The "Non-Native Native" in V.S. Naipaul's A Bend in the River

Abstract

This paper assesses V.S. Naipaul's A Bend in the River on the basis of the ideological orientation of the author and its manifestation in the novel, especially as represented in the frame of reference of the first-person narrator, Salim. The paper proposes that the community of Indian migrants to which Salim belongs is best understood as a "non-native native" group because of the ambiguous position it occupies in the colonial order. The paper questions the suggestion that Naipaul offers for the way out of that ambiguity on the grounds that it is meant to denigrate the African people. The paper argues that Salim functions primarily as a medium through whom Naipaul channels his own views regarding Africa. It does so through close examinations of Salim's views about Africa and of parallels between those views and Naipaul's own as evidenced by comments that commentators like Achebe and Theroux have made about Naipaul's perception of Africa.