African Melting Pot
All through out the novel, A Bend In the River, VS Naipaul gives way to people being stuck between two cultures and without permanent residence. The majority of characters in the novel are found to be either of mixed race, culture, or part of a culture foreign to the region, each character playing an integral role and helping sculpt A Bend In the River. It is through characters such as Salim, Metty, Ferdinand, Shoba, and Mahesh that Naipaul expresses the racial feelings of Africa at the time. Salim is a man of Indian heritage living in a coastal African town where his people have prospered fro generations. An opportunity arises to own a shop inland and he jumps on it and begins the next period of his life. The novel is based around Salim's world. Through him Naipaul displays the feelings of race and of Africa. Salim's experience comes from his adulterous affair with a white woman, Yvette. His attraction is based somewhat upon the quest for the forbidden fruit. She was barefooted, feet white and beautiful and finely made. I looked at her feet before I considered her face and her blouse, black silk, embroidered round the low cut collar (126) The two of them met while listening to the civil rights music of Joan Bayez thus catal
Salim is the center of the novel and all of the relations stem from him, but each of the surrounding characters contributes to the overall display of mixture of cultures. Whether it is a young African boy trying to escape the bush, a slave afraid of absolute freedom, or an Indian couple building off of each others love, Naipaul does an excellent job showing the emotions and the struggles of finding identity and culture. Ferdinand attends the lycee where he is given many different facades to try on for size. The process he goes through is also experienced by Nazzarudin as they both attempt to themselves European. He continued to take on various personas such as, after Zabeth came to town Ferdinand would act the role as the son of a merchande, pretend to be Salim's business associate, the young African on his way up at the lycee, or copy the mannerisms of one of his European teachers and do things like lean against the wall cross legged. Ali, a servant from Salim's family travels inward to live with Salim at the bend in the river. It is there where the locals take to calling him "Metty", the French word for mixed. Metty struggles to find his place in world as he takes on the roles of Salim and acquires the mannerisms of the local people. Though enticed by his laugh and mysterious background he
Some common words found in the essay are:
Ferdinand Salim, Ferdinand Metty, Metty French, Africa Salim's, Mahesh Shoba's, Salim Indian, VS Naipaul, Mahesh Shoba, Metty Ferdinand, Joan Bayez, bend river, metty ferdinand, struggles world, indian couple, ferdinand metty,
Approximate Word count = 880
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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