The Mimic Men Essay

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“The Mimic Men” by V.S Naipaul has various settings which serves different purposes. The settings that will be discussed are the settings in London and the settings in the island of Isabella. The first setting that would be discussed is London by itself. In this novel, London is actually described as a land of supreme power and a location where many humans dream to attain success. However, London could also be a cruel place to live for those who fail to make it big. Ralph Singh describes the London city as a place where only the well known people live a comfortable life while the less known ones lead a horrific life. Ralph Singh on London:

Here was the city, the world. I waited for the flowering to come to me. The trams on the
…show more content…
In reality, Ralph Singh is in exile in London and is facing a challenging life. However, Ralph Singh dresses up like a successful gentleman which impresses his friend and thus, his friend would think that Ralph Singh is leading a successful life at …show more content…
And remember that the sole purpose of your college scarf is to shine your shoes.

This extract explains the arrogance that Ralph Singh has when he speaks to a young man who does not dress up as well as him. Ralph Singh seems to look down upon the young man because he is not in the same league as him.

Besides that, there are also settings in the island of Isabella that serves a number of purposes. The first setting in the island of Isabella is the setting in the school. The teacher instructs the the students to state the feminines for the masculines that are being mentioned. When it was Ralph Singh's turn to state the feminine word for “husband”, Ralph stands up and walks towards the teacher and whispers to his ear that the answer is “wife”. We could say that the author,V.S. Naipaul is mocking the idea of “marriage”. The author finds marriage as a complicated relationship and brings more misery than joy.

He bent down with concern and I whispered into his ear : 'Wife.'

This extract shows that V.S.Naipaul is trying to convince that it is a sin to use the word “wife” as it relates to

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