Abstract:A Bend in the River is one of the works of Naipaul who won the Noble Literal Prize in 2001. It primarily describes that Africa still engages in the chaotic and desperate situations after escaping from imperialist states' colonial aggression. In recent years, this novel is also abundantly researched both by overseas and domestic scholars. However, most of them tend to research the rootlessness, marginalized life or the pursuit of cultural identity of the main characters in the novel. This paper mainly concentrates on viewing Salim's outlooks on post-colonial Africa, i.e. he thinks that its environment is adverse, people are humble and society is chaotic. Meanwhile, this paper also analyzes the deep internal and external reasons leading to his negative outlooks on Africa. And it finally concludes that it will be a long and difficult way for Africa to win the real independence and prosperity.

Key words: A Bend in the River；Naipaul；Salim；outlooks on Africa

中文摘要：《河湾》是2001年诺贝尔文学奖得主---奈保尔的作品之一。它主要描述了非洲在摆脱帝国主义殖民统治后仍然混乱和绝望的社会现状。近年来，这部小说也一直倍受国内外学者的大量研究。然而，他们大多倾向于研究作品所描述的无根性、边缘化人生及小说中主人公对文化身份的追求。本文集中评论萨林姆的非洲观，他认为非洲的环境是恶劣的，人是低贱的，社会是混乱的。同时分析了导致萨林姆对后殖民非洲所持否定观点的深刻原因，并且最终总结出非洲要赢得真正的独立和繁荣还有漫长而艰苦的路要走。

关键词: 河湾；奈保尔；萨林姆；非洲观