Naipaul's Latest Book on 'The Masque of Africa: Glimpse of African Belief'
Chambi Chachage
From: Errol Harry <errolh...@yahoo.com>
Sent: Sun, August 29, 2010 6:16:07 PM
Subject: Naipaul's latest book on Africa
The Masque of Africa by V S Naipaul: reviewSameer Rahim is puzzled by the ageing Nobel Prize winner’s punishing quest to expose Africa’s religious illusionsBy Sameer Rahim 
The Masque of Africa by V S Naipaul V S Naipaul’s father was once forced to sacrifice a goat to the Hindu goddess Kali. In June 1933, when Vidia was still a baby, Seepersad Naipaul had written an article in the Trinidad Guardian criticising Hindu farmers who ignored government regulations and inoculated their cattle with religious rites. His angry opponents threatened him with a poisoning curse unless he appeased the goddess. He refused at first but soon relented: wearing trousers rather than the traditional loincloth (his small rebellion), he offered up a severed goat’s head on a brass plate. In that Sunday’s paper he was all bluster: “Mr Naipaul greets you! No Poison last night”. But this “great humiliation”, as his son wrote in Finding the Centre (1984), destroyed his life. He lost his job and sunk into depression. According to Naipaul’s mother, “He looked in the mirror one day and couldn’t see himself. And he began to scream.” Over the course of his long writing career, V S Naipaul’s view of religion has moved – much like this story – from the potentially comic to the outright sinister. His first published novel, The Mystic Masseur (1957), was a satire on a fake pundit. In his masterpiece A House for Mr Biswas (1961) the title character (based on Seepersad) is expelled from his training as a Hindu priest when he pollutes some sacred flowers with his excrement. His travel book on India, An Area of Darkness (1964), took a harsher view of Hinduism and the caste system and after 1970, when he first learnt about his father’s ritual humiliation (the family had kept it an absolute secret), his work took on an unforgiving tone. Among the Believers (1981) and Beyond Belief (1998) blamed the problems in Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia and Pakistan exclusively on Islam. Third World peoples who refused to abandon their ancestral illusions for the civilised and secular values of the West – as Naipaul has so conspicuously done – are, he believes, condemned to backwardness. Now he has travelled to six countries – Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, the Ivory Coast, Gabon and South Africa – to discover the “nature of African belief”. The Masque of Africa starts in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, where Naipaul immediately observes a conflict between the native religion, offering “only the world of the spirits and the ancestors”, and the foreign religions (Islam and Christianity) whose new places of worship on the city’s hills are like “an applied and contagious illness, curing nothing, giving no final answers… fighting wrong battles, narrowing the mind”. He does not visit these mosques and churches; a view from the foothills is enough. When Naipaul does visit somewhere his observations can be acute. At the shrine of Mutesa I of Buganda, the 19th-century ruler who had dealings with John Speke and Henry Stanley, he feels a “sense of wonder”. But nearby he notices a boy tormenting a small kitten; he protests but his guide assures him the boy is just playing. “I didn’t believe him,” Naipaul says. Back in the hotel, he discovers that nine men were sacrificed at the shrine during its construction. For a brief moment he allowed himself to see through the eyes of the faithful, before widening his vision to examine what they chose not to see. Naipaul has always been able to spot a fraud, and the best writing in this book deals with native healers and fortune-tellers. In Uganda he enters a small office and spots a framed certificate on the wall: the witch doctor has an official licence so that “no believer need feel ashamed”. In Nigeria he teases a fortune-teller by asking whether or not his daughter will get married (Naipaul has no children). The man replies that she is cursed and that only a fee will release her. “But what he’s told me is good,” says a straight-faced Naipaul. “I don’t want the girl to get married.” He shows a touching sympathy for animals: tormented kittens are a running theme, along with mistreated horses and hunted bush animals (the forest is “like a free supermarket, open to everyone”). When he finds a house in Ghana with well-treated pets, he softens: “I began to be prejudiced in favour of the house.” But mostly Naipaul comes across here as tired and tetchy, complaining about being overcharged by his guides and the bad hotels (“the broken safe, the dusty refrigerator”). From his car window he sees children walking home from school in Uganda and comments, in what seems like a parody of Naipaulian pessimism, that “education and school uniforms, giving an illusion of possibility, was easy; much harder was the creation of a proper economy”. We learn that the “Nigerian mindset … resisted rationality” and that Chinese logging companies are motivated by a “hatred of the earth”. The one humorous moment in the book is marred by self-pity and a predictable dig at the locals. On the way to see some ancestral bones in Gabon, his “nervy, frail” legs give way and he falls to the ground. His guide brings a wheelbarrow. “But it was an African job, heavily rusted, and not sturdy, sagging below my weight when, leaning back far too much, I tried unsuccessfully to sit in it.” It is puzzling why Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul, at the age of 78, continues to punish himself with such travels. Perhaps, like his father, he is worried about what he sees when he looks in the mirror. Is he the Nobel Prize-winning sage who has written 30 acclaimed books over 50 years? Or is he a fraud, pretending to be a country gentleman in Wiltshire when his true home is among the wretched of the earth? He has seen through superstition and religion; he has exposed political idealism and racial nationalism. But his scepticism is so entrenched that his work is now cleansed of humour, imagination and human sympathy. The final line of The Masque of Africa claims that in post-apartheid South Africa “a resolution is not really possible until the people who wish to impose themselves on Africa violate some essential part of their being”. Naipaul’s imposing achievement has violated an essential part of his being. There is something deeply sad about watching him in the African forest, a wounded animal, looking for a final vindication of his own painful journey. The Masque of Africa: Glimpses of African Belief by V S Naipaul |
kenneth harrow
naipaul is the true exemplar of ox-cam british snobbism and racism toward africa, and the rest of the third world. really
ken harrow
At 11:36 AM 8/29/2010, you wrote:
----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Errol Harry <errolh...@yahoo.com>
Sent: Sun, August 29, 2010 6:16:07 PM
Subject: Naipaul's latest book on Africa
The Masque of Africa by V S Naipaul: review
Sameer Rahim is puzzled by the ageing Nobel Prize winner’s punishing quest to expose Africa’s religious illusions
By Sameer Rahim
Published: 5:19PM BST 27 Aug 2010
Comments
The Masque of Africa by V S Naipaul
V S Naipaul’s father was once forced to sacrifice a goat to the Hindu goddess Kali. In June 1933, when Vidia was still a baby, Seepersad Naipaul had written an article in the Trinidad Guardian criticising Hindu farmers who ignored government regulations and inoculated their cattle with religious rites.
His angry opponents threatened him with a poisoning curse unless he appeased the goddess. He refused at first but soon relented: wearing trousers rather than the traditional loincloth (his small rebellion), he offered up a severed goat’s head on a brass plate.
In that Sunday’s paper he was all bluster: “Mr Naipaul greets you! No Poison last night†. But this “great humiliation†, as his son wrote in Finding the Centre (1984), destroyed his life. He lost his job and sunk into depression. According to Naipaul’s mother, “He looked in the mirror one day and couldn’t see himself. And he began to scream.â€
Over the course of his long writing career, V S Naipaul’s view of religion has moved – much like this story – from om the potentially comic to the outright sinister. His first published novel, The Mystic Masseur (1957), was a satire on a fake pundit. In his masterpiece A House for Mr Biswas (1961) the title character (based on Seepersad) is expelled from his training as a Hindu priest when he pollutes some sacred flowers with his excrement. His travel book on India, An Area of Darkness (1964), took a harsher view of Hinduism and the caste system and after 1970, when he first learnt about his father’s ritual humiliation (the family had kept it an absolute secret), his work took on an unforgiving tone.
Among the Believers (1981) and Beyond Belief (1998) blamed the problems in Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia and Pakistan exclusively on Islam. Third World peoples who refused to abandon their ancestral illusions for the civilised and secular values of the West – as Naipaul has so cconspicuously done – are, he believes, condemned to backwardness.
Now he has travelled to six countries – Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, the Ivory Coast, Gabon and South Africa – to discover the “œnature of African belief†. The Masque of Africa starts in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, where Naipaul immediately observes a conflict between the native religion, offering “only the world of the spirits and the ancestors†, and the foreign religions (Islam and Christianity) whose new places of worship on the city’s hills are like “an applied and contagious illness, curing nothing, giving no final answers… fighting wrong battles, narrowing the mind†. He doess not visit these mosques and churches; a view from the foothills is enough.
When Naipaul does visit somewhere his observations can be acute. At the shrine of Mutesa I of Buganda, the 19th-century ruler who had dealings with John Speke and Henry Stanley, he feels a “sense of wonder†. But nearby he notices a boy tormenting a small kitten; he protests but his guide assures him the boy is just playing. “I didn’t believe him,†Naipaul says. Back in the hotel, he discovers that nine men were sacrificed at the shrine during its construction.
For a brief moment he allowed himself to see through the eyes of the faithful, before widening his vision to examine what they chose not to see.
Naipaul has always been able to spot a fraud, and the best writing in this book deals with native healers and fortune-tellers. In Uganda he enters a small office and spots a framed certificate on the wall: the witch doctor has an official licence so that “no believer need feel ashamed†. In Nigeria he teases a fortune-teller by asking whether or not his daughter will get married (Naipaul has no children). The man replies that she is cursed and that only a fee will release her. “But what he’s told me is good,†says a straight-faced Naipaul. “I don’t want the girl to get married.â€
He shows a touching sympathy for animals: tormented kittens are a running theme, along with mistreated horses and hunted bush animals (the forest is “like a free supermarket, open to everyone†). When he finds a house in Ghana with well-treated pets, he softens: “I began to be prejudiced in favour of the house.â€
But mostly Naipaul comes across here as tired and tetchy, complaining about being overcharged by his guides and the bad hotels (“the broken safe, the dusty refrigerator†). From his car window he sees children walking home from school in Uganda and comments, in what seems like a parody of Naipaulian pessimism, that “education and school uniforms, giving an illusion of possibility, was easy; much harder was the creation of a proper economy†. We learn that the “Nigerian mindset … resisted rationality†and that Chinese logging companies are motivated by a “hatred of the earth†.
