Disenchantment, Immigration and the Emergence of the Secular Self in V.S. Naipaul’s “One Out of Many”

This paper examines V.S. Naipaul’s short story, “One out of Many,” as a form of gradual disenchantment of an Indian immigrant as he begins to experience the full weight of modern secularism. Applying Charles Taylor’s notion of porous and buffered selves, the latter as an expression of secularity, the paper looks at the experience of immigration and the nuances it has for the protagonist, Santosh.