NOTE: A “masseur” is a
term denoting something between a sage, a mystic, a spiritual healer, and a
prophet. Part of the comedy of this work
is how Ganesh enters into this profession, and whether or not V.S. Naipaul
feels there is anything heroic in his career: can a man with the wrong
intentions come out right?
Answer TWO of the
following…
Q1: What role do books and
knowledge (esp. English/European knowledge) play in Trinidadian society? How might this play into the conflict between
East and West that we’ve seen in previous works? Consider Ramlogan’s comment, “This reading,
sahib, is a great great thing” (34).
Q2: In Chapter One,
Naipaul writes that “I myself believe that the history of Ganesh is, in a way,
the history of our times” (18). In what way might Ganesh’s early career mirror
the struggle of many citizens in the postcolonial world? Why is it difficult
for Ganesh to find himself and establish a career and a life for himself?
Q3: When this novel was
written, Trinidad had only recently gained its independence from Britain Trinidad still very “British” in its ways and ideas, and how it this often
comically portrayed by Naipaul? You might also consider why the society clings
to these colonial ideas instead of replacing them with more ‘Non-Western’ laws
and ideas.
Q4: Naipaul writes much of
this work in dialect, capturing the natural speech of the island and the Indian
communities of Trinidad . Why might this be important for a book with such
a Non-Western point of view? Recall an earlier class where we discussed the
great literary debate of postcolonial societies: which language to write in?
How does Naipaul have his cake and eat it, too, in this case?
Q1: Being literate in their society seems to be a symbol of power. Leela can read and write, however, she prefers not to brag about it because she is shy. I think that this plays into the East and West conflict in that those that can read can understand the system that they are being made to live in, and therefore work to better it for themselves. On top of this, literature tends to portray those who can read and write as wiser and often as mentors to others.
ReplyDeleteQ4: The dialect helps to make everything seem stranger to those who can’t quite understand the dialect. It helps us pick up on the fact that we don’t quite know this society. This dialect can also help us look for different perspectives easier, as we are forced to give more effort into understanding what the characters are trying to present. I would imagine that Naipaul is happy with being allowed to write in broken English, as it helps to push the idea that the characters themselves would prefer to speak in another language.
Q1: Knowledge represents a sort of super power for the Trinidadian society. It is extremely rare to find a man who is educated in their society, especially in the small villages. Ganesh's father was so proud to send his son to college that he took him all around the villages just to tell the villagers his son was going to go get an education. Once Ganesh returned, he was viewed at such a higher level than any other person living in the village since he now had the knowledge to read and write correctly. In the west, knowledge is expected. In the east, knowledge is a privilege. The east views the west as taking advantage of the knowledge that they truly have.
ReplyDeleteQ2: Ganesh truly had no idea what to do with his knowledge once he graduated form college. He represents the times because many people went to school, because that was what you were supposed to do. They did not go to school to get a specific education that would steer them in the right path to the job they wanted to do. There is no path for Ganesh to take. After he got his education, he resulted back to the life that he knew in the country instead of persevering and finding a job in the cities that he had just got an education to pursue.
Q2: A person on his way to attaining knowledge and freedom is much like a country when it is free from its ruling power. It’s like losing your parents on the way to college. You lose your guiding force and you have to learn to make your way on your own. You have to make up your own rules, and you can’t rely on some higher power to save you when things go wrong. It’s also kind of nice though because you DO get to make up your own rules. No more 11 pm bedtime. No more greens at dinner. You’re free, but with that freedom comes a price. You have to be responsible and take care of yourself.
ReplyDeleteQ4: To completely capture the essence of a culture, you must immerse yourself in as much of it as you can. That includes the traditions, the language, and the people. If you’re going to tell a story about a Trinidadian from a Trinidadian’s point of view, you need to sound as authentic as possible. But only as authentic as you can get while still conveying the essential meaning of the story. If you get too far away from what you readers can understand, you've ruined the whole concept of the book. The use of culturally appropriate language is also good because it’s novel. It’s a good way to interest a reader and make them stop and really think about what they’re reading.
Q1: Books are a symbol of rare wisdom to Trinidadians. Not everyone receives an education there, and the people who don't receive an education merely know books as something people with an education can understand. Books just look like white pages with black scribbles on them so when an educated person can read and communicate the information on the pages to them, they hold power. This is also a way of communicating with Western countries, which is very important for resources and trading, and few people are able to do this. If books equal knowledge, than many books must equal a huge amount of knowledge. They don't know that some of the books might just be dictionaries or children's fiction. They definitely put Ganesh on a pedestal for having an education, even though he did poorly.
ReplyDeleteQ3: Something that struck me as "British" or "Western" in this story so far are the death rituals/funerals. When his father dies they seem to do a mixture of a modern Western funeral and traditional Trinidadian rituals. They cremate the body and have cars follow the car holding the body, but they have complete strangers in the home mourning and have his dead body on display in a casket in his own home. Also, their emphasis on school is very western, yet, they don't seem to fully understand how to mimic western schools. Also, women are treated well and are very opinionated and have a lot of personality, something that many eastern cultures we've read about lack so far. Women are portrayed in a positive light so far in the story. Also, the items in Ramlogan's store are American-sounding items but are broken or in poor condition, or look like they're covered in grease. Lastly, they play football. I'm assuming this is the football American's call soccer. This is a British sport being played by the teens in Trinidad. These are all humorous because they seem like half-hearted imitations or just regular imitations that somehow get jumbled in translation. Most likely all of these things remained after colonial presence was gone because they actually liked them. I just think they put their own spin on western things, just like they do with the English language. Some things are easy to adapt to and easier to learn to enjoy, rather than fighting it.
Q1: Books and knowledge play important roles in this novel. In the Trinidad culture, to have books is to be very wise and knowledgeable. It doesn't matter if you actually read the books or not, just the fact that you have them on display is enough to convince people of your amount of knowledge. Its different because in the WEstern world, to see something who can't read is a very foreign thing to us unless they are a child. Whereas in this culture, no one can really read or write. It shows the western world as more intelligent and the eastern as less than.
ReplyDeleteQ4: To write in a different dialect is important for this book because it shows the readers exactly how illiterate the people of Trinidad are. It gives you a view into their world, and lets you see things more from their perspective.