The one humorous moment in the book is marred by self-pity and a predictable dig at the locals. On the way to see some ancestral bones in Gabon, his “nervy, frail†legs give way and he falls to the ground. His guide brings a wheelbarrow. “But it was an African job, heavily rusted, and not sturdy, sagging below my weight when, leaning back far too much, I tried unsuccessfully to sit in it.â€
It is puzzling why Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul, at the age of 78, continues to punish himself with such travels. Perhaps, like his father, he is worried about what he sees when he looks in the mirror. Is he the Nobel Prize-winning sage who has written 30 acclaimed books over 50 years? Or is he a fraud, pretending to be a country gentleman in Wiltshire when his true home is among the wretched of the earth? He has seen through superstition and religion; he has exposed political idealism and racial nationalism. But his scepticism is so entrenched that his work is now cleansed of humour, imagination and human sympathy.
The final line of The Masque of Africa claims that in post-apartheid South Africa “a resolution is not really possible until the people who wish to impose themselves on Africa violate some essential part of their being†. Naipaul’s imposing achievement has violated an essential part of his being. There is something deeply sad about watching him in the African forest, a wounded animal, looking for a final vindication of his own painful journey.
The Masque of Africa: Glimpses of African Belief by V S Naipaul
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Kenneth W. Harrow
Distinguished Professor of English
Michigan State University
har...@msu.edu
517 803-8839
fax 517 353 3755
xok...@yahoo.com
It is hard to defend Naipaul. Achebe already deconstructed Naipaul's demons and I couldn't agree with him more. But I must say, it is time to move from yelling at racists, real or imagined, to yelling at ourselves. Naipaul's A Bend in the River was written over four decades ago. It is easy to say that today, Sub-Saharan Africa may have regressed from that point in time. Why are things the way they are? We get defensive and yell: Can't you see, we are human like you, we wear suits, we eat ice cream with cutlery! Mimicry is our best defense against charges of our human ineptitude. Our leaders can barely sustain what passes for modern society, even when they are given all the resources. They steal it. Mimicry is all we know about. I asked a Kenyan professor on this list why Kenya is producing a "constitution" when the bulk of his people will not know one if it is pressed against their noses and he sputtered with savage rage. Don't you know all civilized societies have one of those, he lectured me with savage condescension. What is wrong with us? That is the same country where racist liberals were weeping with joy that they could mount used books on camels and make them go up some hill to feed destitute peasants literature. Let us face it: What is racist about pointing out that much of Africa is a farce today, many thanks to us her intellectuals and leaders?
Sameer Raheem seems to be musing more about the African intellectual when he observes this about Naipaul:
"Perhaps, like his father, he is worried about what he sees when he looks in the mirror. Is he the Nobel Prize-winning sage who has written 30 acclaimed books over 50 years? Or is he a fraud, pretending to be a country gentleman in Wiltshire when his true home is among the wretched of the earth?"
Oga Kenn, I have been reading about Vietnam and the brilliance and resilience of Ho Chi Minh in resisting every superior force of invasion from the French to the Chinese to the Americans you name it. You know the history of America's misadventures in Vietnam and how leadership can energise, educate and invigorate even the most destitute peasant to fight for his or her land. When you compare Ho Chi Minh to even our most revered African icons, I come to the robust conclusion that it is not our fault. The black continent is cursed by a most racist God, a narcissus that has separated us from the rest of humanity and clamped us in chains of degradation. I shall not worship him. Indeed I spit on his numerous temples. In the name of my ancestors! And yes a pox on all of Naipaul's houses!
- Ikhide
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
Moses Ebe Ochonu
The man deserves more pity than engagement.
There is enough in the world for everyone's need but not for everyone's greed.
---Mohandas Ghandi
Cornelius Hamelberg
page and the Guardian's review, my expectations are great:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/29/vs-naipaul-masque-of-africa-review
Jonathan Franzen may write with the principle in mind, that “The
reader is a friend, not an adversary, not a spectator.” - and perhaps
this is also Naipual's operative approach, since we can tell by his
book sales that he does have a very large and appreciative readership.
Is it safe to conclude then that he panders to the appetite and
expectations of his faithful fans/readers who want some more of the
same or must we credit him with being absolutely faithful to his own
experience, his own perceptions, like the true literary artist and
essayist he is?
Or is there no such thing?
I remember in 2001, when it was announced that V.S. had been awarded
the Nobel Prize in Literature. I called up two friends, one a great
intellectual from Guadeloupe and the other from Jamaica, to
congratulate them They both said exactly the same thing, one
word:”Collie-man”, which is a Carribean's derogatory description of an
Indian. Naipaul had already pissed them off.
In as far as biographical heresy can be applied to throw light on Mr.
Naipaul's literary output, Paul Theroux's “Sir Vidia's Shadow” has
given the most unkindest cut of all.
Paul Theroux should know. Had Sir Vidia written his ( Theroux's) “
Fong and the Indians” someone would have seen racism in the depiction
of Africans in that novel and perhaps cried, where I laughed at what I
thought was funny
Whether it is with V.S.'s “An Area of Darkness” - written about his
visit to his ancestral India, or his post-Salman Rushdie “Among the
Believers”about Islam and Islamists or the much referred to and in my
opinion innocuous “ A Bend in The River” one of Naipaul's functions
then is to prick us to some critical self-examination as Lord Ikhide
has just done. And for that should Naipaul - or his brother Shiva
Naipaul ( North of South”) be blighted?
Professor Harrow sounds remarkably like my dear Dr. Valentine Ojo when
he says what he says about V..S: Naipaul.
Perhaps, if Naipual had been Black instead of Brown, African, instead
of an Indian British Lord examining other cultures from the
perspective of a higher (the standards of Western Civilisation), and
seeing Africa and India through the lens of his higher culture, we
would not be accusing him of racism.
What then would we be accusing him – on the basis of his written word?
Arrogance?
The sort of cynicism that Evelyn Waugh has been accused of?
What?
I pause for a reply.
On Aug 29, 10:07 pm, Moses Ebe Ochonu <meoch...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Naipaul is irredeemable, a lost cause. The man cannot even cultivate and
> sustain personal relationships with his literary peers, crossing people left
> and right and telling them to "take it in the cheek like a man." He can't
> help himself in his role as a "Third World" advocate of Eucentric, racist
> universalism.
>
> The man deserves more pity than engagement.
>
>
>
> On Sun, Aug 29, 2010 at 12:10 PM, kenneth harrow <har...@msu.edu> wrote:
> > naipaul is one of the great racist writers of our time. a bend in the
> > river evokes every negative stereotype about africans imaginable; his cover?
> > 1. he is "third world" 2.mobuto's reign, and before it, lumumba's, was
> > regarded by naipaul's kind of readers and editors as uncivilized.
> > uncivilized means non-british, non-european, savage etc etc
> > naipaul is the true exemplar of ox-cam british snobbism and racism toward
> > africa, and the rest of the third world. really
> > ken harrow
>
> > At 11:36 AM 8/29/2010, you wrote:
>
> > ----- Forwarded Message ----
> > *Sent:* Sun, August 29, 2010 6:16:07 PM
> > *Subject:* Naipaul's latest book on Africa
>
> > *The Masque of Africa by V S Naipaul: review*
>
> > *Sameer Rahim is puzzled by the ageing Nobel Prize winner’s punishing
> > quest to expose Africa’s religious illusions *
> > By Sameer Rahim
> > Published: 5:19PM BST 27 Aug 2010
>
> > The Masque of Africa by V S Naipaul
>
> > V S Naipaul’s father was once forced to sacrifice a goat to the Hindu
> > goddess Kali. In June 1933, when Vidia was still a baby, Seepersad Naipaul
> > religious rites.
>
> > His angry opponents threatened him with a poisoning curse unless he
> > appeased the goddess. He refused at first but soon relented: wearing
> > trousers rather than the traditional loincloth (his small rebellion), he
> > offered up a severed goat’s head on a brass plate.
>
> > In that Sunday’s paper he was all bluster: “Mr Naipaul greets you! No
> > Poison last night†. But this “great humiliation†, as his son wrote in
> > one day and couldn’t see himself. And he began to scream.â€
>
> > Over the course of his long writing career, V S Naipaul’s view of
> > religion has moved – much like this story – from om the potentially comic to
> > was a satire on a fake pundit. In his masterpiece *A House for Mr Biswas*(1961) the title character (based on Seepersad) is expelled from his
> > learnt about his father’s ritual humiliation (the family had kept it an
> > absolute secret), his work took on an unforgiving tone.
>
> > Third World peoples who refused to abandon their ancestral illusions for the
> > civilised and secular values of the West – as Naipaul has so cconspicuously
> > done – are, he believes, condemned to backwardness.
>
> > Now he has travelled to six countries – Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, the Ivory
> > Coast, Gabon and South Africa – to discover the “œnature of African
> > wish to impose themselves on Africa violate some essential part of their
> > being†. Naipaul’s imposing achievement has violated an essential part of
> > his being. There is something deeply sad about watching him in the African
> > forest, a wounded animal, looking for a final vindication of his own painful
> > journey.
Chidi Anthony Opara
…………….Ken Harrow
Have Napaul and his paymasters not succeeded in pummeling our self
esteem?
In my opinion, they have. We must for instance, apply and win all
those neo-colonial Literary prizes to be relevant as writers and in
order to win these prizes, we must write what the promoters of these
prizes want us to write and the way they want it written.
We are still under imperialism and we are doing nothing about it
except to rave at mouthpieces of imperialism, the Napauls of this
earth.
Chidi Anthony Opara
http://www.chidiopararesume.blogspot.com
On Aug 29, 6:10 pm, kenneth harrow <har...@msu.edu> wrote:
> naipaul is one of the great racist writers of our
> time. a bend in the river evokes every negative
> stereotype about africans imaginable; his cover?
> 1. he is "third world" 2.mobuto's reign, and
> before it, lumumba's, was regarded by naipaul's
> kind of readers and editors as uncivilized.
