important message to his sister that we cannot claim someone else‘s war become
our own war. If Willie joins the Africans or the colonizers, he is not different from mercenary who just fights to get money. Thus, the readers can capture that Willie
cannot take part in the guerilla because he thinks that guerilla war does not relate to himself.
Willie‘s perspective toward guerilla war is different from his sister. Sarojini sees the guerilla war as a glorious war. She describes the meaning of
guerilla war very detail to Willie. She examines that guerilla war is related to the poor people. The poor people become servant in their own land. Willie is not
aware about that problem. Sarojini remarks that thinking about the helpless people who become slaves in their home brings sadness and sorrow:
It was a glorious war. At least in the beginning. When you think about it, it can bring tears to the eyes. A poor and helpless people, slaves in their
own land, starting from scratch in every way. What did you do? Did you seek them out? Did you join them? Did you help them? Naipaul, 2004:
6.
Subsequently, Willie explains his perspective to African people. He says that he always sympathizes the Africans but he views the Africans from the colonists
eyes. He acknowledges that he has been in Africa, but he already forget that life. Willie‘s answer functions as confession about his passivity in guerilla war in
Africa. He wants to say that he is not part of African people: He said, ‗I always had sympathy for Africans, but I saw them from the
outside. I never really found out about them. Most of the time I saw Africa through the eyes of the colonists. They were the people I lived
with. And then suddenly that life ended, Africa was all around us, and we all had to run Naipaul, 2004: 38.
The quotation above emphasizes that Willie feels the sufferings, struggles, revenge, sadness and sorrow of the Africans. Willie wants to show his sense of
humanity to the readers. The violence in Africans‘ land is the extraordinary crime that it is against the humanity. Although Willie understands the bad effects of the
guerilla war, he just watches it from the outside. For Willie, Africa does not give security, happiness and love. It happens when war between Africans and
colonizers occurred. War in Africa absolutely has a great impact to Willie‘s life.
Willie undergoes internal conflict which determines his position in war between Africans and colonizers. In this point, Willie does not feel at home anymore. He is
not part of the Africans and colonizers.
2. Willie’s Perspectives in India
In this section, the writer divides the heading into three subheadings. First is
Willie‘s perspective on the idea of home. Second is Willie‘s perspective on domestic conflict in the aftermath of the India independence. Third
is Willie‘s
perspective on globalization. a.
Willie’s Perspective on the Idea of Home
In the story, India becomes second place where Willie continues his life. India also has significant role in shaping Willie‘s personalities. It is in line with
Murphy‘s theory of setting; setting of the novel is the background against which the characters live up their lives usually setting concerns with place and time in
which the characters live. These can give a great effect on their personalities, actions, and way of thinking. In India, the setting of places are Riviera Hotel,
training camp and peasants‘ hut. Three of them have different contribution toward Willie‘s life in India.
Willie goes to India when British government does not rule India anymore. He moves to India to join revolution group. As a stranger, Willie does
not have a home in India. He stays over in a Riviera hotel before he goes to the training camp. There are many hotels and he has to choose one of them. Because
he does not know about those hotels, he allows himself to be led by the agent: There were various hotel agents about, and Willie, choosing at random,
allowed himself to be led by one of these men to the Hotel Riviera. They took a carriage. ‗Modern, all modern,‘ the Riviera man said all the time,
and then vanished as soon as he led Willie into the little lobby of the hotel, as though not wishing now to be held responsible for anything
Naipaul, 2004: 34.
Willie observes all things in the Riviera hotel. He detects the windows, menus and all the things that make Willie surprised.
―Willie knew that it had no meaning, that it had all been copied from some foreign hotel, and was to be taken only as a
gesture of goodwill, a wish to please, an aspect of being modern‖Naipaul, 2004:
34. In fact, hotel is different from the ordinary home. One must pay a lot of money to get the service of a hotel. Apparently, hotel in India cannot represent the
spirit of India. It means that all the things for instance the architecture, definitions in the hotel, rules, menus and so on that exist in a hotel are borrowed from the
Western countries especially England. At times, a great enthusiasm to imitate any Western thing spread all over the town in India. There is a notion that to be
modern means to be Western-like. This kind of modern image becomes trend in the ex-colonized country.
In other words, Willie‘s perspective toward Riviera hotel cannot be separated from the function of it as a setting of place in story. Riviera hotel can
in fluence Willie‘s point of view where he judges that architecture in India is
copied from outside. Willie feels unhappy or not at home when foreign architecture dominates Indians‘ buildings. Home here is not about refuge place
but the comfortable condition. Here, the readers can capture how the author uses the setting of place to convey the messages.
Subsequently, Willie moves from hotel to the training camp. He lives there as a sentry. This is a logical consequence as a participant of a revolution
group. The condition is different from home because there are many sentries that Willie does not know.
―There were about forty or fifty people in the camp. Word went around, spread from newcomer to newcomer...‖ Naipaul, 2004: 51. This
kind of condition requires someone to be smart man to face the people who come from multiple backgrounds with all their own discrepancies. One must learn the
others‘ behaviors and start to respect the weakness and the strong point of the other members. However, Willie has to accept the condition in the training camp.
There are many rules that control the newcomers. The rule is very rigid . ―It was a
training camp. The sentry, not speaking, making no sound, woke them up one by one while it was still dark. The rule of the camp was that there was to be no sound
and no light at night‖ Naipaul, 2004: 51-52. Willie dismantles the dark side of the training camp. The condition in the training camp is not good to the sentries.
The sentries are not treated as human beings. The sentries‘ rights are restricted by the rules that applied in the training camp. Freedom is something expensive. The
