Class 11 English Unit 18: Identity Crisis in Immigrants

 

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Unit 18 Identity Crisis in Immigrants (page 62)

Reflection of the Story

Half a Life is the story of a man who spends two decades in search of a life he can call his own by the protagonist, Willie Somerset Chandran. He was born to an educated father who rejected materialism and ambition. He married a poverty-stricken woman, who later gave birth to Willie. The story has been set in India, London, an unnamed African country that is likely Mozambique, and briefly in Berlin.

The story begins with Willie questioning his father about his middle name, Somerset. When dissecting his full name, Willie discovers that his middle name came from a famous British writer, Somerset Maugham, who once visited his father. His first name is Christian, and his last name reveals his blended ancestral roots. This knowledge leaves Willie looking for a heritage of which he can be proud. He is ashamed of the fact of his mother's social and financial status. Subsequently, his survival instinct leads him to a fantasy world, one in which he pretends to be someone he is not, someone he does not need to be embarrassed by.

Willie weaves quite a tangled web of lies about who he is and where he comes from. His hatred for his partial existence. He first travels to London, hoping to find himself there while studying literature and becoming a writer; instead, he finds himself trapped in uncertainty, uninterested in either his studies or making any effort to better himself. Willie, who has had very little experience with sexual liberation, enters into intimate affairs with women who are already involved with his friends, hoping to educate himself in the art of lovemaking.

However, each experience leaves him even more unfulfilled than the last. Having completed his education and exhausted the possibility of finding his future in London, Willie journeys to Africa. Willie now has to learn a third language, which is a direct result of his wanderings. Just as his three names are a combination of origins, the three separate languages create an even greater rift between Willie and his existence. Willie eventually settles down with Ana, a Portuguese-African woman, accompanying her to Mozambique. The couple has made their home there for eighteen years, managing to coexist. Much as the civil war that has befallen Mozambique during his time there, the same conflict resides within Willie's relationship with Ana. Willie revisits his former habit of sleeping with prostitutes, but he remains unfulfilled and unsatisfied with his life and feels powerless to escape its confines.

After living in Africa for eighteen years, Willie finally faces reality, telling Ana that he is miserable with their lives and needs to find his own. Ana agrees because she has been feeling as dissatisfied with her life as Willie has with his, and they go their separate ways, each in search of something that may not even exist.

Ways with words

A.         Words from the text to solve the crossword puzzle:

Across
2. as is certain to happen – inevitably
4. famous and respected – eminent
6. a temporary stay – sojourn
7. knowing everything – omniscient
          Down
1. the state of being preoccupied – preoccupation
3. anxious or fearful that something bad will happen – apprehensive
5. a person of mixed white and black ancestry – mulatto

B.          Find the meanings of the following words in a dictionary as they are used in the text.

a.      Melancholy: a deep feeling of sadness that lasts for a long time and often cannot be explained

b.     Elusive: difficult to find, define, or achieve

c.      Motif: a subject, an idea that is developed in a work of literature

d.     Disdain: the feeling that somebody is not good enough to deserve your respect or attention

e.      Fabricate: to produce something false to deceive someone

f.       Intoxicate: to cause somebody to lose control of their behaviour or their physical and mental abilities

g.     Resentment: a feeling of anger or unhappiness about something that you think is unfair

Homophones

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C.          Do the bold words in the following sentences have the same pronunciation but different meanings? (page 166)

a.      I met him while buying the meat in the market.

b.     They sit in the seat that is behind me.

c.      The blacksmiths hit the iron and create the heat to mould it.

The bold words in the above sentences are called homophones. They are the words that have the same pronunciation but different meanings and spellings. 

D.         Choose the right word to fill in the blanks.

Answers only

a.      Can you bury the box in the back garden? (bury/berry)

b.     Alex could not break the branch off the tree. (break/brake)

c.      Whose pencil is on the floor? (Who's/Whose)

d.     We have got very few (phew/few) tasks left.

e.      Some tribes worship their gods before they prey. (prey/pray)

f.       Damn it. Everything is messed up. (Dam /Damn)

g.     What a wonderful lesson the professor presented. (lesson/lessen)

Comprehension: Answer these questions.

a.     How is Willie Chandran different from the rest of his family?

Willie Chandran is different from the rest of his family as he is insecure about himself and his own identity.

b.     Who is the main character of Half A Life? How is he described?

Willie Chandran is the main character of Half A Life. He was born in India to a Brahmin father and a poor mother 40-some years ago. His middle name comes from the name of an English writer called Somerset Maugham.

c.     Why does Willie leave India?

Willie leaves India because he had no identity in India, being born as a child of a high caste father and a low caste mother. He is hateful to his father and manages to get a scholarship to a college in London.

d.     What is the revelation that Willie begins to feel in college and in London?

Willie begins to feel that he is secure and free, unlike in India, where racial discrimination plays a vital role. There he could remake himself, his past and his ancestry.

e.     Why does Willie accompany Ana?

Willie accompanies Ana because she has a kind of high status in her colonial world, and he can also find complete acceptance there.

f.      What is the central issue Naipal has raised in the novel?

In the novel, Naipal has raised an issue of identity crisis regarding ethnicity and culture.

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