practices, and positions. They are subject to a radical historicization, and are constantly in the process of change and transformation Hall, 1996: 4. It means
that identity is not stable. In the contemporary era, identity is always constituted. Subsequently, the terminology of colonization must be explained in this
research. Marc Ferro in his book, Colonization: A Global History 1997: 1, defines that colonization is associated with the occupation of a foreign land, with
is being brought under cultivation, with the settlement of colonists. He explained that colonization is refers to” power” of a people to “reproduce” itself in different
spaces. Thus, colonization is related to the endeavor of the colonizers to grab new territory. They spread their ideology, cultures and so on.
According to Slemon, “postcolonial” and “resistance” are positively shimmering as objects of desire and self privilege and so easily appropriated to
competing, and in fact hostile, modes of critical and literary practice Slemon, 1995: 104
. Subsequently, Slemon cites Cudjoe and Harlow‟s work, resistance is an act or sets of acts, that is designed to rid a people of its oppressors, and it so
thoroughly infuses the experience of living under oppression that it becomes an almost autonomous aesthetic principle 1995: 107. Thus, postcolonial resistance
is related to the unfriendly competition between oppressed and oppressors in modes of critical and literary practice. It is because the oppressed is living under
oppression. Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffin also associate the term “postcolonial” with
the cultural relations between the oppressors and the oppressed from the colonization up to the present day Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffin, 2002: 2.
According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary the word “issue” is defined
as an important topic that people are discussing or arguing about. Postcolonial issue is the important point which related to the general discussion about the
relations between colonizers and colonized from past up to the present day. The last term that the writer used in this study is globalization.
Globalization is the process whereby individual lives and local communities are affected by economic and cultural forces that operate world-wide. In effect it is
the process of the world becoming a single place. Globalism is the perception of the world as a function or result of the processes of globalization upon local
communities Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffin, 2007: 100. Globalization operates in the economic and cultural sector. The Western countries spread their economy
system over the third world countries. The local communities in the third countries are not able to block the influences from first world countries.
9
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE
In this chapter, the writer explores some reviews in order to support the analysis. This chapter consists of the review of related studies, review of related
theories and the review of Social condition in Africa during colonization, India post-independence and England. The last part is the theoretical framework.
A.
Review of Related Studies
Reviewing on Magic Seeds, Alphonsa C.A in her article entitled ―Dispersed Identities and the Search for Home: A Postcolonial Reading of V.S.
Naipaul’s Magic Seeds‖ states that ―home‖ gives somebody sense of place in the world. In this way, one acknowledges certain place in the world if they have a
home. Thus, by considering the significant meaning of home, someone understands who they are. Further, Alphonsa highlights that:
the concept of home as a place which is give comfort, security and stability to somebody…Home becomes a mythic place of desire in the
diasporic imagination…Home as an idea always ensures that we are ourselves, and a p
lace that allows one to rip off all the masks…Magic Seeds which is a continuum of Naipaul’s constant engagement with the
live of dispossessed and unmade world they inhabit Alphonsa, 2012: 44-47.
Alphonsa offers better insight that relocation, fleeing or movement of people from one social space to another either willingly or forcefully is painful. As a novel,
Magic Seeds portrays comprehensively the victory of the colonizers in disposing
the sense of belonging of the colonized people. In other words, Alphonsa more concern on the concept of home to reveal one’s identity.
Meanwhile, Lucia Miheala Grosu ―Mapping the Road to Identity in V.S
Naipaul’s Magic Seeds‖ has a different standpoint to understand Willie’s identity. She observes that Naipaul in his literary work consistently uses metaphor. The
using of metaphor on Naipaul’s novel, Magic Seeds, depicts the cleverness of the writer in keeping the hidden messages of the story. By focusing on the mapping
of the metaphor, Grosu comes into conclusion that it symbolizes one ’s journey to
discover one’s identity. She employs metaphor to interpret Willie’s struggles, V.S Naipaul’s main character in Magic Seeds, to discover own identity, his true self.
Grosu also notes Magic Seeds as follows: Naipaul’s novel has an open ending, thus his readers are left imagining
different outcomes of the hero. We are once more allowed into his thoughts: ―I must try now to be only myself. If such a thing is possible‖
Naipaul, 2004: 170. Through these words, the author gives us an indication as to how Willie is going to live the rest of his life and he also
sums up the message hidden under the hero’s life map: one has to build a life without mirroring others existence and ce
lebrating one’s individuality Grosu, 2013: 62.
Grosu asserts that ―Magic Seeds tells the story of how identity is built and
changed and rebuilt, how an individual can reconnect with a dormant self, how a person can grow and achieve the wisdom of accepting his own flaws, his own
mistakes‖ Grosu, 2013: 58. Still reviewing V.S Naipaul’s Magic Seeds Ravi Kumar Mishra, in his
article ―Sense of Place and Post-Colonial Perspectives in the Fiction of V.S.
Naipaul: Half a Life and Magic Seeds ‖ discusses about the theme of post
colonialism and sense of pla ce by analyzing V.S Naipaul’s two novels Half a Life
and Magic Seeds. Mishra notes as following explanations: One definition is that a place comes into existence when humans give
meaning to a part of the larger, undifferentiated space. Any time a location is identified or given a name, it is separated from the undefined
space that surrounds it. Some places, however, have been given stronger meanings, names or definitions by society than others. These are the
places that are said to have a strong Sense of Place. The sense of place is a social phenomenon that exists independently of any one individuals
experiences, yet is dependent on human engagement for its existence. Such a feeling may be derived from the natural environment, but is more
often made up of a mix of natural and cultural features in the landscape, and generally includes the people who occupy the place Mishra, 2013:
12.
From quotation above, Mishra wants to emphasize the significance of certain place to anyone existence. Broadly, particular place certainly has different
meaning to one ’s life. Place itself cannot be separated from human experiences.
The novel has three settings: first there is pre-independence Africa, then post- independence India, and finally London. All three are places that Naipaul can
identify with. Thus, sense of place is a social phenomenon which is related to one’s experiences. Subsequently Mishra also comments on Naipaul’s characters.
Based on his paper, he proclaims that: characters in Magic Seeds and Half a Life tend to deny one or more racial
characteristics in order to become ―more respectable,‖ in their estimation. However, they eventually discover that their identity cannot be fixed
because they are the fruits of multiple cultures. All through the novel, Willie is drifting without a solid and fixed identity. He cannot try to
achieve one fixed identity because of his multi-background Mishra, 2013: 13.
Mishra reiterates that Naipaul’s characters are unable to discover the single identity in their multi backgrounds. Thus, tendency to disclaim the one or more
characteristics are generally found in multiple cultures.
