Answer

Lecture for Gopinath Response

            At the beginning of this week’s lecture, it is evident that the archives influence how history is recorded. I believe this is due to the fact that currently, there can be no primary source of information to justify what is already stored in the archives. It is this area where a lot of doubt may be experienced since it may easily impact the reliability and validity of any information used to understand the post-colonial times.

            It is important to avoid having a closed mind-set when going through the text, “Surviving Naipaul: Housing Masculinity in A House for Mr. Biswas, Surviving Sabu, and East Is East.” That is because of the varying definitions which is experienced as one reads through the text. Therefore an open mind enables a better understanding of how the situation was, and how it may have evolved over time. However, these differences should not be quite pronounced since most concepts today are believed to have been developed from the ideas which were already established in history.

            Various terms are being reinvented, such as queer, whose meaning keeps evolving. This leads to significant questions such as, what was the initial definition assigned to it? What triggered its evolution over time? Are people today more accepting of the term than they were during the postcolonial period? All these questions are important in better understanding the use of such terms in the text, and the reason behind the evolved uses.

            Lastly, how does the concept of home relate to the notion of diaspora? Since diaspora is often used in situations where various cultures come to interact in a specific location, it creates confusion of how the concept of home relates to it. A home is a place where one is already comfortable living in. On the other hand, when people go to the diaspora, they are forced to work hard as they adapt to the new environments, cultures and people. Hence, this is an area where ore clarification should be sought while reading through the text.