Reconstructing the Historical Past in V. S. Naipaul's A Way in the World

Abstract

V. S. Naipaul’s Novel A Way in the World narrates the forgotten and lost stories of the past which contributed to the construction of Trinidad, particularly the immigrants and marginalized individuals in the mainstream history. Naipaul writes the history of Trinidad as a travelogue. In Trinidad, ancestral past was forgotten and historical representation did not include all. Colonial representation remained incomplete and explained nothing about lower class workers, revolutionary figure of Caribbean countries and their situation, explorers of colonial period and real facts. Naipaul rewrites the historical fiction of those people who exist on the margin of everyday history by fictionalizing it and by using imaginative creation. A Way in the World discloses various truths and historicizes those characters that are hidden in the traditional history. With this novel, he gives a voice to those who were unheard of the so-called official history. He expresses his own voice and reconstructs the historical past of Trinidad and other Caribbean countries.