The document presents a post-colonial study of R.K. Narayan's novel The Man-eater of Malgudi. It analyzes how the novel reflects post-colonial themes through the characters of Vasu and Nataraj. Vasu represents the colonizers as an outsider who tries to dominate and disturb the local customs, similar to the British colonizers. Nataraj, as a representative of the colonized, is attracted to Vasu's different personality and lifestyle. The symbol of the rakshasa in the novel also represents colonialism imposed on India. Overall, the document examines how the novel depicts the conflicting effects of colonialism on the colonized through the characters and serves as a

1. The Man-eater of
Malgudi:
A Post-colonial Study
Presented By:
Ashraf Ahmed
ID No. 1203030301
Leading University, Sylhet
Prepared For:
Dr. Hossain Al-Mamun
Associate Professor, Department of English
SUST
Course Title: Indian Literature in English
Course Code: ENG-507

2. ❏ From Edwards Said’s Orientalism, we can get an idea
of the term post-colonialism as the “use of the prefix
‘post’ suggests not so much the sense of going beyond
but rather”, as Ella Shohat comments in a seminal
article that postcolonialism is “continuities and
discontinuities; but its emphasis is on the new modes
and forms of the old colonialist practices, not on a
‘beyond’”. (Said, p. 350)
❏ So, postcolonial studies deal with the fatal and
unavoidable impacts of colonialism during the
colonialist regime and after the introduction of
independent ruling in colonized countries.
What is Postcolonialism and
Postcolonial Study?

3. Some texts reflecting postcolonial
studies
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
Petals of Blood (1977)
Chinua Achebe
Things Fall Apart(1958)
E. M. Forster
A Passage to India
(1924)

4. ● In The Man-eater of Malgudi, we find
two opposite forces functioning
mainly through the characters of
Vasu and Nataraj. Vasu stands for the
colonizers who dominated the natives
being an outsider. On the other hand,
an almost innocent person like Nataraj
suffers because of his simple texture
and inferior attitude. In addition,
Nataraj is sometimes appreciative of
Vasu’s activities and attitudes as the
colonized people were addicted to the
lifestyle of the colonizers during
colonialism.
The Man-eater of Malgudi as a
postcolonial Text

5. Vasu’s Role as a Colonizer
• Initial friendly attitude
• Hypocrisy
• Begins to dominate Nataraj once settled in the attic of
Nataraj’s shop (takes shelter in Nataraj’s attic almost
forcefully and later files a case against Nataraj)
• Acts like a person of borrowed culture
• Tries to dominate the locals
• Goes against established customs
(Peers through the blue curtain)

6. Vasu’s Difference with Locals
• Started taxidermy which is an unusual practice for
that locality (like the British colonizers who started
machine-based industries using modern
technology)
• Not respectful to religion even (intend to kill Kumar,
the elephant of the temple)
• Represents forces associated with Western
modernity such as individualism, industrialism and
commercialism. (Ashok Berry)

7. The symbol of the rakshasa in The Man-eater of Malgudi as a
symbol of colonialism imposed upon India. A rakshasa is a
“demonic creature who possessed enormous strength, strange
powers, and genius, but recognized no sort of restraints of man
or God. Every rakshasa gets swollen with his ego. He thinks he
is invincible, beyond every law” (Narayan 72). Like the rakshasa,
Vasu feels no restraint in the town of Malgudi. He makes
Nataraj’s home his own and shows little respect for what he is
given. He disturbs the harmony of the local practices and dies on
his own at the end.
Rakshasa: Symbol of Colonialism

8. • Nataraj “is at times
attracted by aspects of
the outsider’s [Vasu]
personality, which is very
different from that of
himself and his
townspeople” (Fakrul
Alam)
Nataraj’s Attraction to Vasu’s
Personality
This is a common phenomenon in
other texts like Mulk Raj Anand’s:
● Bakha, in Untouchable, shows
deep interest in Western clothing
of foreign officers and always
wears old clothes bought from
secondhand shops.
● In Coolie, Munoo dreams of
material gain enchanted by the
different and comfortable lifestyle
of the English officials of Imperial
Bank and the textile factory of
Mumbai.

9. To Conclude
● R. K. Narayan sharply delineates
‘the conflicting minds of his
characters caught between the
spiritual and the baser instincts,
material gains and religious
fervour, cultural values of the
East and the West, age-old
unscientific beliefs and refining
influences of modern
civilization. (Jahangir Bin
Sarwar, The Chittagong
University Journal of Arts and
Humanities)
● Narayan also believes in the
universality of his Malgudi
characters: “If I explain that
Malgudi is a small town in
South India I shall only be
expressing a half-truth, for
the characters of Malgudi
seem to me universal.”
● To sum up, we can deduce
that The Man-eater of
Malgudi is a classic example
of postcolonial text.

10. Email: ahmashraf@gmail.com
Website: http://www.ashrafonline.com/
Thank You.
If you have any question, I
can answer them.