Keywords

escape, Trinidad, uncertainty

Abstract

On March 29, 1949, V.S. Naipaul was front-page news in the Trinidad Guardian. “Special ‘Schol’ Urged for QRC Student,” the headline stated, and beneath was a photo of a quietly smiling teenage Naipaul, looking studious and benign in a pair of large black-rimmed glasses (“Special”). Naipaul, the article reports, had earned marks of distinction in Spanish and French on the Cambridge Higher School Certificate Examination, but was not eligible for a Colonial Scholarship to study in England owing to a recently-introduced technicality. Through no fault of his own he had not completed all of the requisite course work to qualify for competition. In response the Trinidadian Education Board unanimously voted that an additional scholarship be created specially for him. This scholarship allowed Naipaul to take a degree in English from Oxford in 1954, and embark on his illustrious career as a writer of fiction and travel journalism.

Original Publication Citation

Eastley, Aaron. “Area of Enigma: V. S. Naipaul and the East Indian Revival in Trinidad.” ARIEL: A Review of International English Literature 41.2 (2010): 23-45. Print.