A Bend in the River by V. S. Naipaul
"A Bend in the River" by V. S. Naipaul is a profound exploration of identity and existential struggle set against the backdrop of a post-colonial African landscape. The novel follows Salim, a man of Indian descent, who relocates from the coast to an interior African town at a significant bend in a river, seeking autonomy and a fresh start amidst the political upheaval and social decay surrounding him. As he attempts to build a life in this volatile environment, Salim navigates complex relationships with other characters, including a local ruler, a white couple, and a young boy named Ferdinand, whose ideals starkly contrast with Salim's own pragmatic outlook.
The narrative delves into themes of cultural displacement, the impacts of colonialism, and the search for authenticity, particularly as Salim grapples with the loss of his past and the harsh realities of his present. He faces moral dilemmas and the consequences of political chaos, which ultimately lead to personal disillusionment and a longing for stability. The story is enriched by its depiction of varied perspectives on Africa's future, symbolized through Salim's interactions and struggles. Ultimately, Naipaul's work prompts reflections on the nature of identity, the burden of history, and the quest for meaning in a fragmented world.
A Bend in the River by V. S. Naipaul
First published: 1979
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Psychological realism
Time of plot: Early 1970s
Locale: African interior
Principal Characters
Salim , a coastal Muslim who moves to the interior of Africa to open a businessIndar , his childhood friendAli (Metty) , Salim’s servantNazruddin , the family friend who sets up Salim in businessZabeth , a woman from the bushFerdinand , her sonBig Man , the ruler of the DomainRaymond , a white European who works for Big ManYvette , his wifeFather Huismans , a teacher at thelycée
The Story
Salim envies his well-to-do friend Indar, who informs him that he is going away to England to study at a famous university. Indar explains that one has to be strong to continue to live in Africa and that “We’re not strong. We don’t even have a flag.” It is against such a backdrop of insecurity and fear that Salim decides to leave the coast and his Muslim community and head into the interior. “To stay with my community,” Salim acknowledges, “to pretend that I had simply to travel along with them, was to be taken with them to destruction. I could be master of my fate only if I stood alone.”
Nazruddin, a family friend, offers Salim his abandoned shop in the interior of Africa, at the bend of a river, in a settlement that has been half destroyed during the violence that preceded the area’s political independence. Salim travels to the interior, takes over the small shop, and spends the next seven years attempting to establish himself before the violence and social chaos return.
He befriends some Indian families, trades with a mysterious character named Zabeth, a magician from downriver, and agrees to look after her son, Ferdinand, who attends school at the local lycée. He soon acquires a living companion when his family, which broke up and dispersed during a social revolution on the coast, sends him their slave, Ali, who takes the new name of Metty (a name that means “someone of mixed race”). Salim later befriends a white couple, Raymond and Yvette. Raymond works for the local ruler, Big Man (a character drawn after Joseph Mobutu, the king of Zaire); Big Man is the closest white personal friend of Raymond, who manages a university in the Domain, a group of new buildings in the town’s former white suburb.
Father Huismans is a teacher at the lycée, where Ferdinand enrolls as a student. Although the lycée is a remnant of the colonial period, Father Huismans possesses a genuine love for Africa and its traditions. He amasses a large collection of African masks that are intended for specific religious purposes. Salim observes that, although Father Huismans knows a great deal about African religion, he does not seem concerned about the state of the country. During the subsequent revolution to purify Africa and cast off European influences, Father Huismans becomes a victim of his own purity, naïveté, and dedication to a religious-academic enterprise. His mutilated body is found among the thick water hyacinths that clot the river. His head is cut off and placed on a spike.
Ferdinand, schooled at the Domain, develops a powerful sense of self-importance and rebels against Salim’s more temperate influence. He becomes an idealist who commits his life to a new Africa under the leadership of Big Man and his flag of “authenticity.” Salim comes to realize that, under the dictatorial powers of Big Man, he is constantly surrounded by violence and by the threat of violence. The ancient tribes from the bush are displaced by the new army, which draws its authority from Big Man.
Salim’s life takes a new turn when his childhood friend Indar comes from his home in England as a guest of the government to teach at the Domain for one term. Indar introduces Salim to Raymond and Yvette, a meeting that changes the course of Salim’s life. Indar’s philosophy asserts that the past is a death trap: “You see that the past is something in your mind alone, that it doesn’t exist in real life. You trample on the past, you crush it.”
Salim maintains many ties with his past; these ties include his servant Metty and his obsession with the mystery and security of tribal life in the bush, which are embodied in the person of Zabeth. The past reflects Salim’s dream of a peaceful world whose customs and rituals are barriers to the present disorder. Salim comes to adopt Indar’s philosophy, but he modifies it to suit his own temperament. He concludes that he cannot return to his home and that the idea is a deception that will weaken and destroy his reality. “We had to live in the world as it existed,” he determines.
Salim’s stoic philosophy is shaped partly by his experience with Yvette, which opens up to him a powerful new vision of sexuality and romance. His sexual adventure with this fascinating white European woman overwhelms Salim with a sense of fulfillment and unappeased pleasure. However, the romance soon gives way to bitter disillusionment and anger.
As the town and government experience new insurrections, Raymond and Yvette realize that their comfortable life is coming to an end. In the last meeting with Yvette, Salim explodes in a rage and beats her to the floor. Although he accuses her of seducing him with false promises, Salim’s real contempt and anger are directed toward himself.
After he loses Yvette, Salim becomes increasingly frustrated with the moral and social decay of his violent surroundings. To escape the fate of those around him, he travels to London, as Indar did earlier. There, Salim becomes engaged to Nazruddin’s daughter. When he returns to Africa, however, he gets caught up in the corruption and is imprisoned for smuggling ivory. Ferdinand releases him from prison and confesses to Salim his total disillusionment with the “new” Africa of Big Man. Salim finally comes to the conclusion that the best he can hope for is to follow in the stoic but optimistic path of the successful Nazruddin, to return to England, and to start again in a world where there is a stable culture and where he can explore and learn to accept a new interior.
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