Tear off the Masks They Taught You to Wear: Post-colonialism and Rebuilding the Self in The Mimic Men by V. S. Naipaul

This paper aims to present Naipaul's depreciating outlook on decolonization and post-coloniality giving voice to the process of identification with the colonizer through mimicry. The paper focuses on his exposure of the consequences of colonialism from the perspective of how the West has turned Caribbean people into mere mimic men dragging them into believing that they are always in need of the Western men of power and cannot do without. In The Mimic Men, the East Indian protagonist realizes that he cannot help being attached to the Empire. Naipaul conveys his view with its passivity, fear of action, and false freedom away from the Caribbean to assert his being a product of colonialism. He sees that mimicry is a shameful truth of the ex-colonized that must be abolished and discarded to recreate their identities. The starting point in the process of real decolonization and homecoming is available through self-knowledge and through an awareness of the truth about colonial history with its ruins. Naipaul's strategy is to help them see home through the lens of literature. The findings have indicated that the consequences of colonialism should be documented. They have also asserted that as long as peoples' lives are affected by imperialistic policies, they should not withdraw or submit. Rather, they should declare the war over. Finally, positive mimicry that aims at promoting the self is advocated, not mimicry that generates ridiculed persons. The paper adopts an analytic approach supported by the opinions of critics and post-colonial theorists.