Present studies at home and abroad on V.S. Naipaul‟s novel In a Free State is not enough in the aspect of textual analysis. The in-depth studies in this aspect are wanted. This thesis aims to analyze the image existing in the title novella of In A Free State, one of the five novellas in the collection of In a Free state. By discussing the symbolic meaning of the three images and then comparing the symbolic meanings of these images, it can be inferred that Naipaul tends to criticize the mimic of the western civilization but praises the traditional African civilization.