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One Out of Many
Text: Naipaul, V.S.
¡§One Out of Many.¡¨ The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed.
M.H. Abrams, et al. 7th ed. Vol. 2. New York: Norton, 2000. 2722-45.
Characters
Plot
Motifs
and Themes
Racial
Discrimination
Symbols
Cultural
Differences
Cultural
Struggle and Transition
Study
Questions
Characters
Santosh¡X
¡¯ Experiencing
struggles in life (p.2735)
¡¯ American
dream: He is a man full of American dream. He wants to become somebody
in America, but frustrated by the reality.
¡¯Dissatisfied:
He wants to promote his own position, so he can be better than the other
Indians in Washington.
¡¯Self-isolated:
(Pp.2726, 2729, 2743, 2744) Live with secrets: (Pp.2732, 2738)
¡¯ Servile
nature: (p.2739)
Priya¡X
¡¯A restaurant
owner; a small man about fifty years old; looks worried most of the time
¡¯Modest
(p.2735) & fussy (p.2738)
¡¯ Predestination¡]p.
2735¡^
¡¯ Likes to talk philosophy ¡]actually
something meaningless¡^:
(Pp. 2738-39)
Santosh and Priya
The relationship
between Santosh and Priya is somewhat like that between Gogo and Didi in
Waiting for Godot--both of them stay together due to their mutual need,
and they rely on each other. Santosh feels safe because of Priya¡¦s
solidity (p.2737-38). Next, in this story, Santosh is more rational; he
knows what he wants, he knows what his goal is, but Priya is beat by
reality; therefore, Priya is not so much eager to achieve his goal.
Restaurant is his world.
Priya suggests Santosh
to have a simple life, without too much ambition, get married, and bear
children. This would lead Santosh to become a citizen, a free man in the
fastest way.
At the beginning, Santosh refused, but finally, he accepts Priya¡¦s
suggestion, gets married with the hubshi woman, gets the green card, and
becomes a legal citizen.
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Plot
Santosh was living
happily in Bombay.(2722)
Santosh¡¦s employer was transferred to Washington; and the life-style
in Washington will be different from that in Bombay.(2723)
Santosh was prejudged on the airplane, and the journey became miserable
for him.(2724)
The custom official checked Santosh¡¦s luggage. (2725)
Santosh¡¦s employer asked him that he should behave himself because he
would represent his country and his boss. (2726)
All scenes in Washington he saw were different from those in Bombay.
Santosh had never dreamt that a lot of ¡§the wild race¡¨ (hubshi)
existed in Washington.
Santosh felt like a prisoner. (2726)
Santosh¡¦s employer reminded Santosh again.
a ¡§Dearness Allowance¡¨: US$7.50. (2727)
Santosh had a walk in the afternoon, and he was prejudged in a café
again, because he did not wear shoes and fine clothes.
Walked along by a fountain, where some of the hubshi were. (2728)
Went to see a movie. In less than one hour Santosh had spent nine
days¡¦ pay. (2729)
Santosh went to the supermarket. (2730)
Encountered with a hubshi woman, who worked on his floor in the
apartment block.
Studying his face in the mirror, Santosh became more careful of his
appearance. (2731)
Bought one green hat and one green suit, but Santosh did not wear out of
doors. (2732)
An American came to dinner. (2733)
An adventure (sex) with the hubshi woman. (2733)
The hubshi have gone wild in Washington. (2734)
A long walk, and then Santosh met Priya. (2735)
The past business of Priya was about selling caftan.
Decided to work for Priya as a cook. (2736)
Santosh recalled the green suit. (2737)
Burdened by his secrets, Santosh experienced ¡§a sickness of the
soul.¡¨ (2738)
Went to see a Hindi movie, where all the Indians of Washington were
there. Santosh was very frightened and used the wrong word ¡§sahib¡¨.
(2739)
Santosh ¡§had lost¡¨ his looks. He ¡§was a free man,¡¨ but he ¡§had
lost¡¨ his ¡§freedom.¡¨ (2739)
One of Santosh¡¦s original employer¡¦s friends visited him. Priya
thought him as a rival. (2740)
Made a raise by Priya¡¦s nervousness. A victory was only fate¡¦s
cheating, giving an illusion of power to Santosh. Santosh decided to
challenge the fate walking along the fountain. (2741)
Santosh met the hubshi woman again. (2742)
Santosh got the parcel
of ¡§the green suit¡¨ (2742).
Santosh felt he ¡§has never been free.¡¨ He had been abandoned. He was
like nothing; he had made himself nothing. And he couldn¡¦t turn back.
(2472)
Priya suggested Santosh to marry with the hubshi woman. (2743)
Santosh finally felt his senses revive. (2744)
Santosh married the hubshi woman.
Santosh was finally a citizen, his presence is legal. But he is ¡§a
stranger.¡¨ (2744-45)
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Motifs
and Themes
Racial Prejudice
----> Racial Antipathy
¡§Then she pointed to
the policeman with the gun outside and taught me: ¡¥He pig.¡¦¡¨(2730
par 2 from the bottom)
¡§It is written in our books, both holy and not so holy, that is
indecent and wrong for a man of our blood to embrace the hubshi woman.