> uncivilized means non-british, non-european, savage etc etc
> naipaul is the true exemplar of ox-cam british
> snobbism and racism toward africa, and the rest of the third world. really
> ken harrow
>
> At 11:36 AM 8/29/2010, you wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> >----- Forwarded Message ----
> >From: Errol Harry <errolharr...@yahoo.com>
> >Sent: Sun, August 29, 2010 6:16:07 PM
> >Subject: Naipaul's latest book on Africa
>
> >The Masque of Africa by V S Naipaul: review
>
> >Sameer Rahim is puzzled by the ageing Nobel
> >Prize winner’s punishing quest to expose Africa’s religious illusions
>
> >By Sameer Rahim
> >Published: 5:19PM BST 27 Aug 2010
>
>
> >--
> >You received this message because you are
> >subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series"
> >moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
> >For current archives, visit
> >For previous archives, visit
> ><http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html>http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
> >To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
> >unsub...@googlegroups.com
>
> Kenneth W. Harrow
> Distinguished Professor of English
> Michigan State University
> har...@msu.edu
> 517 803-8839
>
> - Show quoted text -
kenneth harrow
i wonder what racism would look like if not what
naipaul has written over all these years; he has
consistently constructed the most derogatory
images of africas, of dark skinned peoples in the
caribbean and in india. he writes as a brahmin, a
superior civilized being, who points out the
barbarism of those who have not attained what he considers civilization.
he does so by constructing characters whose
failings are linked to their skin color,
consistently, over and over, from the early writings down to the later ones.
i repeat my question, if he is not racist, if his
characterizations are not racist, what would racism look like?
ken
At 08:40 AM 8/30/2010, you wrote:
>I have not yet read Naipaul's latest but from the comments on this
>page and the Guardian's review, my expectations are great:
>
>http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/29/vs-naipaul-masque-of-africa-review
>
> Jonathan Franzen may write with the principle in mind, that “The
>reader is a friend, not an adversary, not a spectator.†- and perhaps
>this is also Naipual's operative approach, since we can tell by his
>book sales that he does have a very large and appreciative readership.
>Is it safe to conclude then that he panders to the appetite and
>expectations of his faithful fans/readers who want some more of the
>same or must we credit him with being absolutely faithful to his own
>experience, his own perceptions, like the true literary artist and
>essayist he is?
>
>Or is there no such thing?
>
>I remember in 2001, when it was announced that V.S. had been awarded
>the Nobel Prize in Literature. I called up two friends, one a great
>intellectual from Guadeloupe and the other from Jamaica, to
>congratulate them They both said exactly the same thing, one
>word:†Collie-man†, which is a Carribean's derogatory description of an
>Indian. Naipaul had already pissed them off.
>
>In as far as biographical heresy can be applied to throw light on Mr.
>Naipaul's literary output, Paul Theroux's “Sir Vidia's Shadow†has
>given the most unkindest cut of all.
>
>Paul Theroux should know. Had Sir Vidia written his ( Theroux's) “
>Fong and the Indians†someone would have seen racism in the depiction
>of Africans in that novel and perhaps cried, where I laughed at what I
>thought was funny
>
>Whether it is with V.S.'s “An Area of Darkness†- written about his
>visit to his ancestral India, or his post-Salman Rushdie “Among the
>Believers†about Islam and Islamists or the much referred to and in my
>opinion innocuous “ A Bend in The River†one of Naipaul's functions
>then is to prick us to some critical self-examination as Lord Ikhide
>has just done. And for that should Naipaul - or his brother Shiva
>Naipaul ( North of South†) be blighted?
>
>Professor Harrow sounds remarkably like my dear Dr. Valentine Ojo when
>he says what he says about V..S: Naipaul.
>
>Perhaps, if Naipual had been Black instead of Brown, African, instead
>of an Indian British Lord examining other cultures from the
>perspective of a higher (the standards of Western Civilisation), and
>seeing Africa and India through the lens of his higher culture, we
>would not be accusing him of racism.
>
>What then would we be accusing him on the basis of his written woord?
>Arrogance?
>The sort of cynicism that Evelyn Waugh has been accused of?
>What?
>I pause for a reply.
>
>
>On Aug 29, 10:07Â pm, Moses Ebe Ochonu <meoch...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Naipaul is irredeemable, a lost cause. The man cannot even cultivate and
> > sustain personal relationships with his
> literary peers, crossing people left
> > and right and telling them to "take it in the cheek like a man." He can't
> > help himself in his role as a "Third World" advocate of Eucentric, racist
> > universalism.
> >
> > The man deserves more pity than engagement.
> >
> >
> >
> > On Sun, Aug 29, 2010 at 12:10 PM, kenneth harrow <har...@msu.edu> wrote:
> > > Â naipaul is one of the great racist writers of our time. a bend in the
> > > river evokes every negative stereotype
> about africans imaginable; his cover?
> > > 1. he is "third world" 2.mobuto's reign, and before it, lumumba's, was
> > > regarded by naipaul's kind of readers and editors as uncivilized.
> > > uncivilized means non-british, non-european, savage etc etc
> > > naipaul is the true exemplar of ox-cam british snobbism and racism toward
> > > africa, and the rest of the third world. really
> > > ken harrow
> >
> > > At 11:36 AM 8/29/2010, you wrote:
> >
> > > ----- Forwarded Message ----
> > > *From:* Errol Harry <errolharr...@yahoo.com>
> > > *Sent:* Sun, August 29, 2010 6:16:07 PM
> > > *Subject:* Naipaul's latest book on Africa
> >
> > > *The Masque of Africa by V S Naipaul: review*
> >
> > > *Sameer Rahim is puzzled by the ageing
> Nobel Prize winner’s punishing
> > > quest to expose Africa̢۪s religious illusions *
>*
> >
> > > By Sameer Rahim
> > > Published: 5:19PM BST 27 Aug 2010
> >
> > > Â
> Comments<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/7966020/The-Masque-of-Africa...>
> > > [image: The Masque of Africa by V S Naipaul]
> > > The Masque of Africa by V S Naipaul
> >
> > > V S Naipaul̢۪s father was once forced to
> sacrificfice a goat to the Hindu
> > > goddess Kali. In June 1933, when Vidia was
> still a baby, Seepersad Naipaul
> > > had written an article in the *Trinidad Guardian* criticising Hindu
> > > farmers who ignored government regulations
> and inoculated their cattle with
> > > religious rites.
> >
> > > His angry opponents threatened him with a poisoning curse unless he
> > > appeased the goddess. He refused at first but soon relented: wearing
> > > trousers rather than the traditional loincloth (his small rebellion), he
> > > offered up a severed goat̢۪s head on a brass platlate.
> >
> > > In that Sunday̢۪s paper he was all
> bluster: Ã: “Mr Naipaul greets you! No
>
> > > Poison last night†. But this “great
> eat humiliation†, as his son wrote in
> > > *Finding the Centre* (1984), destroyed his life. He lost his job and sunk
> > > into depression. According to Naipaul̢۪s
> mother, r, “He looked in the mirror
>
> > > one day and couldn’t see himself. And he began tn to scream.â€
> >
> > > Over the course of his long writing career,
> V S °S Naipaul’s view of
>f
> > > religion has moved much like this story
> from om thethe potentially comic to
> > > the outright sinister. His first published
> novel, *The Mystic Masseur *(1957),
> > > was a satire on a fake pundit. In his
> masterpiece *A House for Mr Biswas*(1961) the
> title character (based on Seepersad) is expelled from his
> > > training as a Hindu priest when he pollutes some sacred flowers with his
> > > excrement. His travel book on India, *An Area of Darkness* (1964), took a
> > > harsher view of Hinduism and the caste
> system and after 1970, when he first
> > > learnt about his father̢۪s ritual
> humiliation (th(the family had kept it an
> > > absolute secret), his work took on an unforgiving tone.
> >
> > > *Among the Believers* (1981) and *Beyond Belief* (1998) blamed the
> > > problems in Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia and Pakistan exclusively on Islam.
> > > Third World peoples who refused to abandon
> their ancestral illusions for the
> > > civilised and secular values of the West
> as Naipaul has so ccconspicuously
> > > done are, he believes, condemned to backwardness.
> >
> > > Now he has travelled to six countries
> Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria,, the Ivory
> > > Coast, Gabon and South Africa to discover the â€â‚¬œœnature of African
> > > belief†. *The Masque of Africa* starts in Kampala, the ccapital of
> > > Uganda, where Naipaul immediately observes a conflict between the native
> > > religion, offering “only the world of
> the spirits a and the ancestors†,
> > > and the foreign religions (Islam and Christianity) whose new places of
> > > worship on the city̢۪s hills are like
> ââ“an applied and contagious illness,
> > > curing nothing, giving no final answers…
> fighting wrong battless, narrowing
> > > the mind†. He doess not visit these
> mosques and churchess; a view from the
> > > foothills is enough.
> >
> > > When Naipaul does visit somewhere his observations can be acute. At the
> > > shrine of Mutesa I of Buganda, the
> 19th-century ruler who had dealings with
> > > John Speke and Henry Stanley, he feels a
> “sense of f wonder†. But nearby
> > > he notices a boy tormenting a small kitten; he protests but his guide
> > > assures him the boy is just playing. “I
> didnâ’t believe him,†Naipaul
>aul
> > > says. Back in the hotel, he discovers that
> nine men were sacrificed at the
> > > shrine during its construction.
> >
> > > For a brief moment he allowed himself to see through the eyes of the
> > > faithful, before widening his vision to
> examine what they chose not to see.
> >
> > > Naipaul has always been able to spot a
> fraud, and the best writing in this
> > > book deals with native healers and fortune-tellers. In Uganda he enters a
> > > small office and spots a framed certificate on the wall: the witch doctor
> > > has an official licence so that “no
> believer need f feel ashamed†. In
> > > Nigeria he teases a fortune-teller by asking whether or not his daughter
> > > will get married (Naipaul has no children). The man replies that she is
> > > cursed and that only a fee will release
> her. “But w what he’s told me is
>s
> > > good,†says a straight-faced Naipaul.
