Nabil BAAZIZI | Université Paris III - Sorbonne Nouvelle (original) (raw)
Papers by Nabil BAAZIZI
In the wake of decolonization, colonialist narratives have systematically been rewritten from ind... more In the wake of decolonization, colonialist narratives have systematically been rewritten from indigenous perspectives. This phenomenon is referred to as "the Empire writes back to the centre"—a trend that asserted itself in late twentieth-century postcolonial criticism. The aim of such acts of writing back is to read colonialist texts in a Barthesian way inside-out or à l’envers, to deconstruct the Orientalist and colonialist dogmas, and eventually create a dialogue where there was only a monologue. Turning the colonial text inside-out and rereading it through the lens of a later code allows the postcolonial text to unlock the closures of its colonial precursor and change it from the inside. Under this critical scholarship, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1899) has been a particularly influential text for Chinua Achebe and V. S. Naipaul. Their novels Things Fall Apart (1958) and A Bend in the River (1979) can be seen as a rewriting of Conrad’s novella. However, before examining their different rewriting strategies, it would be fruitful to locate them within the postcolonial tradition of rewriting. While Achebe clearly stands as the leading figure of the movement, the Trinidadian novelist is, in fact, difficult to pigeonhole. Does Naipaul write back to, that is criticize, or does he rewrite, and in a way adopt and justify, imperial ideology? Since not all rewriting involves writing back in terms of anti-colonial critique, Naipaul’s position continues to be explored as the enigmatic in-betweenness and double-edgedness of an "insider" turned "outsider." Taking cognizance of these different critical perceptions can become a way to effectively highlight Achebe’s "(mis)-reading" and Naipaul’s "(mis)-appropriation" of Conrad, a way to set the framework for the simulated conversation this book seeks to create between the three novelists.
AWEJ for Translation & Literary Studies, 2018
This paper investigates the notion of uprootnedness and cultural shipwreck in the Trinidadian nov... more This paper investigates the notion of uprootnedness and cultural shipwreck in the Trinidadian novelist V. S. Naipaul's novel The Mimic Men (1967). Although the novel's fictional island may stand for Trinidad, this paper stresses the fact that, according to Naipaul, the disordered Isabella may well match the characteristics of other chaotic Third World nations. The narrator-protagonist symbolizes more of the disillusionment worthy of Naipaul's other placeless characters like Salim in A Bend in the River and Mr. Biswas in A House for Mr Biswas. This means that Naipaul tries a writing of a (hi)story that adheres to his personal idiosyncrasies and beliefs, a narrative in which he exposes the abnormalities and pretences of a society in which nothing seems sure and lasting. As the title of the novel suggests, the pattern is that of mimicry; postcolonial countries, all together lacking a sense of creativity, duplicate and distort metropolitan models. Thus, this paper sheds light in the tunnel between the 'us' (Europeans) and the 'them' (Caribbean) arguing that for Naipaul the first stands for authenticity and reality while the second signifies mimicry and unreality.
This paper intends to investigate the passage from orature to literature in Africa, and the probl... more This paper intends to investigate the passage from orature to literature in Africa, and the problem of the language used, in the context of the work of the Nigerian novelist and critic Chinua Achebe, whose novel Things Fall Apart (1958) is considered as the first African novel. The problematic dialogism that engaged the African writer with canonical literate traditions evokes the difficulty of writing an African history and narrative while the records are missing, for the Africans did not have a written tradition. It is true that writing about an oral society that did not know writing sometimes turns into a syncretic account, but the African writer is also faced with the paradox of representing the experience of oral societies using the colonizer’s literate language. Accordingly, we are led to question: how can such fiction do justice to the colonized culture? While this paper admittedly tries to figure out how the worldview in oral societies is cyclic since the past and the present are fused, it invites new perspectives by highlighting the empowering effects orature has had on African writers who learnt to revisit their oral tradition and make out of it their emancipating and decolonizing project.
This essay investigates the re-readings and rewritings of colonial canonical texts from the persp... more This essay investigates the re-readings and rewritings of colonial canonical texts from the perspective of the colonized. Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1902) has been a particularly influential text for V. S. Naipaul. His novel A Bend in the River (1979) can been seen as a rewriting of Conrad’s novella. However, it also reflects his ambivalence towards the post-colonial struggle for decolonization as well as the persistent traditional Western conceptions of Africa and the Africans. This essay therefore explores the enigmatic in- betweeness and double-edgedness of Naipaul’s work.
