A House for Mr. Biswas: Mr. Biswas’ Identity Struggle

Almost all the works of V.S. Naipaul have charaters who are shortsighted and live in rural areas. Always these characters undergo trials and suffer identity crisis.The main protagonist, Mr. Mohun Biswas in V. S. Naipuls A house for Mr. Biswas, is non an exemption. I am departure to get a job of my own. And I am going to get my own house, too. This vow of Mr. Biswas typifies his longing for freedom, social and family respect and word meaning that constitute his 40 year struggle to gain his own identity.The flake Mr. Biswas is born, he already has the burden of deformed identity that get out set out him feel that he does not belong He is born with 6 fingers. Born in the wrong way, as they say. This alone alienates him from his peers and the society. Adding up to the injury, the attention midwife declares that they should be careful because Mr. Biswas, with his seemingly uncommon figure, will give up his parents.As he grows up, Mr. Biswas experiences seemingly endless prejudi ces and ridicules. The community in which he lives in is bounded by customs dutyal superstitions and caste discrimination thusly his misshapen fingers make him feel a real outsider.But misfortune is not only brought by his six fingers they have been living in scantness even before he is born and their financial woe continues. In fact, it worsens that they hardly eat. Mr. Biswas becomes thin with stunted growth and acquires sores and eczema. This appearance of his heightens his insecurity and his aberration from the slew around him.Poverty drives Mr. Biswas to seek employment. He is hired by Dhari to hang after his calf. Finally, Mr. Biswas is exulted because someone trusts him. But it is only a short-lived nimbus cloud as his clumsiness and low self-esteem make him lose Dharis calf. He runs away to avoid punishment. Mr.Biswas father drowns in the pond when he is looking for him in the forest. This fulfils one half of the midwifes bode when he was born.Anformer(a) show of Mr. Biswas struggle for self-identity is when, in the classroom, he is forced to spell I am an ass on the board. Although this is his punishment for disobedience, he will not do this if he has a strong confidence of who he is.The statement is downright degrading. Perhaps a physical punishment, like cleaning the room or running around the ground, is more fitting. This is more self-respectful than the self-inflicting defamatory words on the board.From here on, Mr. Biswas luck does not wait entirely on his own effort as destitution and requisite consequences force him to live momentarily from one home to another, relying on other peoples aid to feed his stomach.Through this pitiful journey, amidst the manipulation of people around him, he holds on tightly to his principles and ideals cluthcing to the thin thread of his identity, to his trust that he, Mr. Biswas descended from noble families and not from common rural nobodies. He considers himself to be in line with the colonial tradit ion and language instead with the custom and tradition of other races in the island. This arrogance may heighten his feeling of alienation.