Essay Questions

How does the author build the theme of colonialism in the novel A Bend in the River?

Throughout the novel, the topic of colonialism is dominant. The protagonist’s journey shows the impact of colonialism in the world between the 18th and 19th centuries. The author specifically focuses on the British powers in India and African countries. The primary objective of the European powers was to manipulate locals and take away the precious commodities and minerals back to Britain. Salim is an Indian by origin who migrated to an unnamed African country in 1858. Salim noticed that the same British powers that colonized India also colonized most parts of Africa. The author explains how the British masters mistreated Black people and enslaved them in their plantations. Any African who resisted the British’s brutal rule was detained or killed. Therefore, colonialism was evil and manipulative because its primary intention was to benefit Britain and other colonial powers.

What is the symbolic meaning of ivory in the novel A Bend in the River?

Naipaul uses ivory in the novel to represent escapism. In the colonial era, ivory was a costly item owned by only wealthy people. For Salim, the only way he could get enough money to migrate to London to search for greener pastures was to trade in the illegal trade of ivory. Salim joined many other Africans and Indians who engaged in the illegal ivory trade to escape poverty.

How paradoxical is the character, Father Huismans?

Father Huismans was an African religious leader during the colonial era. Father Huismans had a huge collection of masks that celebrated African religious beliefs. Ironically, despite celebrating African religious beliefs, Father Huismans' spiritual ideologies were based on European superiority because he was raised in a colonized power structure. Consequently, there was a conflict between Father Huismans' African beliefs and the European superiority reflected in his preaching.