Kim, Huck and Naipaul : using the postcolonial bildungsroman to (re) define postcoloniality

Abstract

Contemporary theoretical formulations have failed postcolonial literature as they do not define exactly what the characteristics are of the so called postcolonial novel or author. The bildungsroman originally a German, nationalist genre, as used by postcolonial novelists to show the growth of a young protagonist into nationalist, anti-colonial sentiments is the form that helps define the true characteristics of what constitutes postcoloniality in a work of literature. The most important component, however, is that the growth defined is not just anti-colonial but is towards indigenousness in language, style, religious roots and belonging.