Cultural Encounters in Literary Works

This essay explores the theme of cultural encounters in V.S. Naipaul's short story One out of Many through the experiences of Santosh in Washington D.C. and its impact on the storyline.

Running head: CULTURAL ENCOUNTERS IN LITERARY WORKS
Cultural Encounters in Literary Works
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1CULTURAL ENCOUNTERS IN LITERARY WORKS
Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul has emerged as one of the most important authors of
the 21st century because of his portrayal of the themes of diaspora and also cultural
encounters that the individuals often face in foreign lands (Campbell 2018). Poornima and
Unnikrishnan (2016) are of the viewpoint that the recurrence of these two themes in the
majority of his works can be explained on the basis of the fact that he himself faced these two
problems while staying in Trinidad. More importantly, his portrayal of these two themes in an
effective manner has lead to the rise of a new genre of literature, namely, the diasporic
literature (Levy 2015). These two themes form the fulcrum point of the majority of stories in
his “An Anthology of Short Stories from Five Continents” and more particularly the short
story “One out of many” (Jackson 2018). This essay will explore the theme of cultural
encounters in the short story “One out of many” through the experiences of Santosh in
Washington D.C.
Naipaul’s “One out of many” shows the journey of Santosh from Bombay to the city
of Washington D.C. in the hope of a better future. It is pertinent to note that just like
thousands of people Santosh also gets influenced by the Great American Dream and comes to
America to gain success and make a name (Ayyildiz 2016). However, on coming to America
he realizes that America is nothing like he has expected it to be and as a matter of fact it is
very different from his native culture. He in fact is shocked by the difference in culture that
exists between the nations of India and USA. In this regard, it can be said that in the initial
part of the story he finds it very difficult to picturize himself as part of this culture (Ayyildiz
2016). He as a matter of fact even begins to have a feeling of self-doubt and identity crisis. In
this regard, his words “I understood I was a prisoner…I accepted this and adjusted….I was
even calm” and are important to note (Naipaul 1973). However, the important self realization
comes when he sees the Mexicans dressing up as the Indians and trying to adopt their identity
so as to gain acceptance in the society. The words “Their talk amid the biryani and the pillaus

2CULTURAL ENCOUNTERS IN LITERARY WORKS
was all of papers and green cards” (Naipaul 1973). As a matter of fact, it can be said that the
majority of the characters as well as the incidents portrayed by Naipaul in the short story
under discussion are all related to theme of cultural encounter in one way or another. Thus,
cultural encounter is more than just a theme in the short story rather it is the fabric which
holds together the diverging characters as well as incidents of the story.
Naipaul is completely aware of his usage of theme of cultural encounter in the short
story under discussion here and he takes the help of various kinds of words and situations to
accentuate this theme (Vashisth 2018). For example, throughout the story it is seen that
Santosh and Priya despite living in the USA address the white skinned people as “sahibs”
(Naipaul 1973). More importantly, the treatment which they offer to the white skinned people
clearly indicates that both these Indians consider the white skinned people as their superiors.
In addition to these, Santosh address the white skinned woman as “hubshi” (Naipaul 1973). It
is pertinent to note that Naipaul through the use of this white skinned and the relationship that
she shares with Santosh tries the show the difference in the Indian and the American culture.
In this regard, it needs to be said that in the Indian culture having sex before marriage for a
woman is unthinkable and thus the sexual relationship which Santosh shares with the hubshi
is a cause of amazement for him (Naipaul 1973). In this context, mention also needs to be
made about the first cultural encounter that Santosh had with the western culture in the
airplane. The airhostess because of the skin complexion of Santosh not only “[she] didn’t like
me at all” but also ignores him during the entire flight (Naipaul 1973).
Santosh in the initial phase of the story is very optimistic about his journey to
America and also believes in the fact that he would be able to gain success in the nation
(Singh et al. 2016). However, on coming to the nation he realizes the fact that the nation is
nothing like the one which he had dreamed and as a matter of fact the Indians are the
marginalized section in the society of America (Ayyildiz 2016). The net result of this is the

3CULTURAL ENCOUNTERS IN LITERARY WORKS
fact that he feels as a “fish out of water” and is not being able to connect with the native
culture or the people of America (Naipaul 1973). It is true that he indulges in sexual
escapades with an American woman and even marries her but the emotional or the cultural
connect that he feels with her is completely null (Ayyildiz 2016). More importantly, this
starts to take a toll on his personality as well as psychology and there are several sections in
the story wherein it is found that he compares himself with a prisoner in the land of America.
There are other characters in the story like Priya, the Mexicans who frequent the
restaurant of Priya and even to some extent the white skinned woman who ultimately marries
Santosh are all aware of the notion of cultural encounter (Schwartz 2014). For example, Priya
expresses himself and the cultural encounter which he faces in the nation of America by
offering help to Santosh (Ayyildiz 2016). Furthermore, he also tries to save Santosh from the
trauma that he himself underwent because of cultural differences. On the other hand, the
Mexicans try to overcome this problem by dressing up as the Indian and even adopting their
food habits and also their speaking styles. The white skinned woman in order to overcome the
cultural encounter that she faces within her own society befriends Santosh and tries to move
out of the cannon of her native culture.
The concept of “people color” forms an integral part of the theme of the story under
discussion here and adds much to the problems faced by Santosh in America (Schwartz
2014). For example, in the flight to America itself Santosh had to face discrimination because
of his skin color. In addition to this, there are numerous instances in the story like the ones on
the streets and others wherein he had to face discrimination because of his skin color. More
importantly, at the end of the story it is seen that Santosh marries the American woman not
because of love but because of her skin color and nationality (Ayyildiz 2016).

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To conclude, the theme of cultural encounter forms an integral part of the short story
“One out of many”. More importantly, this concept is not merely used as a theme of the story
but has been used as a framework in which all other major themes of the work are interwoven
so as to render the story more effective. In addition to this, it is seen that not only the
experiences and feelings of Santosh but other characters of the short story are also permeated
by this concept. Furthermore, this concept not only gives direction to the major events as well
as incidents in the story but to a great extent it can be said that because of its contribution
towards the storyline can be seen as a character itself.

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References
Ayyildiz, N.E., 2016. On the Way of Hybridity: Naipaul’s “One out of many”. International
Journal, 4(1), pp.107-111.
Campbell, P., 2018. Bashing Naipaul: History, Myth and Refusals to See. History and
Sociology of South Asia, 12(1), pp.65-81.
Jackson, E., 2018. Problematizing national/cultural affiliations in postcolonial literature:
Inclusions and exclusions in the reception of Doris Lessing and VS Naipaul. The Journal of
Commonwealth Literature, p.0021989418771112.
Levy, J., 2015. VS Naipaul: displacement and autobiography. Routledge.
Naipaul, V.S., 1973. One out of Many. A Free State, pp.21-58.
Poornima, M.D. and Unnikrishnan, V., 2016. The Relationship between the Indian Diasporic
Writers and their Homeland. International Journal of Multifaceted and Multilingual
Studies, 3(1).
Schwartz, H., 2014. The culture of the copy: Striking likenesses, unreasonable facsimiles.
MIT Press.
Singh, D.Z., Errázuriz, T., Booth, R. and Piglia, M., 2016. Thinking about Mobilities as
Cultural Encounters. Mobility in History, 7(1), pp.27-35.
Vashisth, S., 2018. Perceptive on Indian Diaspora with Chase of Identity and Colliding
Cultures. International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences, 3(3), pp.441-444.