The String of Mythological Motif in V. S. Naipaul’s Half A Life

In what can be called as a masterpiece of English literature, Sir Vidia in his novel Half a Life depicts myth, intertextuality and pre-figuration in such a way that the common reader finds it rather difficult to discern. The word pre-figuration means “coming before” and intertextuality points to presence of certain extraneous texts in the body of a work of art. In the present novel, a plethora of such devices have been extensively used. The existence of such devices does not in any way reduce or diminish the cohesion and artistic merit of the novel. However, this technical use of these devices to further and augment the thematic content of the novels is not unique to Naipaul’s novels alone. The knowledge that every work of art has a predecessor and the idea that works born out of other works of art is only too common a theme in the contemporary world of art.