Desperate spirits : the blurred belonging as a sign of identity split in V. S. Naipaul’s narrative of migration the mimic men

Abstract EN

The ongoing colonialism left tremendous psychological and social aftermaths on the colonized individuals' psyche.

This paper offers a critical reading of V.

S Naipaul's novel The Mimic Men (1967).

It evokes questions of identity crisis through the examination of the character of a Caribbean migrant, Ralph Singh, and his experience of exile.

The novel describes the conflicts of the displaced migrant, Ralph Singh, in Britain as it pasteurizes his journey of self-discovery and self-identification.

It focuses on the dilemma of identity crisis as a sign of social and psychological disorder.

Ralph feels ashamed of his paternal Indian origin and he is disappointed because he belongs to Trinidad which is a chaotic society that lacks order.

Ralph skepticism to Britain reflects his psychological disorder.

Therefore, this paper explores the psychological dimensions of displacement in the novel.

Using the postcolonial approach, this paper exhibits the traumatized self that suffers from extremist disorder.

It focuses on the representation and construction of identity in the former colonized Caribbean by focusing on the traumatized individual who faces the dilemma of exile, double alienation that leads crisis of identity.

Precisely, it examines the concept of mimicry as a simulation of self-discovery and a living illusion of reality.