Aug 28, 2005 04:25 PM
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(Updated Aug 28, 2005 04:26 PM)
Mock, Laugh and Ridicule
Mr. Biswas-''a barking puppy dog'', Mrs. Tulsi- “she fox'', Mrs. Tulsi’s two sons- “little gods” – where do they live? Obviously in a Zoo called Hanuman House. What happens in this house is perhaps everyone’s story now. Mrs. Tulsi’s family is a very orthodox Brahmin Family following strictly all that has to be followed – but something disrupts the whole family system- what is it ? – Western Culture! Read the story – [I don’t want to rob you of your laughter] to know what happens.
Who is Mr. Biswas in this story? He is one of the sons-in-law of Mrs. Tulsi- a son-in-law who stays in mother-in-law’s house and rebels against her (a barking puppy dog). He wants independence and a house of his own? Does he succeed? Read the novel.
Mr. Biswas is like any other common man struggling against a she-fox, western tyranny and Destiny. His aim like many of us is to have a house. He builds and rebuilds, again like many of us and dies. What is so sarcastic is why Mr. Biswas wants to have a house? A House for Mr. Biswas becomes a symbol of independence – independence from Mrs. Tulsi, at a larger level independence from tyranny. Irony is he never lives to enjoy his hard earned freedom.
If one laughs at Mr. Biswas, one is laughing and ridiculing himself, isn’t that sad? Naipaul succeeds.
{ note : A House today may stand for economic independence)