Postcolonial Theory In The Novel 'The Mimic Men'
Abstract:
Writes such as Samuel Selvon, J.M. Coetzee, Wilson Harris, V.S. Naipaul, George Lamming, Chinua Achebe, and Jean Rhys have all rewritten particular works from the English ‘Canon’ which a view to restructuring ‘realities’ in postcolonial terms by reversing the hierarchical order. Postcolonial theory is an area of literary and cultural study that has come into being as part of the decentring tendency of post- 1960s. The important effect of the book The Empire Writes Back has been the recognition of the role of literary creativity in the former colonies. As theorists, they might be slow to acknowledge the role of specific literary works such as V.S. Naipaul’s The Mimic Men (1967) and Samuel Selvon’s immigrant novels The Lonely Londoners, Moses Ascending and Moses Migrating. They do provide some account of discussion of the various ‘models’ of post-colonial theory. The remarkable upsurge of writings in countries involved in the decolonization process and the theme of resistance since the Second World War, from third world countries has led readers worldwide to see that their own communities could produce writings of great power and relevance, if in the language of the former colonizers. Postcolonial theory plays very important role in Selvon immigrants novels because it has a subversive posture towards the canon, in celebrating the neglected or marginalized, theme of resistance on the dominated race and cultured people as being black immigrants, bringing with it a
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