A House for Mr Biswas | Style

A House for Mr Biswas Style

Point of View

A House for Mr. Biswas is written in third person past tense, told from the point of view of an omniscient third party narrator, who knows everything including the thoughts and feelings of many characters. The point of view stays relatively close to Mr. Biswas, the protagonist. Few scenes fail to include him. Mr. Biswas's innermost thoughts are frequently revealed, as are those of his son, Anand. The thoughts and feelings of female characters are totally excluded, leading some to accuse Naipaul - or his narrator - of sexism. The story is retrospective, told by a narrator who is familiar with the outcome, at some point after Mr. Biswas's death.

The voice of the unidentified narrator, presumably Mr. Biswas's only son Anand, is paramount to the novel. The narrator is highly literate, well-educated and completely immersed in the Indo-Trinidadian culture. Words like "prognathous," "recalcitrant" and "epigram" greatly enhance the narrator's...
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