> â€Å‚¬Å“I don’t want the girl to get
>t
> > > married.â€
> >
> > > He shows a touching sympathy for animals: tormented kittens are a running
> > > theme, along with mistreated horses and
> hunted bush animals (the forest is
> > > “like a free supermarket, open to
> everyoneââ¢â‚¬ ). When he finds a house in
> > > Ghana with well-treated pets, he softens:
> “I began n to be prejudiced in
> > > favour of the house.â€
> >
> > > But mostly Naipaul comes across here as
> tired and tetchy, complaining about
> > > being overcharged by his guides and the bad
> hotels (â€ÅÅ“the broken safe, the
> > > dusty refrigerator†). From his car
> window he sees childrren walking home
> > > from school in Uganda and comments, in what seems like a parody of
> > > Naipaulian pessimism, that “education and school ununiforms, giving an
> > > illusion of possibility, was easy; much
> harder was the creation of a proper
> > > economy†. We learn that the
> “Nigeriaerian mindset … resisted rationalityâ€
>¬
> > > and that Chinese logging companies are motivated by a ‬œhatred of the
> > > earth†.
> >
> > > The one humorous moment in the book is marred by self-pity and a
> > > predictable dig at the locals. On the way to see some ancestral bones in
> > > Gabon, his “nervy, frail†legs give
> wve way and he falls to the ground. His
> > > guide brings a wheelbarrow. “But it was
> an African n job, heavily rusted,
> > > and not sturdy, sagging below my weight
> when, leaning back far too much, I
> > > tried unsuccessfully to sit in it.â€
> >
> > > It is puzzling why Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul, at the age of 78,
> > > continues to punish himself with such
> travels. Perhaps, like his father, he
> > > is worried about what he sees when he looks
> in the mirror. Is he the Nobel
> > > Prize-winning sage who has written 30
> acclaimed books over 50 years? Or is
> > > he a fraud, pretending to be a country
> gentleman in Wiltshire when his true
> > > home is among the wretched of the earth? He has seen through superstition
> > > and religion; he has exposed political
> idealism and racial nationalism. But
> > > his scepticism is so entrenched that his work is now cleansed of humour,
> > > imagination and human sympathy.
> >
> > > The final line of *The Masque of Africa* claims that in post-apartheid
> > > South Africa “a resolution is not really
> possible u until the people who
> > > wish to impose themselves on Africa violate some essential part of their
> > > being†. Naipaul’s imposing
> achievchievement has violated an essential part of
> > > his being. There is something deeply sad
> about watching him in the African
> > > forest, a wounded animal, looking for a
> final vindication of his own painful
> > > journey.
> > > Â The Masque of Africa: Glimpses of African
> Belief<http://books.telegraph.co.uk/BerteShopWeb/viewProduct.do?ISBN=9780330...>by
> V S Naipaul
> >
> > > --
> > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa
> > > Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola,
> University of Texas at Austin.
> > > For current archives, visit
> > >http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
> > > For previous archives, visit
> > >http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
> > > To post to this group, send an email to
> USAAfric...@googlegroups.com
> > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
> > > unsub...@googlegroups.com
> >
> > > Â Kenneth W. Harrow
kenneth harrow
the problem is not that naipaul mounted
criticisms of africa or africans. but that all he
sees of africa and africans is evil. perhaps we
can say that there were real flaws in black
culture after the american civil war, and that
depicting the legislatures in the south as
dysfunctional was an accepted critique. but if
all one sees are subhumans in those who represent
the flaws, one is generating racist stereotypes,
not simply critiquing. there has to be a
difference between the two, between a critique
generated from the perspective that those being
critiqued are still human like all humans, and
another that evokes their animality and evil
natures as those of inferior beings, as meriting
being spit upon, as those whose vaginas merit
being spit upon....naipaul's scene, not mine, in bend in the river.
if naipaul is not a racist, maybe griffith's
birth of a nation isn't, and the greatest emblems
of racism are merely humorous criticisms.
maybe not.
tell me how to read someone who consistently
represents dark skinned people as inferior, if not as a racist.
ken
At 08:40 AM 8/30/2010, you wrote:
>I have not yet read Naipaul's latest but from the comments on this
>page and the Guardian's review, my expectations are great:
>
>http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/29/vs-naipaul-masque-of-africa-review
>
> Jonathan Franzen may write with the principle in mind, that “The
>reader is a friend, not an adversary, not a spectator.†- and perhaps
>this is also Naipual's operative approach, since we can tell by his
>book sales that he does have a very large and appreciative readership.
>Is it safe to conclude then that he panders to the appetite and
>expectations of his faithful fans/readers who want some more of the
>same or must we credit him with being absolutely faithful to his own
>experience, his own perceptions, like the true literary artist and
>essayist he is?
>
>Or is there no such thing?
>
>I remember in 2001, when it was announced that V.S. had been awarded
>the Nobel Prize in Literature. I called up two friends, one a great
>intellectual from Guadeloupe and the other from Jamaica, to
>congratulate them They both said exactly the same thing, one
>word:†Collie-man†, which is a Carribean's derogatory description of an
>Indian. Naipaul had already pissed them off.
>
>In as far as biographical heresy can be applied to throw light on Mr.
>Naipaul's literary output, Paul Theroux's “Sir Vidia's Shadow†has
>given the most unkindest cut of all.
>
>Paul Theroux should know. Had Sir Vidia written his ( Theroux's) “
>Fong and the Indians†someone would have seen racism in the depiction
>of Africans in that novel and perhaps cried, where I laughed at what I
>thought was funny
>
>Whether it is with V.S.'s “An Area of Darkness†- written about his
>visit to his ancestral India, or his post-Salman Rushdie “Among the
>Believers†about Islam and Islamists or the much referred to and in my
>opinion innocuous “ A Bend in The River†one of Naipaul's functions
>then is to prick us to some critical self-examination as Lord Ikhide
>has just done. And for that should Naipaul - or his brother Shiva
>Naipaul ( North of South†) be blighted?
>
>Professor Harrow sounds remarkably like my dear Dr. Valentine Ojo when
>he says what he says about V..S: Naipaul.
>
>Perhaps, if Naipual had been Black instead of Brown, African, instead
>of an Indian British Lord examining other cultures from the
>perspective of a higher (the standards of Western Civilisation), and
>seeing Africa and India through the lens of his higher culture, we
>would not be accusing him of racism.
>
>What then would we be accusing him on the basis of his written woord?
>Arrogance?
>The sort of cynicism that Evelyn Waugh has been accused of?
>What?
>I pause for a reply.
>
>
>On Aug 29, 10:07Â pm, Moses Ebe Ochonu <meoch...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Naipaul is irredeemable, a lost cause. The man cannot even cultivate and
> > sustain personal relationships with his
> literary peers, crossing people left
> > and right and telling them to "take it in the cheek like a man." He can't
> > help himself in his role as a "Third World" advocate of Eucentric, racist
> > universalism.
> >
> > The man deserves more pity than engagement.
> >
> >
> >
> > On Sun, Aug 29, 2010 at 12:10 PM, kenneth harrow <har...@msu.edu> wrote:
> > > Â naipaul is one of the great racist writers of our time. a bend in the
> > > river evokes every negative stereotype
> about africans imaginable; his cover?
> > > 1. he is "third world" 2.mobuto's reign, and before it, lumumba's, was
> > > regarded by naipaul's kind of readers and editors as uncivilized.
> > > uncivilized means non-british, non-european, savage etc etc
> > > naipaul is the true exemplar of ox-cam british snobbism and racism toward
> > > africa, and the rest of the third world. really
> > > ken harrow
> >
> > > At 11:36 AM 8/29/2010, you wrote:
> >
> > > ----- Forwarded Message ----
> > > *From:* Errol Harry <errolharr...@yahoo.com>
> > > *Sent:* Sun, August 29, 2010 6:16:07 PM
> > > *Subject:* Naipaul's latest book on Africa
> >
> > > *The Masque of Africa by V S Naipaul: review*
> >
> > > *Sameer Rahim is puzzled by the ageing
> Nobel Prize winner’s punishing
> > > quest to expose Africa̢۪s religious illusions *
>*
> >
> > > By Sameer Rahim
> > > Published: 5:19PM BST 27 Aug 2010
> >
> > > Â
> Comments<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/7966020/The-Masque-of-Africa...>
> > > [image: The Masque of Africa by V S Naipaul]
> > > The Masque of Africa by V S Naipaul
> >
> > > V S Naipaul̢۪s father was once forced to
> sacrificfice a goat to the Hindu
> > > goddess Kali. In June 1933, when Vidia was
> still a baby, Seepersad Naipaul
> > > had written an article in the *Trinidad Guardian* criticising Hindu
> > > farmers who ignored government regulations
> and inoculated their cattle with
> > > religious rites.
> >
> > > His angry opponents threatened him with a poisoning curse unless he
> > > appeased the goddess. He refused at first but soon relented: wearing
> > > trousers rather than the traditional loincloth (his small rebellion), he
> > > offered up a severed goat̢۪s head on a brass platlate.
> >
> > > In that Sunday̢۪s paper he was all
> bluster: Ã: “Mr Naipaul greets you! No
>
> > > Poison last night†. But this “great
> eat humiliation†, as his son wrote in
> > > *Finding the Centre* (1984), destroyed his life. He lost his job and sunk
> > > into depression. According to Naipaul̢۪s
> mother, r, “He looked in the mirror
>
> > > one day and couldn’t see himself. And he began tn to scream.â€
> >
> > > Over the course of his long writing career,
> V S °S Naipaul’s view of
>f
> > > religion has moved much like this story
> from om thethe potentially comic to
> > > the outright sinister. His first published
> novel, *The Mystic Masseur *(1957),
> > > was a satire on a fake pundit. In his
> masterpiece *A House for Mr Biswas*(1961) the
> title character (based on Seepersad) is expelled from his
> > > training as a Hindu priest when he pollutes some sacred flowers with his
> > > excrement. His travel book on India, *An Area of Darkness* (1964), took a
> > > harsher view of Hinduism and the caste
> system and after 1970, when he first
> > > learnt about his father̢۪s ritual
> humiliation (th(the family had kept it an
> > > absolute secret), his work took on an unforgiving tone.
> >
> > > *Among the Believers* (1981) and *Beyond Belief* (1998) blamed the
> > > problems in Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia and Pakistan exclusively on Islam.
> > > Third World peoples who refused to abandon
> their ancestral illusions for the
> > > civilised and secular values of the West
> as Naipaul has so ccconspicuously
> > > done are, he believes, condemned to backwardness.
