The Problem of Identity and Racism in

Works of Neil Bissoondath

Synopsis of a Thesis
to be submitted to Sardar Patel University
in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in English

by
Niravkumar Rajendraprasad Mehta
Assistant Professor
Shri D N Institute of Business Administration
Anand

Under
Dr J H Khan Dr Hemang Desai
Professor Deputy Registrar, CUG, Gandhinagar
Research Guide Co-Guide

Department of English, Humanities and Social Sciences Building

Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidyanagar – 388 120, Gujarat
September 2017
Introduction

The term ‘Diaspora’ in a very simplified form denotes the migration of people from their
homeland to another country for various reasons. Diasporas have shown a marked increase
post-Globalization which has turned our entire world into a Global village.

Diasporic literature includes enormous amount of literary work written by the authors outside
their native country, but related to the native culture and background. This literature tends to
connect with the feeling that it is a kind of psychological attempt to regain that which the writer
has lost at the level of reality. Diasporic discourse precisely focuses on location of culture,
search for identity and the quest for a home through self-discovery or self-realization. The
enhanced process of Globalization, cross-fertilization and transculturation make new diasporic
literature and culture today particularly important in Canada and elsewhere. Current Diasporic
writing connects past and present and forges new notions of fluid and transnational identities.
Rather, it provides opportunity for new expressions of a transnational global culture. Canada
has covered a lot of ground from model of a Canadian cultural mosaic, a cliché used to express
much sought unity through diversity, and it is today quite proud of its self-image as a
multicultural country.

The literary developments of new ethnic Canadians after 1960s are the Caribbean expatriate
writers who have among many others, helped to reshape Canadian literary landscape, and one
of the writers prominent in the process is Neil Bissoondath. The Canadian author of Caribbean
descent takes strong objection to any attempts to label or categorize him to avoid literary and
cultural ghettoizaiton, and he is happy distancing himself from a hyphenated identity (Canadian
and something).

The present doctoral research attempts to analyze the two most fascinating or debatable aspects
of diasporic literature: Problem of Identity and Racism in the context of works of Neil
Bissoondath – a Canadian author of Caribbean origin. It probes into some issues like: the role
of Identity and Racism in works of Bissoondath, association of multiculturalism with
Bissoondath, how Bissoondath differs as a writer on issues related to diaspora and the
Caribbean and Canadian aspects.

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Chapter-1: Introduction deals with Neil Bissoondath, born as Neil Devindra Bissoondath in
Arima, Trinidad in 1955, but grew up in the town of Sangre Grande, and his works.
Bissoondath’s great grandparents belonged to indentured labourers (Girmitiyas) who migrated
to Trinidad from India as a part of indentured labour and from there to Canada. So there is a
history of double migration in Bissoondath’s family. He was initiated into literary writing by
three people: his grandfather Seepersad Naipaul, his mother Sati Naipaul and his uncle V S
Naipaul. Trinidad faced political upheaval and great disturbance after independence in 1962.
Bissoondath did not see any improvement in opportunities, but a suffocative captivity of island
life, the persistence political tensions. He wished to pursue a career as a writer and this
impelled him to move to Canada.

Bissoondath’s fiction is precisely connected with experiences of immigrants, refugees, nomads

and wanderers. The Protagonists of his fiction experience marginality, insecurity and
homelessness, impermanence of loss of bearings. He is also an outspoken critic of Canada’s
system of multiculturalism. We have tried to show Bissoondath as a writer whose writing is a
journey for readers into marginalized social and geographical territories, rarely moving far
outside the conventions of literary realism. One can notice the influence of some writers like
Conrad, Tolstoy, Milan Kundera, Ernest Hemingway etc in his works especially in case of
physical description of unknown islands or countries. We also try to focus on how like his uncle
V S Naipaul, Bissoondath shows a strong sense of “displacement” of Indians in the Caribbean.
He raises the issue of his identity as a native of Trinidad and Tobago, inquiring whether he is a
Trinidadian or a displaced Indian through this aspect of Indo-Caribbean experience. However,
he resolves this identity crisis by considering himself simply as “Canadian”. He resides
presently in Quebec city where he teaches literature and creative writing in French at Laval
University.

