DIASPORA ASPECTS IN V.S.NAIPAUL’S NOVEL A HOUSE FOR MR.BISWAS

Abstract

This paper explores the Diaspora aspects in V.S. Naipaul’s A House for Mr. Biswas, focusing on themes of displacement, identity, and the search for belonging. Set in colonial Trinidad, the novel portrays the complexities of the Indo-Trinidadian community, caught between their ancestral Indian traditions and the influences of Colonial Western culture. Through the character of Mr. Biswas, Naipaul delves into the tension between individual autonomy and familial and cultural expectations, symbolized by Mr. Biswas’s lifelong quest for a house of his own. The paper examines how this search for a home reflects the broader diasporic condition—marked by cultural hybridity, fragmentation of identity, and the existential struggle for a stable sense of belonging in a postcolonial world. Ultimately, Naipaul’s work highlights the challenges faced by diasporic individuals navigating multiple cultural landscapes while searching for self-definition and autonomy.