> >
> > > Now he has travelled to six countries
> Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria,, the Ivory
> > > Coast, Gabon and South Africa to discover the â€â‚¬œœnature of African
> > > belief†. *The Masque of Africa* starts in Kampala, the ccapital of
> > > Uganda, where Naipaul immediately observes a conflict between the native
> > > religion, offering “only the world of
> the spirits a and the ancestors†,
> > > and the foreign religions (Islam and Christianity) whose new places of
> > > worship on the city̢۪s hills are like
> ââ“an applied and contagious illness,
> > > curing nothing, giving no final answers…
> fighting wrong battless, narrowing
> > > the mind†. He doess not visit these
> mosques and churchess; a view from the
> > > foothills is enough.
> >
> > > When Naipaul does visit somewhere his observations can be acute. At the
> > > shrine of Mutesa I of Buganda, the
> 19th-century ruler who had dealings with
> > > John Speke and Henry Stanley, he feels a
> “sense of f wonder†. But nearby
> > > he notices a boy tormenting a small kitten; he protests but his guide
> > > assures him the boy is just playing. “I
> didnâ’t believe him,†Naipaul
>aul
> > > says. Back in the hotel, he discovers that
> nine men were sacrificed at the
> > > shrine during its construction.
> >
> > > For a brief moment he allowed himself to see through the eyes of the
> > > faithful, before widening his vision to
> examine what they chose not to see.
> >
> > > Naipaul has always been able to spot a
> fraud, and the best writing in this
> > > book deals with native healers and fortune-tellers. In Uganda he enters a
> > > small office and spots a framed certificate on the wall: the witch doctor
> > > has an official licence so that “no
> believer need f feel ashamed†. In
> > > Nigeria he teases a fortune-teller by asking whether or not his daughter
> > > will get married (Naipaul has no children). The man replies that she is
> > > cursed and that only a fee will release
> her. “But w what he’s told me is
>s
> > > good,†says a straight-faced Naipaul.
> â€Å‚¬Å“I don’t want the girl to get
>t
> > > married.â€
> >
> > > He shows a touching sympathy for animals: tormented kittens are a running
> > > theme, along with mistreated horses and
> hunted bush animals (the forest is
> > > “like a free supermarket, open to
> everyoneââ¢â‚¬ ). When he finds a house in
> > > Ghana with well-treated pets, he softens:
> “I began n to be prejudiced in
> > > favour of the house.â€
> >
> > > But mostly Naipaul comes across here as
> tired and tetchy, complaining about
> > > being overcharged by his guides and the bad
> hotels (â€ÅÅ“the broken safe, the
> > > dusty refrigerator†). From his car
> window he sees childrren walking home
> > > from school in Uganda and comments, in what seems like a parody of
> > > Naipaulian pessimism, that “education and school ununiforms, giving an
> > > illusion of possibility, was easy; much
> harder was the creation of a proper
> > > economy†. We learn that the
> “Nigeriaerian mindset … resisted rationalityâ€
>¬
> > > and that Chinese logging companies are motivated by a ‬œhatred of the
> > > earth†.
> >
> > > The one humorous moment in the book is marred by self-pity and a
> > > predictable dig at the locals. On the way to see some ancestral bones in
> > > Gabon, his “nervy, frail†legs give
> wve way and he falls to the ground. His
> > > guide brings a wheelbarrow. “But it was
> an African n job, heavily rusted,
> > > and not sturdy, sagging below my weight
> when, leaning back far too much, I
> > > tried unsuccessfully to sit in it.â€
> >
> > > It is puzzling why Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul, at the age of 78,
> > > continues to punish himself with such
> travels. Perhaps, like his father, he
> > > is worried about what he sees when he looks
> in the mirror. Is he the Nobel
> > > Prize-winning sage who has written 30
> acclaimed books over 50 years? Or is
> > > he a fraud, pretending to be a country
> gentleman in Wiltshire when his true
> > > home is among the wretched of the earth? He has seen through superstition
> > > and religion; he has exposed political
> idealism and racial nationalism. But
> > > his scepticism is so entrenched that his work is now cleansed of humour,
> > > imagination and human sympathy.
> >
> > > The final line of *The Masque of Africa* claims that in post-apartheid
> > > South Africa “a resolution is not really
> possible u until the people who
> > > wish to impose themselves on Africa violate some essential part of their
> > > being†. Naipaul’s imposing
> achievchievement has violated an essential part of
> > > his being. There is something deeply sad
> about watching him in the African
> > > forest, a wounded animal, looking for a
> final vindication of his own painful
> > > journey.
> > > Â The Masque of Africa: Glimpses of African
> Belief<http://books.telegraph.co.uk/BerteShopWeb/viewProduct.do?ISBN=9780330...>by
> V S Naipaul
> >
> > > --
> > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa
> > > Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola,
> University of Texas at Austin.
> > > For current archives, visit
> > >http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
> > > For previous archives, visit
> > >http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
> > > To post to this group, send an email to
> USAAfric...@googlegroups.com
> > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
> > > unsub...@googlegroups.com
> >
> > > Â Kenneth W. Harrow
Cornelius Hamelberg
I'm seeking some more direction from you.
At this very moment I'm strangely reminded of Ulli Beier of whom I
heard an anthropologist joke that he was he was leaving Nigeria for
Papua New Guinea, which he described as “ another area of darkness”
Some people see, have seen Naipaul and Rushdie as the Wild West's
literary attack dogs who in fiction and non-fiction peer into our
backwardness, to wage war on cherished religious and cultural values
and the life lived outside of the pale of Western Civilisation, the
Western Civilisation of which when asked, Mahatma Gandhi said “I
think it would be a good idea.”
I erroneously referred to “Among the Believers” as post -Salman
Rushdie, because it has been around for so long; perhaps it even paved
the way for “ The Satanic Verses” and enjoyed even greater popularity
after Rushdie's controversial novel.
We all agree that V.S. Naipaul is an engaging writer, perhaps a great
writer, one that we do not neglect and some of us seem to be forced to
read, just because he visits some of our natural habitats. Is that not
so?
The Nobel Prize committee awarded Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul
the Nobel Prize in Literature for largesse of spirit, not for for
being a racist or for being “one of the great racist writers of our
time “ but "for having united perceptive narrative and incorruptible
scrutiny in works that compel us to see the presence of suppressed
histories".
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2001/naipaul.html
After the award he has not rested on his laurels but suitably
encouraged and rewarded has continued in the same vein, turning his
lights on and exposing other areas of darkness with even greater
intensity ( insensitivity?) and gained an even greater audience.
Can he also be accused of rank dishonesty in his “Beyond Belief:
Islamic Excursions among the Converted Peoples”?
I got a copy of his “ Half a life” from his Swedish literary agent for
Christmas, 2001 or 2 .She was at the Noble Banquet and may have a
soft heart for him and seems to to think that he's a nice bloke.
That's women for you, can have a soft spot for every kind of
scoundrel. Beauty and the Beast.
But does the Selection committee of the Swedish Academy need to have
their heads examined ? Do they see the “racism” that you see in the
unrepentant Naipaul – or do you think that conscious as he is, he is
simply unaware of it ? Was it a mistake to award him the Nobel Prize
and should we tolerate the Swedish Academy awarding such prizes to
writers such as Sir Vidia or should the prize be withdrawn now or even
posthumously?
http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUK257&q=Nobel+Prize+%3A+Naipaul
>
> read more »- Hide quoted text -
Cornelius Hamelberg
Emeagwali, Gloria (History)
Note also that Naipaul’s work directly and indirectly reflects aspects of the excruciating racial tension
within Trinidad and Tobago.
Gloria Emeagwali
From:
usaafric...@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafric...@googlegroups.com] On
Behalf Of Moses Ebe Ochonu
Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2010 4:08 PM
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Naipaul's Latest Book on 'The
Masque of Africa: Glimpse of African Belief'
Naipaul is irredeemable, a lost cause. The man cannot even cultivate and sustain personal relationships with his literary peers, crossing people left and right and telling them to "take it in the cheek like a man." He can't help himself in his role as a "Third World" advocate of Eucentric, racist universalism.
The man deserves more pity than engagement.
On Sun, Aug 29, 2010 at 12:10 PM, kenneth harrow <har...@msu.edu> wrote:
naipaul is one of the great racist writers of our time. a
bend in the river evokes every negative stereotype about africans imaginable;
his cover? 1. he is "third world" 2.mobuto's reign, and before it,
lumumba's, was regarded by naipaul's kind of readers and editors as
uncivilized. uncivilized means non-british, non-european, savage etc etc
naipaul is the true exemplar of ox-cam british snobbism and racism toward
africa, and the rest of the third world. really
ken harrow
At 11:36 AM 8/29/2010, you wrote:
----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Errol Harry <errolh...@yahoo.com>
Sent: Sun, August 29, 2010 6:16:07 PM
Subject: Naipaul's latest book on Africa
The Masque of Africa by V S Naipaul: review
Sameer Rahim is puzzled by the ageing Nobel Prize winner’s punishing quest to expose Africa’s religious illusions
By Sameer Rahim
Published: 5:19PM BST 27 Aug 2010
Comments
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kenneth harrow
i do not have time for deep reflections now as 2
course preps for tomorrow are still to be undertaken.
first, i read the early, trinidad novels of
naipaul, and then on to bend in the river, among
the unbelievers. after that i pretty much stopped.
i will rely on your reflections to answer the
question i posed: what would a racist author look
like? i am not really interested in obtaining the
answer from the nobel committee, but rather from
the engaged scholars here on this list, and other
experts in naipaul. you know his work much more than i do. enlighten us.
he wrote of 3d world intellectuals as attempting
to become civilized by imitating the real thing,
english intellectuals who were not afraid to
assert the primacy of their venerable
civilization. he bought the crap lock stock and
barrel, and those who were not up to the task
were mere mimic men. africa then became the site
for the feebleness of imitation, the failed
assimilation policies of the colonizers who never
really meant it, and of a barbarism closer to
conrad's imagery than say achebe's. there is no
humanity in the naipaul africans; the indians of
africa were cynics out for a buck, making their
way through the savages; naipaul opened a cynical
eye onto the political scene, and that was enough
for the superior tastes of europeans who don't
know a thing about actual african people to be wowed by him.
there was nothing left; no love, no beauty, no
humanity, no possibility except to follow his own
path to the hallowed halls of oxford, or was it cambridge.
he was interviewed by an ayatollah in Among the
Believers, and asked where he came from. he
stated, the islands. but, he tells the reader,
the real answer would have been england, oxford,
the real home for an intellectual like himself.
the islands were long since left behind.
i could have continued reading his entertaining
books, but my time was limited. was i to spend
the valuable time on him, or on soyinka's latest,
on the newest nigerian stars, on the latest
senegalese film? stories of naipaul's horrific
views of black people continued to be circulated,
comments that a colleague from the netherlands
relayed to me, confirming the worst impressions
of racist beliefs. i do not have time to devote
to him while i still have an unread assia djebar
novel to read. i commend djebar to us all; she is
beauty itself; he is the opposite
ken
At 06:37 AM 8/31/2010, you wrote:
>Professor Harrow & Co,
>
>I'm seeking some more direction from you.
