R. K. Narayan¿s attitude towards the English language: a postcolonial posture, a utilitarian gesture

Essay from the year 2010 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Comparative Literature, grade: A, Jahangirnagar University (Department of English), language: English, abstract: Abstract

This paper is intended to examine R. K. Narayan¿s attitude towards the English language as reflected in his essays. Narayan (1906-2001) was born and grown up in a period when English education was already institutionalised in the Indian Sub-continent. Like other Indian writers in English, such as Raja Rao and Mulk Raj Anand, he received English education and used to write in English from the beginning of his literary career up to the end. However, he is seen to have used the English language and literary form to scrutinise colonialism and depict the Indian society continually under change due to the colonial rule. A part of this endeavour seems to be evident in Narayan¿s attitude towards the English language. Narayan¿s position in this regard is deemed quite ambivalent and complex ¿he is aware that English is the language of the colonist, yet he is found to have accepted it for practical reasons. That is, his attitude towards the English language appears to have resulted from and shaped by the reality prevailing in the postcolonial setting.