Chapter-2: Theme of Racism in Works of Neil Bissoondath discusses Racism as prominent

aspect of author’s works, and seeks to find out whether it is applicable to all his works through
a review of his works in the light of Problem of Identity and Racism. Racism occupies a
prominent place in his works. In his debut novel A Casual Brutality he impels his readers to
accompany his narrator into the corrupt and violent world of Casaquemada, an imaginary West
Indian island. He takes Casaquemada to be a racialist and racist society. Raj Ramsingh (the

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protagonist) cannot deny the humanist ideals beneath his professional training as a doctor
because he sees no vital difference between different races and civilization. His desire to save
lives completely differs with that of Madera (the antagonist), who tortured pupils as a teenager,
and is into professional killings. While Raj undergoes a development as a character, Madera
remains stuck to a ridiculous and extreme logic of violence. The author also tries to focus on
Raj’s family concerns with a myth of racial transparency. Raj defies his grandmother and her
fear of miscegenation (interbreeding of races) by marrying a white woman, Jan. The marital
problems of Raj and Jan have nothing to do with the different racial background that they
belong to. Race ceases to matter as a problem. What is to be taken into consideration is the
individual not the community. The second novel The Innocence of Age deals with generational
conflict between four characters: Pasco (Father) and Daniel (Son) on the one hand, and
Montgomery (Father) and Nutmeg (Daughter) on the other. The former has a happy ending, and
the latter a tragic one. In depicting how these generational conflicts are not unusual to a
particular civilization, Bissoondath deconstructs race as the one and only explanation as human
behavior. The novel holds the view that racism is often an insufficient, simplistic way of
describing conflicts. Bissoondath has made Montgomery’s son a mouthpiece in declaring that
racism is a term that should be used cautiously because it is too often invoked in order to
balance a weak position that relies on a problematic notion of racial difference for the purpose
of creating an identity. The novel deals with 19-year Sita, an illegal immigrant who represents
less of her cultural marginalization than of her marginalization as an individual. Bissoondath
intermingles multiculturalism in the context of exploitation of an illegal immigrant Sita, to
present the plight of women looking for identity even as they are suppressed by Man (Mr
Simmons).

The third novel The Unyielding Clamour of Night deals with that kind of island nation where
geography and education separate the advantaged from the disadvantaged. Arun, the central
character, raised in a wealthy family believes that he can create a profound difference by
educating the children of downtrodden. So he comes down to a place called Omeara to teach at
an elementary school in the poverty ridden south. Here nothing is as it seems, everyone has
secrets and truth which is elusive. Soon he realizes that he has come to a place where students
are busy at work like milking, weeding, tending goats, etc. Initially he was taken to be a spy for

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the Army because people saw him with Army personnel. He also meets two significant
characters of the novel: Jaisaram, the butcher and his daughter Anjani. Anjani is showing path
of school to Arun but she observes him to be a person who can be very easily befooled or
misguided by anyone in the town. When she is familiar with him finally, Anjani shares her
story behind her expulsion from school in the capital city. She reveals that the magazine
“Playgirl” was found in her roommate’s drawer. The Catholic Nuns could not punish her
roommate as her parents were donors to the school and pillars of community. So they made
Anjani, who was a ‘two percenter’ from the minority community of the south, the ‘scapegoat’.
The author shows how marginalization and discrimination at the tender age is tough to forget or
forgive. Another character he portrays is Kumar, the sole Proprietor of Kumarsingh Enterprise
International Inc in Omeara who comes to Arun’s house with wiremen. Though Kumarsingh
has talent, skill and business sense, people in the capital give him low or poor jobs as an office
boy, cleaner, night watchman etc that makes him feel marginalized and this would never help
him fulfill his dream. Arun’s idealism is sorely tested during his long journey and his sense of
purpose smothered by the reality of his new situation: shuttling from north to south with a
vision but feeling ‘guilty’ in the end.

The novel The Soul of All Great Designs unfolds two characters in the light of Identity: Alec
and Sue or Sumintra. Alec has to portray himself as “Gay” because it is expected that only gays
are suitable for fashion designing and this in order to get success in the field of interior
decoration. He is also scared to be in a relation with a girl due to this very reason. Sue or
Sumintra, the daughter of an Indian immigrant to Canada is baffled between Western culture
and Indian tradition. Initially when Alec and Sue fall in love, they keep it a ‘Secret’ and hesitate
to admit it in public. Bissoondath has presented Sue or Sumintra, and Rima, her friend as
Indian girls in Canada controlled by their parents due to their traditional mindsets as compared
to Kelly who happens to represent a carefree Canadian youth who wants to live life of her own
choice. Sumintra had a tough time as she resides in Canada and still has to follow Indian ways
of life. She is also controlled in terms of her freedom regarding selection of a groom or for a
party at her friend’s place. Her condition is so pathetic that she is torn between her parents’
Indian world and her own world of choice, the Western world. Alec is so worried with the
thought that Sue might reveal his secret to the world that he runs his car over Sue. The novel

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thus unfolds how Alec has compromised with his libidinous desires to sustain his successful
public ‘self’. He faces a strife between ‘real’ and ‘public’ self some times.

