Q1. Who is the author of "A House for Mr Biswas"?
V.S. Naipaul is the author of "A House for Mr Biswas"/The novel was written by V.S. Naipaul.
Q2. When was the novel published?
It was first published in 1961.
Q3. Who is the protagonist of the novel?
Mohun Biswas (Mr. Biswas).
Q4. What is the setting of the novel?
It is set in Trinidad during the colonial period (early to mid-20th century).
Q5. On whose life is the character of Mr. Biswas based?
He is loosely based on Naipaul’s father, Seepersad Naipaul.
Q6. What physical sign marked Mr. Biswas as "unlucky" at birth?
He was born with six fingers on one hand.
Q7. How did Mr. Biswas's father, Raghu, die?
He drowned in a pond while looking for Mr. Biswas (who was actually hiding under a bed).
Q8. Who is Bipti?
Bipti is Mr. Biswas's mother.
Q9. Who takes care of Mr. Biswas after his father's death?
His wealthy aunt, Tara, and her husband, Ajodha.
Q10. What was Mr. Biswas’s first profession?
He started as a sign-painter.
Q11. Who does Mr. Biswas marry?
He marries Shama Tulsi.
Q12. What is "Hanuman House"?
The large, crowded, and oppressive home of the Tulsi family in Arwacas.
Q13. Who is the matriarch of the Tulsi family?
Mrs. Tulsi (often called "Mai").
Q14. Who is Seth?
Mrs. Tulsi's brother-in-law and the powerful "Big Boss" of the household.
Q15. How does Mr. Biswas refer to the Tulsi sons-in-law?
He mockingly calls them "the crabs in a barrel."
Q16. What are the names of Mr. Biswas’s two eldest children?
Savi (daughter) and Anand (son).
Q17. Which character represents V.S. Naipaul in the novel?
Anand, Mr. Biswas's brilliant but anxious son.
Q18. What job does Mr. Biswas fail at in "The Chase"?
He fails at running a dry-goods shop.
Q19. What happens to Mr. Biswas at "Green Vale"?
He suffers a severe nervous breakdown during a storm.
Q20. What career does Mr. Biswas eventually find success in?
He becomes a journalist for the Trinidad Sentinel.
Q21. What is the symbolic meaning of "The House"?
It symbolizes independence, identity, and freedom from the control of others (especially the Tulsis).
Q22. Who are the "Gods" of Hanuman House?
Shekhar and Owad, the two sons of Mrs. Tulsi.
Q23. Why does Mr. Biswas dislike Hanuman House?
He feels it strips him of his individuality and forces him into a communal, subservient life.
Q24. What gift does Mr. Biswas give Savi that causes a fight?
He buys her an expensive doll's house.
Q25. What does Shama do to the doll's house?
She destroys it under pressure from the jealous Tulsi family.
Q26. Who is Miss Logie?
A welfare officer who becomes a friend and intellectual companion to Mr. Biswas.
Q27. What is the "Scarlet Pimpernel"?
A persona Mr. Biswas adopts for a newspaper contest where readers have to find him.
Q28. Where does the Tulsi family move after Hanuman House?
They move to the Shorthills estate.
Q29. Why is the move to Shorthills a failure?
The family plunders the estate'
Q31. Who is Mr. Burnett?
He is the editor of the Trinidad Sentinel who hires Mr. Biswas and encourages his colorful writing style.
Q32. What famous column does Mr. Biswas write?
He writes "Deserving Destitutes," comprising sensationalized stories about the poor.
Q33. What happens to the house Mr. Biswas builds at Shorthills?
It is nearly destroyed by a fire that Mr. Biswas accidentally starts while trying to burn garden weeds.
Q34. What major academic achievement does Anand accomplish?
Anand wins an exhibition scholarship to attend a prestigious college, fulfilling his father's ambition.
Q35. How does the relationship between Mr. Biswas and Anand change?
They share a bond of shared trauma (from the storm) and intellectual ambition, but Anand eventually grows distant and leaves for England.
Q36. Who is Owad?
Mrs. Tulsi’s son who studies medicine in England and returns as a communist/socialist, becoming a rival to Mr. Biswas.
Q37. Where is Mr. Biswas’s final house located?
It is located on Sikkim Street in Port of Spain.
Q38. How does Mr. Biswas finance his final house?
He takes a heavy loan from his uncle Ajodha, which leaves him in severe debt.
Q39. What is wrong with the house on Sikkim Street?
It is jerry-built, has no backdoor, structurally unsound stairs, and is heavily mortgaged.
Q40. Who tricks Mr. Biswas into buying the defective house?
A solicitor's clerk who manipulates Mr. Biswas’s desire for ownership.
Q41. What is the fate of Hanuman House at the end?
The family disintegrates, the house becomes empty and decayed, and the Tulsis scatter.
Q42. How old is Mr. Biswas when he dies?
He dies at the age of forty-six.
Q43. What is the cause of Mr. Biswas’s death?
He dies of a heart attack after a period of illness and layoff from the newspaper.
Q44. Does Mr. Biswas achieve his goal?
Yes, despite the house's flaws and his debt, he dies in his *own* house, free from the Tulsis.
Q45. What does the "paddle" represent in the novel?
It represents the corporal punishment and harsh discipline inflicted on children in the Tulsi household.
Q46. How does Shama change by the end of the novel?
She becomes more supportive of Mr. Biswas and takes pride in their independent home on Sikkim Street.
Q47. What implies the post-colonial theme in the novel?
Mr. Biswas’s struggle for identity and a place to call "home" mirrors the struggle of displaced colonial subjects.
Q48. Why is the novel considered a "Tragi-Comedy"?
Because it blends the tragic reality of poverty and alienation with humor, satire, and absurdity.
Q49. What role do "books" play in Mr. Biswas's life?
They are his escape from reality and a symbol of his intellectual aspirations (he reads Marcus Aurelius).
Q50. What is the significance of the "prologue" in the novel?
It reveals the ending (his death in his own house) first, shifting the focus from *what* happens to *how* he achieved his independence.
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