>
>At this very moment I'm strangely reminded of Ulli Beier of whom I
>heard an anthropologist joke that he was he was leaving Nigeria for
>Papua New Guinea, which he described as “ another area of darknessâ€
>
>Some people see, have seen Naipaul and Rushdie as the Wild West's
>literary attack dogs who in fiction and non-fiction peer into our
>backwardness, to wage war on cherished religious and cultural values
>and the life lived outside of the pale of Western Civilisation, the
>Western Civilisation of which when asked, Mahatma Gandhi said “I
>think it would be a good idea.â€
>
>I erroneously referred to “Among the Believers†as post -Salman
>Rushdie, because it has been around for so long; perhaps it even paved
>the way for “ The Satanic Verses†and enjoyed even greater popularity
>after Rushdie's controversial novel.
>
>We all agree that V.S. Naipaul is an engaging writer, perhaps a great
>writer, one that we do not neglect and some of us seem to be forced to
>read, just because he visits some of our natural habitats. Is that not
>so?
>
>The Nobel Prize committee awarded Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul
>the Nobel Prize in Literature for largesse of spirit, not for for
>being a racist or for being “one of the great racist writers of our
>time “ but "for having united perceptive narrative and incorruptible
>scrutiny in works that compel us to see the presence of suppressed
>histories".
>
>http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2001/naipaul.html
>
>After the award he has not rested on his laurels but suitably
>encouraged and rewarded has continued in the same vein, turning his
>lights on and exposing other areas of darkness with even greater
>intensity ( insensitivity?) and gained an even greater audience.
>
>Can he also be accused of rank dishonesty in his “Beyond Belief:
>Islamic Excursions among the Converted Peoples†?
>
>I got a copy of his “ Half a life†from his Swedish literary agent for
>Christmas, 2001 or 2 .She was at the Noble Banquet and may have a
>soft heart for him and seems to to think that he's a nice bloke.
>That's women for you, can have a soft spot for every kind of
>scoundrel. Beauty and the Beast.
>
> But does the Selection committee of the Swedish Academy need to have
>their heads examined ? Do they see the “racism†that you see in the
>unrepentant Naipaul or do you think that conscious as he is, he is
>simply unaware of it ? Was it a mistake to award him the Nobel Prize
>and should we tolerate the Swedish Academy awarding such prizes to
>writers such as Sir Vidia or should the prize be withdrawn now or even
>posthumously?
>
>http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUK257&q=Nobel+Prize+%3A+Naipaul
>
>
>
>
>On Aug 30, 4:43Â pm, kenneth harrow <har...@msu.edu> wrote:
> > i need to simplify in responding here, to
> both friends cornelius and ikhide:
> > the problem is not that naipaul mounted
> > criticisms of africa or africans. but that all he
> > sees of africa and africans is evil. perhaps we
> > can say that there were real flaws in black
> > culture after the american civil war, and that
> > depicting the legislatures in the south as
> > dysfunctional was an accepted critique. but  if
> > all one sees are subhumans in those who represent
> > the flaws, one is generating racist stereotypes,
> > not simply critiquing. there has to be a
> > difference between the two, between a critique
> > generated from the perspective that those being
> > critiqued are still human like all humans, and
> > another that evokes their animality and evil
> > natures as those of inferior beings, as meriting
> > being spit upon, as those whose vaginas merit
> > being spit upon....naipaul's scene, not mine, in bend in the river.
> > if naipaul is not a racist, maybe griffith's
> > birth of a nation isn't, and the greatest emblems
> > of racism are merely humorous criticisms.
> > maybe not.
> > tell me how to read someone who consistently
> > represents dark skinned people as inferior, if not as a racist.
> > ken
> >
> > At 08:40 AM 8/30/2010, you wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > >I have not yet read Naipaul's latest but from the comments on this
> > >page and the Guardian's review, my expectations are great:
> >
> > >http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/29/vs-naipaul-masque-of-afri...
> >
> > >  Jonathan Franzen may write with the principle in mind, that “The
>
> > >reader is a friend, not an adversary, not a spectator.† - and perhaps
> > >this is also Naipual's operative approach, since  we can tell by his
> > >book sales that he does have a very large and appreciative readership.
> > >Is it safe to conclude then that he panders to the appetite and
> > >expectations of his faithful fans/readers who want some more of the
> > >same or must we credit him with being absolutely faithful to his own
> > >experience, his own perceptions, like the true literary artist and
> > >essayist he is?
> >
> > >Or is there no such thing?
> >
> > >I remember in 2001, when it was announced that V.S. had been awarded
> > >the Nobel Prize in Literature. I called up two friends, one a great
> > >intellectual from Guadeloupe and the other from Jamaica, to
> > >congratulate them  They both said exactly  the same thing, one
> > >word:†Collie-man†, which is a
> Carribean's 's derogatory description of an
> > >Indian. Naipaul had already pissed them off.
> >
> > >In as far as biographical heresy can be applied to throw light on Mr.
> > >Naipaul's literary output, Paul Theroux's
> “Sir Vidiaia's Shadow† has
> > >given the most unkindest cut of all.
> >
> > >Paul Theroux should know. Had Sir Vidia written his ( Theroux's) “
>
> > >Fong and the Indians† someone would have seen racismm in the depiction
> > >of Africans in that novel and perhaps cried, where I laughed at what I
> > >thought was funny
> >
> > >Whether it is with V.S.'s “An Area of
> Darkness↠- written about his
> > >visit to his ancestral India, or his post-Salman Rushdie  â€œAmong the
> > >Believers†about Islam and Islamists or the much referred to and in my
> > >opinion innocuous “ A Bend in The
> Riverââ‚€  one of  Naipaul's functions
> > >then is to prick us to some critical self-examination as  Lord Ikhide
> > >has just done. And for that should Naipaul  - or his brother Shiva
> > >Naipaul ( North of South†) be blighted?
> >
> > >Professor Harrow sounds remarkably like my dear Dr. Valentine Ojo when
> > >he says what he says about V..S: Naipaul.
> >
> > >Perhaps, if Naipual had been Black instead of Brown, African, instead
> > >of an Indian British Lord examining other cultures from the
> > >perspective of a higher (the standards of  Western Civilisation), and
> > >seeing Africa and India through the lens of his higher culture, we
> > >would not be accusing him of racism.
> >
> > >What then would we be accusing him  on the basis of his written woord?
> > >Arrogance?
> > >The sort of cynicism that Evelyn Waugh has been accused of?
> > >What?
> > >I pause for a reply.
> >
> > >On Aug 29, 10:07Â pm, Moses Ebe Ochonu <meoch...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > > Naipaul is irredeemable, a lost cause.
> The man cannot even cultivate and
> > > > sustain personal relationships with his
> > > literary peers, crossing people left
> > > > and right and telling them to "take it in
> the cheek like a man." He can't
> > > > help himself in his role as a "Third
> World" advocate of Eucentric, racist
> > > > universalism.
> >
> > > > The man deserves more pity than engagement.
> >
> > > > On Sun, Aug 29, 2010 at 12:10 PM, kenneth
> harrow <har...@msu.edu> wrote:
> > > > > Â naipaul is one of the great racist
> writers of our time. a bend in the
> > > > > river evokes every negative stereotype
> > > about africans imaginable; his cover?
> > > > > 1. he is "third world" 2.mobuto's
> reign, and before it, lumumba's, was
> > > > > regarded by naipaul's kind of readers and editors as uncivilized.
> > > > > uncivilized means non-british, non-european, savage etc etc
> > > > > naipaul is the true exemplar of ox-cam
> british snobbism and racism toward
> > > > > africa, and the rest of the third world. really
> > > > > ken harrow
> >
> > > > > At 11:36 AM 8/29/2010, you wrote:
> >
> > > > > ----- Forwarded Message ----
> > > > > *From:* Errol Harry <errolharr...@yahoo.com>
> > > > > *Sent:* Sun, August 29, 2010 6:16:07 PM
> > > > > *Subject:* Naipaul's latest book on Africa
> >
> > > > > *The Masque of Africa by V S Naipaul: review*
> >
> > > > > *Sameer Rahim is puzzled by the ageing
> > > Nobel Prize winner’s punishing
>g
> > > > > quest to expose Africa’s religious illillusions *
> > >*
> >
> > > > > By Sameer Rahim
> > > > > Published: 5:19PM BST 27 Aug 2010
> >
> > > > > Â
> > >
> Comments<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/7966020/The-Masque-of-Africa...>
> > > > > [image: The Masque of Africa by V S Naipaul]
> > > > > The Masque of Africa by V S Naipaul
> >
> > > > > V S Naipaul’s father was once forced td to
> > > sacrificfice a goat to the Hindu
> > > > > goddess Kali. In June 1933, when Vidia was
> > > still a baby, Seepersad Naipaul
> > > > > had written an article in the *Trinidad Guardian* criticising Hindu
> > > > > farmers who ignored government regulations
> > > and inoculated their cattle with
> > > > > religious rites.
> >
> > > > > His angry opponents threatened him with a poisoning curse unless he
> > > > > appeased the goddess. He refused at first but soon relented: wearing
> > > > > trousers rather than the traditional
> loincloth (his small rebellion), he
> > > > > offered up a severed goat’s head on a a brass platlate.
