Naipaul Does Not Deserve his Nobel Prize Essay - 899 Words

What makes an individual worthy of a Nobel Prize in a category as broad as literature? Is it an immense knowledge of writing procedures that other authors have not begun to attempt to use? Or is an appropriate representation of the authors subject that is solely objective, and lacks all personal opinions? If that was the case, several Prizes should be taken away from some authors and handed to other more deserving writers. V. S. Naipaul, who received a Nobel Prize in Literature for Miguel Street, falls into the former category. Naipaul may have filled the technical requirements for a Nobel Prize for his mastery of several difficult techniques, yet his writing neglects to explain the merits of Trinidad while highlighting the negatives†¦show more content†¦What did Nobel actually mean by ideal? In fact, the history of the Literature Prize appears as a series of attempts to interpret an imprecisely worded will. A comparison with Porgy and Bess has been suggested. (C. Pierre) The parallel has at least the merit of reminding us that the whole world is one. In that hospitable mood we might also remember Mark Twains tales of life on the Mississippi. But Miguel Street, in Trinidad, is not really very much like Catfish Row, nor are reminders of nineteenth-century Missouri prevalent. What is true and, if you will, significant about Mr. Naipauls book is that it presents a world of its own excellently. Vivid characters with tenuous means of support populate the place. They sing the latest Calypso songs and interest themselves in cricket matches and collect junk and talk about migrating across the narrow sea to Venezuela. If their attitude toward morals is informal it is shown openly, not covertly. Their standards of courage are high. They speculate endlessly on the tremendous trifles and mysteries that have troubled mans thinking throughout his tenure on our strange planet. A room with a view of a m ango tree may contain a boisterously quarrelsome family or a recluse devoted to carpentry or scholarship. The popular beverage is rum, though the gay blades who enjoy it most turn to the ostentatious patronage of a milk bar during an interval when joy through strength becomes fashionable. It had so manyShow MoreRelatedIndian English Novel17483 Words   |  70 Pagesrather contemporary touch with the coming of Mulk Raj Anand, Raja Rao and R.K.Narayan. The social disparity of India which was aptly described by Mulk Raj Anand in his Coolie, the imaginary village life with its entire unedited realities in R.K. Narayan`s Malgudi Days and last but not the least the aura of Gandhism depicted by Raja Rao in his remarkable novel Kanthapura portrayed a whole new India. The need of the `foreigners` depicting India amidst their write ups was not needed as Indians wanted