Friday, March 31, 2023

For Monday: Naipaul, The Mystic Masseur, Chapters 9-11


NOTE: Try to finish the book or get as close as you can for Monday's class. We'll have a Book Exam over the novel on Wednesday, so at least finish for then (and bring your book to class). 

Answer two of the following:

Q1: How does Naipaul satirize democratic elections in a ‘brand new’ postcolonial nation like Trinidad?  How does the system not work—and how is the very idea of democracy often misunderstood by Ganesh and others? 

Q2: Once the American soldiers arrive in TrinidadAmerica begins to have a much more profound influence on Trinidadian life than Britain.  Where do we see the “American” influence in its day-to-day life?  How does Ganesh himself try to institute “American” popular culture? 

Q3: Once Ganesh enters politics he emulates the reforms and ideals of Gandhi, who liberated India from British control.  But is his mimicking sincere or somewhat hypocritical?  Gandhi followed the teachings of the Gita as his polestar: does Ganesh? In general, what kind of political leader does he make?

Q4: How do you understand the end of the book, when the Narrator, now a grown man, encounters Ganesh in London?  Why does he change his name to “G.Ramsay Muir”?  How does he respond to the Narrator’s advances? 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Final Exam Paper: Introducing the World (due by Friday, May 5th)

Hum 2323 Final Exam Paper: Introducing the World Knowing what cannot be known—     what a lofty aim! Not knowing what needs to be kn...