Understanding Freedom in A House for Mr. Biswas Anonymous College

A House for Mr. Biswas, written by V.S. Naipaul, is an epic that tells the story of Mohun Biswas, a poor boy believed to be a bad omen from birth, and his life in Trinidad. The life of Mr. Biswas is presented in the form of an epic, narrating his life, decisions, the interactions that he has with others, and the relationships that he formulates along the way. A House for Mr. Biswas is not the typical epic told. Initially, Mr. Biswas has no true sense of identity, nor is his journey laid out clearly for him in any way. The life of Mr. Biswas is riddled with a desire to have a sense of freedom, an identity to call his own. In his journey to find his true self, Mr. Biswas yearns to find a sense of belonging that will allow him to procure the freedom that he so desperately longs for.

From the beginning of his life, Mr. Biswas was never granted the luxury of freedom that most individuals would take for granted. The novel explores his lack of freedom from the very beginning of the story. Having been born “six fingered and in the wrong way”(15), Mr. Biswas was considered inauspicious from the start. Being from an impoverished family, Mr. Biswas already did not have the conveniences that others may have had and his bad luck made it...