A House For Mr. Biswas

A House For Mr Biswas

Ever since his birth, Mr. Biswas - the main protagonist of V.S.

Naipaul’s A House for Mr. Biswas - never has an opportunity to develop

a sense of self. He is always finding himself in situations that make him feel

powerless. Due to this powerlessness he is always in situations where he

is having people tell him what to do. He never has any personal power.

Mr. Biswas realizes that with money and possessions a person tends to

have more power in society. Indeed, for Mr. Biswas owning a house

serves as a symbol which illustrates his ability to realize a self-identity

and gain personal power to take control of his life.

Mr. Biswas is caught in the grasp of feudalism. He is trapped in the

rigid class structure that controls his society. He is always listening to

others and never makes decisions about his own life or well-being. Mr.

Biswas is a “ wanderer with no place he could call his own, with no family

except that which he was to attempt to create out of the engulfing world

of the Tulsis” (40). Hanuman House is the paradigm of the feudal society.

It has a hierarchy and very strict social structure. The Gods, Seth , and

Mrs. Tulsi serve as the hierarchy and rulers of Hanuman House. Everyone

else is just another face in the mob of people who work to benefit the

Tulsi’s while sacrificing their own well-being.

Mr. Biswas doesn’t own anything that has much value. He has

enough clothes to hang on a nail. By owning a hou...