Identity Crisis in V. S. Naipaul's A House for Mr. Biswas

Abstract

Alienation, fragmentation, and exile are common terms associated with postcolonial literature. This article tries to explore the issue of identity in postcolonial literature. In the era of globalization, the need for immigration has increased for various reasons. This in turn results in the dawn of multi-cultural land with cultural diversity.

One of the best-known writers in English today is Vidyadhar Suraj Prasad Naipaul, himself a product of post-imperialist society.

In an interview with Roland Bryden in 1973, Naipaul remarked, “all my works are really one. I am really writing one big book. I come to the conclusion that, considering the nature of the society I came from, considering the nature of the world I have stepped into and the world I have to look at, I could not be a professional novelist in the old sense”.

The article focuses on issues of identity that surges with immigration in a multi ethnical land, particularly in a colonized world. It examines the methods undertaken by these characters to construct an identity in the society and thereby break away from rootlessness. It tries to analyze the characters from the perspective of rootlessness and identity crisis.