IJAH VOL 8 (1), JANUARY, 2019
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56
International Journal of Arts and Humanities (IJAH)
Ethiopia
Vol. 8 (1), S/No 28, JANUARY, 2019: 56-65
ISSN: 2225-8590 (Print) ISSN 2227-5452 (Online)
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ijah.v8i1.6
The Politics of Home and Identity in V.S. Naipaul's The Mimic Men
Asangaeneng, Joseph
Department of English
Akwa Ibom State University
Obio Akpa Campus, Oruk Anam
Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
E-mail: asangaenengjoseph@yahoo.com
Udoette, Monica
Department of English
Akwa Ibom State University
Obio Akpa Campus, Oruk Anam
Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
Email: msudoette@yahoo.com
Phone Number: +2348038021551
Abstract
The motive of "home" and "identity" seems to be a recurrent one in African-Diasporan
literature, especially the literature of the Caribbeans. This study presents V. S. Naipaul's The
Mimic Men as a postcolonial novel that depicts the effects of colonialism on colonized people.
The article clarifies the influence of colonialism on identity and how it affects the social,
political, and psychological aspects of the people of a small Caribbean Island. The study
highlights the manifestations related to the impact of colonization on self-identity and
psychological confusion. The paper concludes that characters are emblematic of home and
identity crisis and attest to the mimicry of displaced men.
Introduction
Home and the loss of home constitute a recurring motif in Postcolonial literatures. It
encompasses the psychic and physical experience of colonized and colonizers, the contact zone
where cultures meet and identities are formed, and of course embrace heterogeneity and