> >
> > > > > In that Sunday’s paper he was all
>l
> > > bluster: Ã: “Mr Naipaul greets you! No
>
> >
> > > > > Poison last night†. But this â“great
> > > eat humiliation†, as his son wrote in
> > > > > *Finding the Centre* (1984), destroyed
> his life. He lost his job and sunk
> > > > > into depression. According to Naipaul’™s
> > > mother, r, “He looked in the mirror
>
> >
> > > > > one day and couldn’t see himself.
> And nd he began tn to scream.â€
> >
> > > > > Over the course of his long writing career,
> > > V S °S Naipaulâ€Â¢â‚¬™s view of
> > >f
> > > > > religion has moved  much like this story Â
> > > from om thethe potentially comic to
> > > > > the outright sinister. His first published
> > > novel, *The Mystic Masseur *(1957),
> > > > > was a satire on a fake pundit. In his
> > > masterpiece *A House for Mr Biswas*(1961) the
> > > title character (based on Seepersad) is expelled from his
> > > > > training as a Hindu priest when he
> pollutes some sacred flowers with his
> > > > > excrement. His travel book on India,
> *An Area of Darkness* (1964), took a
> > > > > harsher view of Hinduism and the caste
> > > system and after 1970, when he first
> > > > > learnt about his father’s ritual
>l
> > > humiliation (th(the family had kept it an
> > > > > absolute secret), his work took on an unforgiving tone.
> >
> > > > > *Among the Believers* (1981) and *Beyond Belief* (1998) blamed the
> > > > > problems in Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia
> and Pakistan exclusively on Islam.
> > > > > Third World peoples who refused to abandon
> > > their ancestral illusions for the
> > > > > civilised and secular values of the West Â
> > > as Naipaul has so ccconspicuously
> > > > > done  are, he believes, condemned to backwardness.
> >
> > > > > Now he has travelled to six countries Â
> > > Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria,, the Ivory
> > > > > Coast, Gabon and South Africa  to
> discover the â€Ã¢‚¬œœnature of African
>can
> > > > > belief†. *The Masque of Africa*
> starts in Kamppala, the ccapital of
> > > > > Uganda, where Naipaul immediately
> observes a conflict between the native
> > > > > religion, offering “only the world of
>
> > > the spirits a and the ancestors†,
> > > > > and the foreign religions (Islam and
> Christianity) whose new places of
> > > > > worship on the city’s hills are like
>e
> > > ââ“an applied andnd contagious illness,
> > > > > curing nothing, giving no final answers…
> > > fighting wrong battless, narrowing
> > > > > the mind†. He doess not visit these
> > > mosques and churchess; a view from the
> > > > > foothills is enough.
> >
> > > > > When Naipaul does visit somewhere his
> observations can be acute. At the
> > > > > shrine of Mutesa I of Buganda, the
> > > 19th-century ruler who had dealings with
> > > > > John Speke and Henry Stanley, he feels a
> > > “sense of f wonder†. But But nearby
> > > > > he notices a boy tormenting a small kitten; he protests but his guide
> > > > > assures him the boy is just playing. “I
>
> > > didnâ’t believe him,ÆNaipaul
> > >aul
> > > > > says. Back in the hotel, he discovers that
> > > nine men were sacrificed at the
> > > > > shrine during its construction.
> >
> > > > > For a brief moment he allowed himself to see through the eyes of the
> > > > > faithful, before widening his vision to
> > > examine what they chose not to see.
> >
> > > > > Naipaul has always been able to spot a
> > > fraud, and the best writing in this
> > > > > book deals with native healers and
> fortune-tellers. In Uganda he enters a
> > > > > small office and spots a framed
> certificate on the wall: the witch doctor
> > > > > has an official licence so that “no
>
> > > believer need f feel
> >
> > ...
> >
> > read more »- Hide quoted text -
> >
> > - Show quoted text -
>
Pius Adesanmi
| Ogbuefi Cornelius: You are a total "a mo ran bi ni Oyo - asking rhetorical questions bordering on provocation like an Oyo man. You know the answer to the questions you are wahala-ing Ken about. And you are making Naipaul's racism, the worst kept secret in the literary world, sound like something that Ken alone has noticed ("Do they see this racism that you see..."!). Naipaul's racism is not Ken's making. Unlike Ken sha, I have never stopped reading Naipaul because one must keep the enemy close. Anyone who has been reading Naipaul should know that his skin-headism is irredeemable. I wonder why you lumped him with Rushdie? The Satanic Verses is not Naipaulian. Now to your questions: But does the Selection committee of the Swedish Academy need to have their heads examined ? YES, for giving the prize to Naipaul. Do they see the racism that you see in the unrepentant Naipaul or do you think that conscious as he is, he is simply unaware of it ? No, the Nobel Committee did not see Naipaul's racism car il n'y a de pire aveugle que celui qui ne veut pas voir. Naipaul is aware of his racism. Was it a mistake to award him the Nobel Prize? YES |
and should we tolerate the Swedish Academy awarding such prizes to |
| writers such as Sir Vidia? NO, but you can do natting about it. A lion's liver is vain wish for dogs. or should the prize be withdrawn now or even posthumously? YES Pius --- On Wed, 1/9/10, kenneth harrow <har...@msu.edu> wrote: |
|
kenneth harrow
what country did you say you were living in?
i am still waiting for the brilliant nobel committee to explain to me why a nobody like golding gets the nobel while africa's great writers have not: where is achebe on the list of nobelists? why was borges not awarded? i would put 10 african authors ahead of golding in a flash, starting with the likes of farah, ngugi, even okri, compared with le clezio; and without a shadow of a doubt assia djebar.
explain that to me: golding over djebar????
it is pretty obvious to me that the 3d world gets leftovers, as the man said.
i am not sure what i would say in response to the question, why do we still care? was sartre right in saying no to the prize?
ken
At 09:42 AM 9/1/2010, you wrote:
Ogbuefi Cornelius:
You are a total "a mo ran bi ni Oyo - asking rhetorical questions bordering on provocation like an Oyo man. You know the answer to the questions you are wahala-ing Ken about. And you are making Naipaul's racism, the worst kept secret in the literary world, sound like something that Ken alone has noticed ("Do they see this racism that you see..."!). Naipaul's racism is not Ken's making. Unlike Ken sha, I have never stopped reading Naipaul because one must keep the enemy close. Anyone who has been reading Naipaul should know that his skin-headism is irredeemable. I wonder why you lumped him with Rushdie? The Satanic Verses is not Naipaulian. Now to your questions:
But does the Selection committee of the Swedish Academy need to have their heads examined ? YES, for giving the prize to Naipaul.
Do they see the racism that you see in the unrepentant Naipaul  or do you think that conscious as he is, he is simply unaware of it ? No, the Nobel Committee did not see Naipaul's racism car il n'y a de pire aveugle que celui qui ne veut pas voir. Naipaul is aware of his racism.
Was it a mistake to award him the Nobel Prize? YES
and should we tolerate the Swedish Academy awarding such prizes to
writers such as Sir Vidia? NO, but you can do natting about it. A lion's liver is vain wish for dogs.
or should the prize be withdrawn now or even posthumously? YES
Pius
--- On Wed, 1/9/10, kenneth harrow <har...@msu.edu> wrote:
- From: kenneth harrow <har...@msu.edu>
- Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Naipaul's Latest Book on 'The Masque of Africa: Glimpse of African Belief'
- Date: Wednesday, 1 September, 2010, 2:44
- dear cornelius
- i do not have time for deep reflections now as 2 course preps for tomorrow are still to be undertaken.
- first, i read the early, trinidad novels of naipaul, and then on to bend in the river, among the unbelievers. after that i pretty much stopped.
- i will rely on your reflections to answer the question i posed: what would a racist author look like? i am not really interested in obtaining the answer from the nobel committee, but rather from the engaged scholars here on this list, and other experts in naipaul. you know his work much more than i do. enlighten us.
- he wrote of 3d world intellectuals as attempting to become civilized by imitating the real thing, english intellectuals who were not afraid to assert the primacy of their venerable civilization. he bought the crap lock stock and barrel, and those who were not up to the task were mere mimic men. africa then became the site for the feebleness of imitation, the failed assimilation policies of the colonizers who never really meant it, and of a barbarism closer to conrad's imagery than say achebe's. there is no humanity in the naipaul africans; the indians of africa were cynics out for a buck, making their way through the savages; naipaul opened a cynical eye onto the political scene, and that was enough for the superior tastes of europeans who don't know a thing about actual african people to be wowed by him.
- there was nothing left; no love, no beauty, no humanity, no possibility except to follow his own path to the hallowed halls of oxford, or was it cambridge.
- he was interviewed by an ayatollah in Among the Believers, and asked where he came from. he stated, the islands. but, he tells the reader, the real answer would have been england, oxford, the real home for an intellectual like himself. the islands were long since left behind.
- i could have continued reading his entertaining books, but my time was limited. was i to spend the valuable time on him, or on soyinka's latest, on the newest nigerian stars, on the latest senegalese film? stories of naipaul's horrific views of black people continued to be circulated, comments that a colleague from the netherlands relayed to me, confirming the worst impressions of racist beliefs. i do not have time to devote to him while i still have an unread assia djebar novel to read. i commend djebar to us all; she is beauty itself; he is the opposite
- ken
- At 06:37 AM 8/31/2010, you wrote:
- > Professor Harrow & Co,
- >
- > I'm seeking some more direction from you.
- >
- > At this very moment I'm strangely reminded of Ulli Beier of whom I
- > heard an anthropologist joke that he was he was leaving Nigeria for
- > Papua New Guinea, which he described as “ another area of darknessâ€
- > Some people see, have seen Naipaul and Rushdie as the Wild West's
- > literary attack dogs who in fiction and non-fiction peer into our
- > backwardness, to wage war on cherished religious and cultural values
- > and the life lived outside of the pale of Western Civilisation, the
- > Western Civilisation of which when asked, Mahatma Gandhi said “I
- > think it would be a good idea.ââ€
- > I erroneously referred to “Among the the Believers†as post -Salman
- > Rushdie, because itt has been around for so long; perhaps it even paved
- > the way for “ The Satanic Verses†and enjoenjoyed even greater popularity
- > after Rushdie's controversial novel.
