53 pages • 1 hour read
V. S. NaipaulA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Mr. Biswas is the protagonist of the novel and the person from whose perspective all events are portrayed. From the moment of his birth, he is revealed to be a tragic figure. The pundit lists the myriad ways in which Mr. Biswas's life is inauspicious, from being born the wrong way to being born at the wrong time to being born with an extra finger which soon falls off. Mr. Biswas's bad luck is shown when his father dies and when his mother is forced to rely on her family for help getting by. This bad luck and dependence on others creates within Mr. Biswas a driving need for agency. He wants to live on his own terms, independent of others. To do so, he believes that he needs money and a house. The pursuit of a home of his own becomes one of the key plotlines in the novel, to the point of lending the book its title. The unfortunate circumstances of Mr. Biswas's birth, however, create a distraction in his life. He often blames bad luck or fate for his misfortune, rather than his own material conditions and the institutions and structures which govern his life.
Aging
View Collection
Birth & Rebirth
View Collection
Books & Literature
View Collection
Challenging Authority
View Collection
Childhood & Youth
View Collection
Class
View Collection
Class
View Collection
Colonialism & Postcolonialism
View Collection
Colonialism Unit
View Collection
Community
View Collection
Daughters & Sons
View Collection
Equality
View Collection
Family
View Collection
Fate
View Collection
Fathers
View Collection
Fear
View Collection
Grief
View Collection
Guilt
View Collection
Hate & Anger
View Collection
Historical Fiction
View Collection
Indian Literature
View Collection
Loyalty & Betrayal
View Collection
Marriage
View Collection
Mortality & Death
View Collection
National Suicide Prevention Month
View Collection
Nobel Laureates in Literature
View Collection
Poverty & Homelessness
View Collection
Power
View Collection
Pride & Shame
View Collection
Revenge
View Collection
School Book List Titles
View Collection
Sexual Harassment & Violence
View Collection
The Best of "Best Book" Lists
View Collection
The Past
View Collection
Trust & Doubt
View Collection