about Africa anymore. As a result, Willie does not have sense of belonging to Africa.
―Never at home in India, when I was a boy. Never here in London. Never in Africa.
I lived in somebody else‘s house always, and slept in somebody else‘s bed
‖ Naipaul, 2004: 177-178. Willie absolutely does not feel at home wherever he goes. It can be seen from his statement
―never at home in Africa‖. In Willie‘s context, he does not get the
security and love in his wife‘s house. As a result, he wants to leave Africa. Here, the readers can see the relation between setting and
the idea of home. The social circumstances in Africa do not give an opportunity to Willie to enjoy his life. The implication is Willie never at home.
However, Willie‘s statement toward the condition in Africa reveals the idea of home. Home for Willie is the condition where he can feel love, happiness,
warm, originality and security. The readers are able to understand that home is the most important place for Willie. It can be seen from his descriptions about his life
condition in Africa.
b. Willie’s Perspectives on Postcolonial Resistance
Colonization in Africa brings profound ramifications to the African people. The colonizers have grabbed all the natural resources in Africa continent.
As a result, African people enter into difficult circumstances such as poverty, starvation, and guerilla war. Guerilla war is one of the most important issues in
Africa. In Naipa ul‘s Magic Seeds, Sarojini criticizes Willie‘s passivity in guerilla
war. Although guerilla war is important war to African people, Willie does not join it.
Actually, Willie does not unite with African people to join the glorious war. He just witnesses the guerilla war from his wife‘s house. He views the
struggle of African people from his wife‘s luxurious house:
You‘ve always preferred to hide. It‘s the colonial psychosis, the caste psychosis. You inherited it from your father. You were in Africa for
eighteen years. There was a great guerrilla war there. Didn‘t you know?...But no. You stayed in your estate house with your lovely little
half-white wife and pulled the pillow over your ears and hoped that no bad black freedom fighter was going to come in the night with a gun and
heavy boots and frighten you Naipaul, 2004: 6.
The quotation above portrays Sarojini‘s criticism to her brother, Willie. She describes that Willie always runs away from guerilla war. He hides
in his wife‘s house. Sarojini is very angry to her brother.
She states that Willie‘s passivity is inherited from their father.
Actually, Willie has particular reason why he does not join the guerilla war in Africa. He says
that ―It was always far away. It was a secret war, until the very
end‖ Naipaul, 2004: 6. It is because Willie does not have enough knowledge about the African
s‘ histories which it impacts on his sense of belonging to the guerilla war. The people who can access to the guerilla war are
only the Africans. They know their own war. To Willie, he does not find a strong reason to join the guerilla war in Africa until that war is end. In addition, Willie
reiterates his personal reasons to his sister. ―It wasn‘t like that, Sarojini. In my
heart of hearts I was always on the Africans‘ side, but I didn‘t have a war to go to‖ Naipaul, 2004: 6. Apparently, Willie does not have a reason anymore to
answer his sister ‘s questions. He wants to convince his sister that he always
defends the Africans from the colonizers ‘ suppressions. Willie sends the most
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.