To be dishonored in this life, to be born a cat or a monkey or a hubshi
in the next!¡¨ (2731, par 2 )
Identity Problem
Self-awareness of not
being imprisoned anymore--->escape--->seeking for freedom
Fail ( gear up)--->cut off the channel of
communication--->Alienated / Isolated--->try to find the way out
of the plight--->gave up (accept the cruel reality )
Inner struggle with the secrets ¡Ð¡§I
felt burdened by my secrets. Once I had none; now I had so many¡K. My
mind fastened on to these causes, and the effect of this was that my
sadness became like a sickness of the soul¡Know the responsibility was
mine and mine alone¡K.I remembered that in the early days of my escape
I had thought I was in charge of myself.¡¨ (2738, par 4-5)
To pretend he is strong, he seizes the occasional chance to raise
his value up¡Ð¡§
I said, ¡§Sahib, I couldn¡¦t stay on for less than a hundred and
twenty-five.¡¨ (2741, L8)
The temporary victory brings the extended frustration¡Ð
¡§Now here was a victory. It was
only after it happened that I realized how badly I had needed such a
victory, how far, gaining my freedom, ¡Kmy senses revived. But in this
city what was there to feed my senses? There were no walks to be taken,
no idle conversations with understanding friends ¡K¡¨(2741, par 7,
beg. with ¡§Now¡¨)
The disappointment¡Ð
¡§ I saw then that victory I had had
was not something I had worked for, but luck; and that luck was only
fate¡¦s cheating, giving an illusion of power.¡¨ (2741, par 3 from the
bottom)
Try to find a way out
of the plight (alienation/ isolation), and set up an ambition to relieve¡Ð
¡§But that illusion lingered¡KI
began to go out walking in the afternoons¡K.with the fountain.¡¨(2741,
par 2 from the bottom)
Then, he realized he
had never escaped, never been free¡Ð ¡§I
was alone. I hadn¡¦t escape. I had never been free. I had been
abandoned. I was like nothing; I had made myself nothing. And I
couldn¡¦t turn back.¡¨ (2742, par 5 from the bottom)
Eventually, he gave
up.( accept the cruel fate)¡Ð¡§I
have closed my mind and heart to the English language,¡KI do not want
to understand or learn any more.¡¨ (2744, the last paragraph)
¡§I am a simple man who decided to act and see for himself, and it is
as though I have had several lives. I do not wish to add to these. Some
afternoons I walk to the circle with the fountain¡K All that my freedom
has brought me is the knowledge that I have a face and have a body, that
I must feed this body and clothe this body for a certain number of
years. Then it will be over.¡¨
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Racial
Discrimination
American/Indian and
Hubshi, Indian/Hubshi
the airline girl shows her dislike of him¡X(2724, the middle par, L5;
last par, L5)
the girl in the restaurant sees Santosh as a barbarian¡X(2728, the
first new par, L3)
hubshi (Derogatory Indian term for African blacks), and Santosh calls
them ¡§wild race¡¨¡X(2726, par 2, L9)
a warning of Santosh¡¦s master¡X(2727, last par, L3)
gas-lamps (Santosh thinks it¡¦s a warning to the blacks)¡X(2729, the
last line)
cleaning (Santosh thinks the blacks won¡¦t do cleaning in real
life¡X(2797, par 4)
embrace (having sex, Santosh takes the blacks as debasement just like
animals)¡X(2731, the first new par, L8)
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Cultural
Differences
Both of Santosh and his
master are aware that they may live another life style in
Washington¡X(2723, par 6, 7, 8)
Modern city and electric city (showing a totally different view from
Bombay)¡X(2725, par 7), (2726, par 2, L3)
Santosh disapproves the dress style of American(showing the different
life style between the rich and the poor)¡X(2728, par 2, L3)
Cleanliness (Santosh learns the real life of the American from TV)¡X
(2730, par 2, L7)
Religion (Indian take it as a holy thing, but the American do not take
the ancient temple of India as a big deal)¡X(2732, par 2 from the
bottom)
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Cultural
Struggle and Transition
Fear¡÷curiosity and
disapproval¡÷change¡÷fear¡÷isolation
Santosh starts to fit himself into American life style (language and
dress)¡X(2731-32)
Santosh finds out that his old sickness and fears coming back after his
so called ¡§victory¡¨¡X(2741, par 2 from the bottom, L3)
l Santosh wants to
get out of the struggle physically and mentally¡X2744 (last para)
l Priya tries to join a different culture, but he still cannot be
accepted¡X2735 (last two lines)
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Symbols
1. Fountain: Hope/
American Dream/ Desire of being set free/ Vicious circle
Hope¡V (2728, par 3)
American Dream¡V (2741, last par-2742)
Vicious circle
2. Cupboard and room:
Prison / Refuge
2729, In the middle, par begins with ¡¥¡¥I understand I was a
prisoner.¡¨
2732, L 5
2742, in the middle, par begins with ¡¥¡¥I felt¡K¡¦¡¦
3. Mirror:
Mental status
¡§I was falling. ¡K¡¨ (2731, par 2 )
¡§I was loosing my looks. ...¡¨ (2739, par 2)
4. Green (green suit, green hat, green circle, green card)
¡§A green hat, a green suit¡K¡¦¡¦ (2732, L1)
¡§¡Kto walk to that green circle¡K¡¨ (2741, par 2 from the bottom)
¡§I took the parcel up¡K the green suit.¡¦¡¦ (2742, middle par)
¡§I said to her ¡K ¡¥Will you marry me?¡¦¡¨ (2744, middle par)
5. Hubshi woman--Destruction/ Death
¡§A few days¡K She dragged me down on the couch¡K I saw the moment,
helplessly, s one of dishonour.¡¨ (2733, par 6)
¡§I said to her in English¡K ¡¥Will you marry me?¡¦¡¨ (2744, middle
par) Santosh exchanged his freedom with the hubshi woman to secure a
green card and citizenship.
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Study
Questions
Do you think that
Santosh really was free in the end of the story?
What does the title ¡§One out of many¡¨ mean?
Is it possible to truly accept yourself when your identity depends on a
community thousand of miles away?
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