Doing the Heart Good is the novel representing Alistair Mackenzie, a retired English professor,
an Anglo Canadian who is introspecting about his life as his house was burnt. He has to live in
Montreal with his daughter, Agnes and her husband Jacques after the death of his wife. Like
other protagonists, Mackenzie, seems helpless because he has to adjust after his wife, Mary’s
death, for he feels lonely and helpless. He thinks of those who came into his life and left, and
some good memories. From his birth around 1920 which was related to World War I, he has the
fear of being ‘forgotten’, so he recollects his memory of past and tries to put them on same
paper but with his cynical attitude messes up all the things. Mackenzie is unable to recognize
Ann since she is suffering from Alzheimer. Thrush, Mackenzie’s colleague, appears helpless to
save his reputation inspite of his innocence in the matter. The protagonist is not able to stop his
daughter Agnes to do charity for teenage mothers. Apart from that, being a refugee Frank is
helpless to support Boobie and his brother, the refugees, in Canada. Boobie and his brother face
lots of problems though having passports, visas and papers. Alistair’s hope perishes for his ill
wife Mary, suffering from tumour and death of Mary puts Mackenzie into the world of
loneliness. Even Thrush is not hopeful to restore his dignity that results into suicide. Frank,
Boobie and his brother have no hope of success as their dreams can’t get fulfilled in another
country as refugees and in despair Frank who is totally displaced from his home country,
murders an unknown brutal person on behalf of Boobie. Ruth-Ann loves to travel for adventure
and pleasure but finally realizes that real pleasure is at home which is very near to everyone’s
heart. The feeling of homesickness of Frank, Boobie and his brother is different from others
because as refugees they have to accept the ‘host’ country as their ‘second’ home because there
is no hope in ‘home’ country and certain push factors responsible for their migration. In
language classes, when Boobie’s homesickness lost the control and his adjustment are
unbearable, he feels ‘here’ is bad and ‘there’ is good means still he desires to return to his
country. The consistent process of adjustment results into disguised/ hypenated identity which
is in demand. Frank, like Harbans has different original names butthey live with new identities
for the sake of job and safety.

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Chapter-3: Theoretical Perspectives on Diasporic Writing shows how ‘Diaspora’ has wide
connotation in terms of meaning. 20th century and particularly second half of it is known as the
time of transition, migration and mobilisation. Due to this mobilisation and migration people
migrate voluntarily in search of better opportunity and prosperity. These advancements brought
into existence necessity for migration and mobility in search of a good life. The truth is that
human mobility observed in 20th century and afterwards brought with it several problems like
poverty, unemployment, corruption, racism, violence, war, political instability, identity crisis,
socio-cultural differences, etc. Problem of Nation, Racism, Identity, National Identity,
Individual Identity etc are the recent needs that have emerged. It is said that global has become
local but local has not become Global. A migrant has to think about his identity in new context
and environment: Does he/she, who is new to a land, ceases to be a native of his/her native
land? Should he/she think of himself/herself as a native of new nation and new culture? The
real Problem of Identity arises, when a person finds himself nowhere, even amongst ocean of
human beings. The immigrant is unable to detach himself from his original root and at the same
time fails to implant himself in the land of new culture. At times, the land of that new culture
does not accept him completely and such a situation creates in him the feeling of nowhereness,
that is nothing but problem of Identity. From psychological perspective, every person craves to
be accepted, to put it in a different way, it can be considered that problem of identity connects
with psychological and emotional problem because it is related with human sense of belonging.
One wants to accept and to be accepted. The dilemma puts the immigrants in a situation where
they cannot correlate themselves from their originality. Here the problem gets stretched for
second generation having no idea about their original identity, culture, tradition and homeland
which become a great loss for them only for some materialistic gain in other countries.
However, when the (im) migrants realize such issues, it is too late and so they have to pass their
lives at the cost of dignity, and self-esteem as a human being amongst the sense of insecurity
and uncertainty of future. Apart from this, people who haven’t faced migration also become the
victims of prevailing social, cultural and political problems like marginalization, racism,
poverty, unemployment, insecurity, economy crunch, linguistic problems, clash of cultures,
generation gap, loneliness, hopelessness, etc. in the countries where they born and live and
other people generally aspire to go.

