Humour, Pathos and Irony in “A House for Mr. Biswas”

Humour, Pathos and Irony:-

Three Main Sources of Comedy:-

          Naipaul himself said that “A House for Mr. Biswas” contains some of his funniest touch. Really, we find plenty of comic though in this novel despite an under current of pathos and irony. Here the novelist has tried all the tree main sources of comedy, comedy of character, comedy of situation and comedy of wit.

Comedy in the Portrayal of Characters:-

          Also all there character, including Mr. Biswas, are more or less comic. Tara puts on heavy ornaments. Here are leaded with silver banglies. Here arm with the hungles are strong enough to defeat any attacks. Ghany, the solicitor is always found in the midst of dusty books Lal, the teacher behaves in a very funny manner with his students. Alec the boy, amuses us by his pranks Pundit Jairam makes us laugh through the contradictions in his character. The novelist describes the solicitors’ clerk as tout, crook, Nazi and even as a communists. Tulsi is also a comic character. She faints often. At this time, her daughters take her to the Rose Room and serve under the general supervision of Padma and Sushila. Tulsi’s sons in law are also comic figure. Govind attacks his food like a glutton. Hari is a comic figure who passes a lot of time in the toilet and keeps other waiting eagerly outside. The gloomy predictions about Biswas’s future are very funny.

Comedy of Situations:-

          Many situations are also beset with fun. Ragha drowns in the village bond while trying to rescue his son who is actually safe and sound hiding under his father’s bed at home. Biswas takes his son, Anand to cinema, but he has not enough money to purchase tow full tickets,. So both of them return home without seeing the film. Therese humorous situations provide enough laughter.

Wit and Sarcasm:-

          Witty remarks of some character are also full of fun. Mr. Biswas is the wittiest character in the novel. He addresses Tulsi’s two sons as ‘little gods’ and describe s Tulsi as ‘old hen’ and also she ‘she-fox’. He described Hanuman House as zoo and Shama’s two brothers as ‘monkey’. Shama also mocks at Biswas saying that when he first came to ‘Hanuman House, he had no more clothes that could be hung a single nail.

weapon of irony:-

          Naipaul has used the weapon of irony also very effectively. Biswas rebels against. Tulsi’s dictatorship and call the members of her family ‘blood suckers’. Their irony is he leaves Hanuman House several times, but he has to come back again because nothing belongs to him. Every time he tries to stand on his own legs but irony pushes him down. In this efforts to achieve his goal, he looks absurd.

Pity and sympathy:-

          Many pathetic situations arouse pity and sympathy in the readers. The death of Raghu is pathetic and heart-rending. It is a great loss to Biswas. Biswas’s living at Pundit Jairam’s house and working at Bhandat’s wine shop as an orphan are full of pathos. He suffers terrible experiences in building his own house. When he fall seriously ill, he taken to Hanuman House again because there is no other support. His helplessness in Port of Spain and  At Shorthill is highly pathetic. There are two heart attacks and then his pre-mature death. This is the climax of his tragedy.

Conclusion:-

          Thus humour, pathos and irony are successfully combined in this novel. There is plenty of comedy in this novel despite undercurrent of pathos and irony throughout the narration.