- >
- > We all agree that V.S. Naipaul is an engaging writer, perhaps a great
- > writer, one that we do not neglect and some of us seem to be forced to
- > read, just because he visits some of our natural habitats. Is that not
- > so?
- >
- > The Nobel Prize committee awarded Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul
- > the Nobel Prize in Literature for largesse of spirit, not for for
- > being a racist or for being “one of the great racist writers of our
- > t time “ but "for having united perceptive narrativeve and incorruptible
- > scrutiny in works that compel us to see the presence of suppressed
- > histories".
- >
- > http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2001/naipaul.html
- >
- > After the award he has not rested on his laurels but suitably
- > encouraged and rewarded has continued in the same vein, turning his
- > lights on and exposing other areas of darkness with even greater
- > intensity ( insensitivity?) and gained an even greater audience.
- >
- > Can he also be accused of rank dishonesty in his “Beyond Belief:
- > Islamic Excursionons among the Converted Peoples†?
- >
- > I got a coppy of his “ Half a life†from his Sws Swedish literary agent for
- > Christmas, 2001 or 2 .She was at the Noble Banquet and may have a
- > soft heart for him and seems to to think that he's a nice bloke.
- > That's women for you, can have a soft spot for every kind of
- > scoundrel. Beauty and the Beast.
- >
- > But does the Selection committee of the Swedish Academy need to have
- > their heads examined ? Do they see the “racism†that yot you see in the
- > unrepentant Naipaul  or do you think that conscious as he is, he is
- > simply unaware of it ? Was it a mistake to award him the Nobel Prize
- > and should we tolerate the Swedish Academy awarding such prizes to
- > writers such as Sir Vidia or should the prize be withdrawn now or even
- > posthumously?
- >
- > http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUK257&q=Nobel+Prize+%3A+Naipaul
- >
- >
- >
- >
- > On Aug 30, 4:43Â pm, kenneth harrow <har...@msu.edu> wrote:
- > > i need to simplify in responding here, to both friends cornelius and ikhide:
- > > the problem is not that naipaul mounted
- > > criticisms of africa or africans. but that all he
- > > sees of africa and africans is evil. perhaps we
- > > can say that there were real flaws in black
- > > culture after the american civil war, and that
- > > depicting the legislatures in the south as
- > > dysfunctional was an accepted critique. but  if
- > > all one sees are subhumans in those who represent
- > > the flaws, one is generating racist stereotypes,
- > > not simply critiquing. there has to be a
- > > difference between the two, between a critique
- > > generated from the perspective that those being
- > > critiqued are still human like all humans, and
- > > another that evokes their animality and evil
- > > natures as those of inferior beings, as meriting
- > > being spit upon, as those whose vaginas merit
- > > being spit upon....naipaul's scene, not mine, in bend in the river.
- > > if naipaul is not a racist, maybe griffith's
- > > birth of a nation isn't, and the greatest emblems
- > > of racism are merely humorous criticisms.
- > > maybe not.
- > > tell me how to read someone who consistently
- > > represents dark skinned people as inferior, if not as a racist.
- > > ken
- > >
- > > At 08:40 AM 8/30/2010, you wrote:
- > >
- > >
- > >
- > > >I have not yet read Naipaul's latest but from the comments on this
- > > >page and the Guardian's review, my expectations are great:
- > >
- > > > http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/29/vs-naipaul-masque-of-afri ...
- > >
- > > >  Jonathan Franzen may write with the principle in mind, that “The
- >
- > > >reader is a friend, not t an adversary, not a spectator.† - and perhhaps
- > > >this is also Naipual's operative approach, since  we can tell by his
- > > >book sales that he does have a very large and appreciative readership.
- > > >Is it safe to conclude then that he panders to the appetite and
- > > >expectations of his faithful fans/readers who want some more of the
- > > >same or must we credit him with being absolutely faithful to his own
- > > >experience, his own perceptions, like the true literary artist and
- > > >essayist he is?
- > >
- > > >Or is there no such thing?
- > >
- > > >I remember in 2001, when it was announced that V.S. had been awarded
- > > >the Nobel Prize in Literature. I called up two friends, one a great
- > > >intellectual from Guadeloupe and the other from Jamaica, to
- > > >congratulate them  They both said exactly  the same thing, one
- > > >word:†Colllie-man†, which is a Carribean's 's derogatory descripttion of an
- > > >Indian. Naipaul had already pissed them off.
- > >
- > > >In as far as biographical heresy can be applied to throw light on Mr.
- > > >Naipaul's literary output, Paul Theroux's “Sir Vidiaia's Shadow†€  has
- > > >given the most unkindest cut of all.
- > >
- > > >Paul Theroux should know. Had Sir Vidia written his ( Theroux's) “
- >
- > > >Fong and ththe Indians† someone would have seen racismm in thhe depiction
- > > >of Africans in that novel and perhaps cried, where I laughed at what I
- > > >thought was funny
- > >
- > > >Whether it is with V.S.'s “An Area of Darknessâ¢Ã¢€  - written about his
- > > >vissit to his ancestral India, or his post-Salman Rushdie  â€œAmong the
- > > >Believers⢀ about Islam and Islamists or the much referred to and in myy
- > > >opinion innocuous “ A Bend in T The Riverââ‚€  one of Ãf  Naipaul's functions
- > > >then is to prick us to some critical self-examination as  Lord Ikhide
- > > >has just done. And for that should Naipaul  - or his brother Shiva
- > > >Naipaul ( North of South†) be blighted?
- > >> > >Professor Harrow sounds remarkably like my dear Dr. Valentine Ojo when
- > > >he says what he says about V..S: Naipaul.
- > >
- > > >Perhaps, if Naipual had been Black instead of Brown, African, instead
- > > >of an Indian British Lord examining other cultures from the
- > > >perspective of a higher (the standards of  Western Civilisation), and
- > > >seeing Africa and India through the lens of his higher culture, we
- > > >would not be accusing him of racism.
- > >
- > > >What then would we be accusing him  on the basis of his written woord?
- > > >Arrogance?
- > > >The sort of cynicism that Evelyn Waugh has been accused of?
- > > >What?
- > > >I pause for a reply.
- > >
- > > >On Aug 29, 10:07Â pm, Moses Ebe Ochoonu <meoch...@gmail.com > wrote:
- > > > > Naipaul is irredeemable, a lost cause. The man cannot even cultivate and
- > > > > sustain personal relationships with his
- > > > literary peers, crossing people left
- > > > > and right and telling them to "take it in the cheek like a man." He can't
- > > > > help himself in his role as a "Third World" advocate of Eucentric, racist
- > > > > universalism.
- > >
- > > > > The man deserves more pity than engagement.
- > >
- > > > > On Sun, Aug 29, 2010 at 12:10 PM, kenneth harrow <har...@msu.edu> wrote:
- > > > > > Â naipaul is one of the greeat racist writers of our time. a bend in the
- > > > > > river evokes every negative stereotype
- > > > about africans imaginable; his cover?
- > > > > > 1. he is "third world" 2.mobuto's reign, and before it, lumumba's, was
- > > > > > regarded by naipaul's kind of readers and editors as uncivilized.
- > > > > > uncivilized means non-british, non-european, savage etc etc
- > > > > > naipaul is the true exemplar of ox-cam british snobbism and racism toward
- > > > > > africa, and the rest of the third world. really
- > > > > > ken harrow
- > >
- > > > > > At 11:36 AM 8/29/2010, you wrote:
- > >
- > > > > > ----- Forwarded Message ----
- > > > > > *From:* Errol Harry < errolharr...@yahoo.com>
- > > > > > *Sent:* Sun, August 29, 2010 6:16:07 PM
- > > > > > *Subject:* Naipaul's latest book on Africa
- > >
- > > > > > *The Masque of Africa by V S Naipaul: review*
- > >
- > > > > > *Sameer Rahim is puzzled by the ageing
- > > > Nobel Prize winner’s punishing
- > g
- > > > > quest to expose Africa’s religious illillusions *s *
- > > >*
- > >
- > > > > > By Sameer Rahim
- > > > > > Published: 5:19PM BST 27 Aug 2010
- > >
- > > > > > Â
- > > > Comments http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/7966020/The-Masque-of-Africa ...>
- > > > > > [image: The Masque of Africa by V S Naipaul]
- > > > > > The Masque of Africa by V S Naipaul
- > >
- > > > > > V S Naipaul’s father was once forced td to
- > > sacrificfice a goat to the Hindu
- > > > > > goddess Kali. In June 1933, when Vidia was
- > > > still a baby, Seepersad Naipaul
- > > > > > had written an article in the *Trinidad Guardian* criticising Hindu
- > > > > > farmers who ignored government regulations
- > > > and inoculated their cattle with
- > > > > > religious rites.
- > >
- > > > > > His angry opponents threatened him with a poisoning curse unless he
- > > > > > appeased the goddess. He refused at first but soon relented: wearing
- > > > > > trousers rather than the traditional loincloth (his small rebellion), he
- > > > > > offered up a severed goat’s head on a a brass platlate.
- > >> > > > > In that Sunday‬™s paper he was all
- > l
- > > > bluster: ÃÆÆ’: “Mr Naipaul greets you! No
- > >
- > > > > > Poison last night†. But this âââ šÂ¬œgreat
- > > > eat humiliation†, as his son wrote in
- > > > > > *Finding thee Centre* (1984), destroyed his life. He lost his job and sunk
- > > > > > into depression. According to Naipaulâ€â„„¢Ã¢„¢s
- > > > mother, r, ¢€œHe looked in the mirror
- >
- > >
- > ; > > > > one day and couldnâ€ââ„¢t see himself. And nd he began tn to scream.â€
- > >
- > > > > > Over the course of his llong writing career,
- > > > Vâ€â‰S °S Naipaulâ€Ã‚¢¢Ã¢‚¬™s view of
- > > >f
- > > > > religion has moved  much like this story ÂÂ
- > > > from om thethe potentially comic to
- > > > > > the outright sinister. His first published
- > > > novel, *The Mystic Masseur *(1957),
- > > > > > was a satire on a fake pundit. In his