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Chapter-4: Bissoondath’s Views on Multiculturalism in Canadian Context: Identity tries
to focus on the difference between Diaspora and Multiculturalism. Diaspora connects with
dispersal abroad whereas with the advent of Globalization multiculturalism emerged as it is a
situation of living life in present time. Multiculturalism is related to a material concern and it
does not mean brotherhood. The literary developments of new ethnic Canadians since 1960s
explore the Caribbean expatriate writers who have among many others, helped to reshape
Canadian literary landscape and other scapes, while drawing on their place of origin for
inspiration or simply dealing with quintessentially Canadian [= ethnics] themes and locales.
Canadian authors of Caribbean descent like Bissoondath mostly object to a single label to
categorize them, so as to avoid literary and cultural ghettoizaiton, and they would also distance
themselves from hypenated identity [Canadian and something]. Bissoondath’s book on
multiculturalism entitled as ‘Selling Illusions: The Cult of Multiculturalism in Canada [1994]’
throws good amount of light on Canadian multiculturalism. For Bissoondath, Canadian
multiculturalism is hollow because Canadians wanted immigrant to adopt Canada’s values and
way of life. As Neil Bissoondath came to Canada when he was 18, he has constantly [over and
over again] refused the role of ethnic, and sought to avoid the burden of hypenation: a burden
that would label him as an East Indian – Trinidadian – Canadian living in Quebec. The
researcher wants to depict how Bissoondath differs in his approach to multiculturalism policy
in Canada as author argues that the policy of multiculturalism, with its emphasis on former or
ancestral homeland and its persistence that ‘THERE’ is more important than ‘HERE’
discourages the full loyalty of Canada’s citizens. Through 1971 Multiculturalism Act, Canada
has required to order its population into a cultural mixture of diversity and tolerance. Looking
for preserving heritage of Canada’s many people, the policy nonetheless constructs unease on
many levels, transforming people into political tools and turning historical distinctions into
stereotyped commodities. It promotes exoticism, showing the difference that divides Canadians
rather than similarities that unite them. The intellectual dexterity portrayed in the respectful
manner in which Bissoondath examines the delicate issues related to identity while not
becoming victim to political correctness run among is truly to be admired.

Chapter-5: Conclusion sums up the research. The ability of the author to create variety of
characters with versatile behaviour in different situation/environment is marvelous. The

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individual character’s condition in Bissondath’s works is the human condition in society in
broader term amidst the ‘diaspora’ especially, Indian, Caribbean and Canadian diaspora.
Bissoondath’s most prominent characters like Raj, Boobie, Sita, Frank, Montgomery, Sue’s
parents, the Prasads etc. become (im) migrants for one or another reason, willingly or
unwillingly and face the same hardships as an individual suffers from it in diaspora- the
movement of people. As a part of movement whatever the main characters feel or experience,
(witness) is the crucial facts of life of any human-being across the world. For example, the
helplessness, hopelessness, insecurity, uncertainty, identity crisis, racism, socio cultural
differences, homesickness, marginalization etc. are common aspects which impact on human-
beings and their conditions.The researcher also tries to depict Bissoondath’s view as an
immigrant author in Canadian multiculturalism. His views are much debated because in his
literary works he examines (multi) ethnic landscape of Canada today, on both sides of sensitive
and receptive worlds of the Protagonists. Bissoondath writes that Canadian encounter
eachother’s multicultural mosaic tiles mainly at festivals.

Future Direction

The Present research is a modest attempt to review Neil Bissoondath’s selected works critically
in the context of two essential arenas of diaspora – Problem of Identity and Racism in the
context of a Canadian multiculturalist world of the author. The research can be carried out
further in the context of all his works or in a comparative study with the other diasporic authors
like M. G. Vassanji’s works that represent various aspects in the context of Diaspora.

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 Works Cited

Primary Sources

Bissoondath Neil, A Casual Brutality, Clarkson N. Potter, Inc/Publishers, New York, 1989.
________, Doing the Heart Good, Simon & Schuster UK Ltd, London, 2003.
________, The Soul of All Great Designs, Cormorant Books Inc., Canada, 2008.
________, The Unyielding Clamour of the Night, Cormorant Books Inc., Canada, 2005.
________, The Innocence of Age, Alfred a Knopf, Canada, 1992.

Secondary Sources
Nelson Emmanuel S, Writers of the Indian Diaspora- A Bio-Bibliographical Critical
Sourcebook, Rawat Publications: Jaipur, First Indian Reprint, 2010.
Hall Stuart & Gay paul Du, Questions of Cultural Identity, SAGE Publication Ltd.London,
2008.
Knott Kim & McLoughlin, Diasporas - concepts, intersections, identities, Rawat Publications:
Jaipur, First Indian Reprint, 2011.
Bissoondath Neil, On the Eve of Uncertain Tomorrows, Clarkson N. Potter, Inc/Publishers,
New York, 1990.
Bissoondath Neil, Digging Up the Mountains, Penguin Books Ltd., London, 1986.
Srivastava, Aruna, interview with Neil Bissoondath, Other Solitudes: Canadian Multicultural
Fictions, eds.Linda Hutcheon and Marion Richmond (Toronto: OUP, 1990).
Bissoondath Neil, Selling Illusions: The Cult of Multiculturalism in Canada, Penguin Canada,
First Printing Edition, 1994.
New Diasporic Literature in a Post-ethnic Transcultural Canada by Igor Mavor Accessed on
from http://myuminfo.umanitoba.ca/Documents/2142/MaverI.pdf
Frank Birbalsingh and His World of Literature by Janet Naidu Accessed on from
http://www.guyanajournal.com/Frank_Birbalsingh.html

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