Thesis by Nabil BAAZIZI
In the wake of decolonization, colonialist narratives have systematically been rewritten from ind... more In the wake of decolonization, colonialist narratives have systematically been rewritten from indigenous perspectives. This phenomenon is referred to as "the Empire writes back to the centre"—a trend that asserted itself in late twentieth-century postcolonial criticism. The aim of such acts of writing back is to read colonialist texts in a Barthesian way inside-out or à l’envers, to deconstruct the Orientalist and colonialist dogmas, and eventually create a dialogue where there was only a monologue. Turning the colonial text inside-out and rereading it through the lens of a later code allows the postcolonial text to unlock the closures of its colonial precursor and change it from the inside. Under this critical scholarship, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1899) has been a particularly influential text for Chinua Achebe and V. S. Naipaul. Their novels Things Fall Apart (1958) and A Bend in the River (1979) can be seen as a rewriting of Conrad’s novella. However, before examining their different rewriting strategies, it would be fruitful to locate them within the postcolonial tradition of rewriting. While Achebe clearly stands as the leading figure of the movement, the Trinidadian novelist is, in fact, difficult to pigeonhole. Does Naipaul write back to, that is criticize, or does he rewrite, and in a way adopt and justify, imperial ideology? Since not all rewriting involves writing back in terms of anti-colonial critique, Naipaul’s position continues to be explored as the enigmatic in-betweenness and double-edgedness of an "insider" turned "outsider." Taking cognizance of these different critical perceptions can become a way to effectively highlight Achebe’s "(mis)-reading" and Naipaul’s "(mis)-appropriation" of Conrad, a way to set the framework for the simulated conversation this book seeks to create between the three novelists.
AWEJ for Translation & Literary Studies, 2018
This paper investigates the notion of uprootnedness and cultural shipwreck in the Trinidadian nov... more This paper investigates the notion of uprootnedness and cultural shipwreck in the Trinidadian novelist V. S. Naipaul's novel The Mimic Men (1967). Although the novel's fictional island may stand for Trinidad, this paper stresses the fact that, according to Naipaul, the disordered Isabella may well match the characteristics of other chaotic Third World nations. The narrator-protagonist symbolizes more of the disillusionment worthy of Naipaul's other placeless characters like Salim in A Bend in the River and Mr. Biswas in A House for Mr Biswas. This means that Naipaul tries a writing of a (hi)story that adheres to his personal idiosyncrasies and beliefs, a narrative in which he exposes the abnormalities and pretences of a society in which nothing seems sure and lasting. As the title of the novel suggests, the pattern is that of mimicry; postcolonial countries, all together lacking a sense of creativity, duplicate and distort metropolitan models. Thus, this paper sheds light in the tunnel between the 'us' (Europeans) and the 'them' (Caribbean) arguing that for Naipaul the first stands for authenticity and reality while the second signifies mimicry and unreality.
This paper intends to investigate the passage from orature to literature in Africa, and the probl... more This paper intends to investigate the passage from orature to literature in Africa, and the problem of the language used, in the context of the work of the Nigerian novelist and critic Chinua Achebe, whose novel Things Fall Apart (1958) is considered as the first African novel. The problematic dialogism that engaged the African writer with canonical literate traditions evokes the difficulty of writing an African history and narrative while the records are missing, for the Africans did not have a written tradition. It is true that writing about an oral society that did not know writing sometimes turns into a syncretic account, but the African writer is also faced with the paradox of representing the experience of oral societies using the colonizer’s literate language. Accordingly, we are led to question: how can such fiction do justice to the colonized culture? While this paper admittedly tries to figure out how the worldview in oral societies is cyclic since the past and the present are fused, it invites new perspectives by highlighting the empowering effects orature has had on African writers who learnt to revisit their oral tradition and make out of it their emancipating and decolonizing project.
This essay investigates the re-readings and rewritings of colonial canonical texts from the persp... more This essay investigates the re-readings and rewritings of colonial canonical texts from the perspective of the colonized. Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1902) has been a particularly influential text for V. S. Naipaul. His novel A Bend in the River (1979) can been seen as a rewriting of Conrad’s novella. However, it also reflects his ambivalence towards the post-colonial struggle for decolonization as well as the persistent traditional Western conceptions of Africa and the Africans. This essay therefore explores the enigmatic in- betweeness and double-edgedness of Naipaul’s work.