A HOUSE FOR MR. BISWAS BY NAIPAUL
INTRODUCTION:
Naipaul is one of the best known English
novelists of the modern times. He is a very prestigious literary member of
Indian Diaspora. His popularity reached its zenith when he received the Nobel
Prize for literature in 2001. He is regarded a prophet, a
soothsayer, a doom-watcher and a teller of unpalatable truths. Critics generally agree that A House for Mr. Biswas is his finest work. It brought him international attention.
THE TIME AND PLACE
The novel takes place over a period of almost fifty
years- the lifetime of Mr. Biswas- during the first half of the twentieth
century. The setting is the Caribbean island of Trinidad India
during the 1800s. THEMES:
Naipaul
has a special affection for A House for Mr. Biswas. Once he
states: ‘Of all my books, this is the one that is closest to me. It is the most
personal, created out of what I saw and felt as a child’. It is an account of
an individual's life and an allegory of the East Indian's situation in Trinidad . It deals with migration, displacement,
alienation, rootless ness and search for identity. Its main character struggles
whole of his life for an identity and a home. It displays a unique affection
for the homeland.
PLOT:
The plot of this novel is fantastic. Mr Biswas is
born in rural Trinidad to parents of Indian origin. His
birth is considered inauspicious .His father drowns in a pond. The young Biswas
decides to set out to make his own fortune. A friend of school days helps him
in getting into the business of sign-writing. While on the job, Mr Biswas
attempts to romance a client's daughter. He is drawn into a marriage and he
becomes a member of the Tulsi household. With the Tulsis, Mr Biswas becomes
very unhappy. He struggles hard for economic independence. He becomes a
journalist and attempts to build a house. He becomes obsessed with the notion
of owning his own house and it becomes a symbol of his independence and merit.
COLONIALISM:
An
underlying theme in A House for Mr. Biswas is anti-colonialism. This
novel is a symbolic representation of the colonial experience. The Tulsis
represent the Great Britain
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL
ELEMENT:
This
novel has autobiographical touch. It can be read as an account of Naipaul’s father’s struggles to
make a life for his family. It seems an autobiographical account of how Naipaul
came to be an author. Critics have noted that A House for Mr Biswas can
be read both as the particular story of one individual and as a larger
commentary on colonial and postcolonial society.
STYLE:
In 1961 A House for Mr Biswas became Naipaul’s fourth published
work. Reviewers admired its sense of humor and its portrayal of people. The prose is often cited as some
of the best writing in contemporary English studies. This prose exhibits narrative
skill and command of language, especially dialect. In A House for Mr Biswas the
characters speak Hindi, as well as Trinidadian English. Naipaul has done an
extraordinary job at characterization. His use of symbolism, irony and humour
is praiseworthy. His wit is touching and unique.
CONCLUSION:
Naipaul is one of the most
controversial of contemporary writers. His scathing commentaries on India and his negative appraisal of life in the Third World has met with a great deal of controversy. His
views on the Hindutva and on the Islam are also very controversial. In spite of
that He remains one of the
most widely read and admired literary figures of the contemporary world. His A
House for Mr. Biswas is regarded as Naipaul’s most significant work.
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