The Man-eater Of Malgudi: A Postcolonial Study

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  The Man-eater of Malgudi  : A Post-colonial Study Presented By:  Ashraf AhmedID No. 1203030301Leading University, Sylhet Prepared For: Dr. Hossain Al-Mamun   Associate Professor, Department of EnglishSUST Course Title: Indian Literature in English Course Code: ENG-507  ❏ From Edwards Said‟s   Orientalism , we can get an ideaof the term post-colonialism as the “use of the prefix „post‟ suggests not so much the sense of going beyondbut rather”, as Ella Shohat comments in a seminalarticle that postcolonialism is “continuities anddiscontinuities; but its emphasis is on the new modesand forms of the old colonialist practices, not on a „beyond‟” . (Said, p. 350) ❏ So, postcolonial studies deal with the fatal andunavoidable impacts of colonialism during thecolonialist regime and after the introduction of independent ruling in colonized countries.  What is Postcolonialism andPostcolonial Study?  Some texts reflecting postcolonialstudies Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o   Petals of Blood    (1977) Chinua Achebe Things Fall Apart  (1958) E. M. Forster  A Passage to India  (1924)  ● In The Man-eater of Malgudi , we find two opposite forces functioningmainly through the characters of Vasu and Nataraj . Vasu stands for the colonizers who dominated the nativesbeing an outsider . On the other hand, an almost innocent person like Natarajsuffers because of his simple textureand inferior attitude. In addition, Nataraj is sometimes appreciative of  Vasu’s activities and attitudes as thecolonized people were addicted to thelifestyle of the colonizers during colonialism. The Man-eater of Malgudi as apostcolonial Text  Vasu ‟s Role as a Colonizer    • Initial friendly attitude • Hypocrisy • Begins to dominate Nataraj once settled in the attic of  Nataraj‟s shop (takes shelter in Nataraj‟s attic almost forcefully and later files a case against Nataraj) •  Acts like a person of borrowed culture • Tries to dominate the locals • Goes against established customs(Peers through the blue curtain)