The Aesthetic Function of the Style of Masking as used in V.S. Naipaul’s collection of Sketches, Miguel Street

Abstract

The study is based on the assumption that literary style is paramount to literary communication and the meaning we derive out of a work of literature. Literary meaning cannot therefore be divorced from literary style. The purpose of the study is to examine how the style of masking communicates meaning in V.S. Naipaul’s collection of sketches, Miguel Street. The technique of masking is analyzed to show its aesthetic function in the text. The main objective of the study is to evaluate the text and show how the technique is used by the writer to communicate meaning and artistic vision. The rationale of the study is based on the recognition of Naipaul as one of the best world writers and more important that though his works have received extensive literary attention, little has been done on the aesthetic function of the style of masking in the text under study. The study therefore gives a new direction of reading Naipaul’s works and thus contributes not only to the understanding of Naipaul’s idiocyncratic manner of artistic communication but also to the richness of his literature. The sampled text was purposively chosen based on the aim of the study. The study is grounded in the New Historicism literary theory and more specifically the theory’s tenets that emphasize the study of literary works from a historical context.