The character of Big Man in "A Bend in the River"

            Question:(1): Sketch out the character of the Big Man, the President of Africa in the light of the novel “A Bend in the River” by V. S. Naipaul.

            Answer: “A Bend in the River” is a novel by V. S. Naipaul based on the post-colonial theme that implies the domination of the colonisers prevailing although they departed from Africa long ago. The President, Big Man’s activities bear the testimony of a coloniser although he is an African. His ambivalent attitude makes him a completed character in the novel. He is responsible for all the chaos, disorders and corruption in the life of the innocent Africans.

            After the independence of Africa, the Big Man, comes into power and becomes the President of Africa in a dishonest way. Soon after that, he decides to drive away all the non-African inhabitants from Africa to rebuild a new one. So according to his desire, there is a decree to vandalise all the monuments, pedestals, roads, floodlights that bear the evidence of the colonisers and the names of all the main streets are removed. The purpose of such vandalism lies in the line below:

“The wish had only been to get rid of the old, to wipe out the memory of the intruder.”

            It is a foolish act on his part. Afterwards, the site looks like the site of a dead civilisation. As soon as the drive of Africanisation commences, all the diasporic characters of the novel become very worried about their future and much concerned about safe staying there in Africa.

            Although the Big Man is the president of the newly born Africa, he is in a constant threat in his position. He does not allow anyone to surplus him in quality, power and experience. So whenever he discovers any sign of it in anyone, either he makes him killed or removes him from his position. Such kind of jealousy is traceable in his appointing the soldiers in bringing peace and stability in the rebellious groups of Africa. He keeps on changing them on a regular basis. Such is the method of him as:

“…. he gave his men power and authority,

but he never allowed them to settle in anywhere and become local kings.”

            He does the same with Raymond, an advisor to the President. When he is important to him, he keeps him but when Raymond’s necessity to him runs out, he casts him away. Because of such nature of the President, Zabeth is concerned about his son, Ferdinand who is going to be appointed by him.

            Ambivalence is a term that implies a continual fluctuation between wanting one and wanting its opposite. However, the Big Man is very ambivalent in his attitude. He openly says that he hates the colonisers but he is just following them keenly to educate the Africans. To serve the purpose, he has created the New Domain, a university city and a research centre facilitated with all the modern equipment. He thinks that he is creating a miracle that would astound the rest of the world and therefore, for the institution, he appoints researchers, professors, lecturers, engineers and educationists from Europe. That is to say, without Europe neither the Big Man nor Africa would be able to survive.

            The Big Man is a president of different kind. He expects his picture to be larger in size. So when there are magazines and posters printed in Europe, his picture towers all other people among them and all the pictures of his subordinates must be printed in smaller size. It symbolises that he is superior to all other people in Africa but the readers know that he is corrupt. In addition to that:

“Everywhere the president’s photograph looked down at us.

In the town, in our shops and in government buildings, it was just the photograph of the president.”

            Towards the end of the novel, in the section “The Battle”, almost all the diasporic characters feel it insecure for them to live there any more on learning about the President’s new program of ‘Radicalisation’ they leave Africa except few to save their lives. So does Salim but when he returns he has lost everything because his property is given to a state trustee.

  

            To conclude the discussion, we can examine the comment of Raymond on the President as he is the great African chief and he is also the man of the people. He is the modernizer and he is also the African who has rediscovered his African soul. He is constructive, revolutionary and everything but the readers understand it that the Big Man is corrupt and does everything for his personal benefits.

Md. Saiful Alam

B. A. Honours and M. A. in English

Lecturer of English

Queen’s College, Dhaka

E-mail: suman64924@gmail.com

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