie, hotels in his ancestor’s land

cannot represent the originality of Indian culture. It is because the architectures of

the hotels in India are copied from some foreign hotel and are to be taken only as

a gesture of goodwill. Then, Willie also makes detail observation to the condition

in the training camp where he joins the revolution group. He does not like the

condition in the training camp because the rule is very rigid. Absolutely, this

condition is something not expected by Willie. For Willie, this training camp

cannot reveal the idea of home because it’s terrible circumstances. The idea of

home is also portrayed through Willie’s outlook to the peasants’ hut in urban

village when he has special task from the training camp leader. Willie feels at

home in the urban village because he can find the simplicity, brotherhood warmth

of the peasants.

Moreover, as a stranger and a sentry in the revolution group, Willie has

particular opinion what exactly happened behind the domestic conflict between

the peasants and the landlord. For Willie, joining the revolution is a big mistake.

By considering Willie’s perspective, the writer thinks that Willie does not like the

revolution is because he joins the landlord’s group.

Furthermore, Willie also concerns on the impact of the globalization to

the Indians. He observes the transformation on the family life in India. The


80

foreign culture has replaced original cultures in India. However, Willie does not

want foreign culture destroying Indians’ original cultures. Later, Willie leaves the

vagueness of India and moves to London.

Willie’s diasporic movement ends in London. He goes to London after he

is released from the prison in India. He has great impression to the transformation

in London. The first impression is on the idea of home which is represented

through the emergence of St. John’s Wood house. London gives serenity to Willie

whom he cannot find in Africa and India. Although London has given luxurious

facilities to Willie, he does not feel at home. He is a stranger. Then, Willie also

observes that London is different from thirty years ago. There are many people

from different countries who bring their own cultures, ways of life and languages.

The last is the idea of postcolonial identity negotiation in Willie’s

diasporic movements. In the previous part it has been explained that Willie has

own perceptions on three different geographical locations. The writer finds out

that Willie’s perspectives toward certain condition in three different places

contain the idea of postcolonial identity negotiation. His diasporic movements act

as toolkit to interrogate and to negotiate his true identity. Willie’s perspectives

toward the idea of home, postcolonial resistance, domestic conflict, globalization

and multicultural society have a significant meaning for him to find his true self,

true identity. The idea of home reveals the idea of postcolonial identity

negotiation since Willie’s life in Africa is haunted by the emergence of superiority

of his wife’s life. He does not have power to control himself and the house. Willie

is aware that he is controlled by his wife. This consciousness leads Willie to the


81

important point which he decides to leave his wife’s life. Here, Willie wants to

say that he has to find his true self, true identity. The idea of home is also revealed

the idea of postcolonial identity negotiation when he stays in India. He is annoyed

by the emergence of the hotels in India by which the architectures are copied from

foreign countries. In this point, Willie cannot capture the original cultures in

India. The emergence of St. John’s Wood house represents the idea of home.

Willie feels comfortable but he sees himself as a stranger in London. It means that

he still interrogates his fixed identity.

Then, Willie’s perspective on postcolonial resistance also portrays his

position. It is here that Willie does not absolutely oppose the colonizer and the

Africans. Here, Willie’s constellation in the guerilla war in Africa is ambiguous.

He cannot decide his position in guerilla war. Willie’s passivity in the guerilla war

implicitly reveals the important point that whoever does not get involved in the

fight against the crime means he defends the crime. In this point, Willie shows his

trickiness to defend himself from the accusation that he is on colonizers’ side.

Moreover, Willie’s perspective to the domestic conflict in India represents his

struggle to find postcolonial identity. Willie frustrates when he joins landlord’s

group. It is because his mission is to help the peasants. Willie sees that he is part

of the peasants. On the other hand, Willie mocks the peasants in the urban village.

In the scope of identity, he associates his identity as a peasants but he does not

accept whole identity of the peasants.

Besides, the criticism to the globalization in India also reveals that Willie

searches his postcolonial identity. It can be proved through his statement that the


82

architectures in India are copied from foreign countries. He frustrates when Indian

cultures are destroyed by globalization. Here, he is not easy with the

transformation is because he places himself as an Indian. However, Willie is

impossible to formulate single identity in multicultural society.

It is here that the idea of postcolonial identity negotiation is revealed

through Willie’s diasporic movements in three different geographical locations.

Willie cannot find his fixed identity in his diasporic movements: Africa, India and

London. Thus, Willie’s struggle to formulate his true self, true identity is

something impossible. It is because the characteristic of identity is instability.


83

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Appendix

SUMMARY OF MAGIC SEEDS

Magic Seeds (2004) is V.S Naipaul’s latest novel before he passed away.

This novel tells the experiences of the major character, Willie, in three different

geographical locations: Africa, India and England. Magic Seeds, begins when

Willie, the main character, has travelled from India to become a student in

London, and published a book of stories. Later on he marries a woman of mixed

Portuguese and African ancestry and lives in her Portuguese African colony for 18

years. Willie does not have any job when he lived in Anna’s house. In Africa,

Willie is always haunted by the superior of Anna. Anna has luxurious house, a lot

of friends and big land. The lucky Willie also witnessed the guerilla war from his

wife’s house. Willie does not want the superior Anna dominating his life. Later he

decides to leave Africa to join his sister in Berlin. Willie's sister Sarojini, criticizes

of his passivity and lack of commitment toward the guerilla war in Africa. Willie

is supported to involve with revolution group in India. Finally, Willie agrees to go

back to his ancestor’s land.

Willie goes to India in order to join the revolution group which has been

discussed with his sister, Sarojini. Since Willie arrives in the airport, he is

assaulted by the emergence of strange culture by which he never found before. He

observes that the idea of father, ways of life and ways of thinking of the Indians

have changed. Willie is also surprised when he sees the architecture of the Riviera


88

Hotel where he spends couple of nights. The architecture of the Riviera Hotel is

copied from foreign hotel. Willie does not like the architecture of the Riviera

Hotel because it does not reveals the original culture of Indians. Willie says that it

is only wish to be modern. Willie spends couple nights in Riviera hotel. Then, he

moves to training camp where finds newcomer there. In the early days in the

training camp, Willie observes the surrounding; the sentries, the leader and the

rules. After Willie makes detail observations to the training camp, he begins

worried. It is because he joins the wrong revolution group. Willie does not want to

join the revolution group anymore. Although he does not attract to the revolution

group anymore, he has to follow all the rules in the training camp. Willie ends his

journey in India with the tragedy in which he is imprisoned. He spends six years

in the prison where he knows well the cruelty, corruption, intimidation and so on.

His sister, however, recruits Roger, an English lawyer and publisher who had

known Willie during his student life to release Willie from the prison. After Willie

free from the sentence, he moves to England.

Seemingly, England especially London impress Willie with luxurious

accommodations, houses, architecture and the technology. In London, Willie tries

to find out the proper job for him. He sends application letter to certain office in

Bloomsbury. He is offered the luxurious facilities and the freedom from the

company in which he can enjoy his life. Before he works on the company, Willie

has to follow certain training in which he meets many people from various

countries over the world. The habit of Willie to observe surrounding

circumstances still works in the training center. He sees that those people always


89

bring their own language, faith, culture and habit. Most of them are individualistic

and they enjoy their life in London. The story ends with Willie reflecting on his

life and on Britain's new multi-racial identity.


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