Negative traditions have fated Mr. Biswas to take his father’s life. Ever since the predictions were given to Mr. Biswas as a child, he has been surrounded by horrible events. “This boy will eat up his family in truth.” The Pundit predicted that Mr. Biswas will eat up his family. Unfortunately, this was one of the predictions that the Pundit made that actually came true. A few years into Mohun’s life, his father drowns because of him. “That boy! He has murdered my calf and now he has eaten up his own father.” Lakhan, the owner of the calf Mr. Biswas looks after, realizes that not only his calf drowned in the pond, but also Mohun’s father, Raghu. Raghu was diving into a pond trying to “save” Mohun because he thought he had drowned since he didn’t come home and it was after dark. However, that was not the case. Mohun was actually in hiding because he had lost Lakhan’s calf that had also drowned. Consequently, Mr. Biswas went against the superstitious order of staying away from water that his mother had given him, and accidentally caused his father’s death.
Ever since his birth, Mr. Biswas never has an opportunity to develop a sense of self. He is always finding himself in situations that make him feel powerless. Due to this powerlessness he is always in situations where he is having people tell him what to do. He never has any personal power. Mr. Biswas realizes that with money and possessions a person tends to have more power in society Mr. Biswas is caught in the grasp of feudalism. He is trapped in the rigid class structure that controls his society. He is always listening to others and never makes decisions about his own life or well-being. Mr. Biswas is a “wanderer with no place he could call his own, with no family except that which he was to attempt to create out of the engulfing world of the Tulsi’s.” It all started with him flirting with a member of the family he works for (the Tulsi’s), a girl named Shama. “Well, I see this girl looking at me, I was looking at she. Did a little of the old sweet talk and I see that she was liking me too. I ask to see the mother. Rich people, you know. Big house.” Mr. Biswas is bragging about the girl he likes, to his friend Alec. However, Mr. Biswas doesn’t know how difficult his life will be with her family. Mr. Biswas is forced into marriage with her. But when he marries into the domineering Tulsi family on whom he resentfully becomes dependent, Mr. Biswas embarks on an arduous and endless struggle to weaken their hold over him. “Get to work on the field young man.” Seth is as usual, bossing around Mr. Biswas and telling him to start work out in the yard, soon after his marriage to Shama. The Hanuman House is the paradigm of the feudal society. It has a hierarchy and very strict social structure. The Gods, Seth, and Mrs. Tulsi serve as the hierarchy and rulers of Hanuman House. Everyone else is just another face in the mob of people who work to benefit the Tulsi’s while sacrificing their own well-being. Mr. Biswas doesn’t own anything that has much value. He has enough clothes to hang on a nail. Nevertheless, he is constantly being yelled at or being told what to do. “Why are you telling this girl to make you food, you should be making her food!” Mrs. Tulsi, Mr. Biswas’ mother-in-law is once again controlling his every move. She feel like Mr. Biswas should be making food for her daughter Shama, and that he shouldn’t be asking her to do things for him. In the Hanuman House everyone is supposed to be equal. Equality is a virtue in the Tulsi household. Nobody is supposed to challenge this idea because it is seen as disrespect to the Tulsi family. Therefore, Mr. Biswas conquers all of the obstacles that are placed in front of him by this rigid society. He does what he wants to do and doesn’t care what is going to be said about him.
The predictions given to Mr. Biswas as a child by the pundit, his father’s drowning and marrying into the Tulsi family are all part of the traditions that have negatively influenced Mr. Biswas’ life, in the novel A House for Mr. Biswas by V.S. Naipaul. It seemed like it was impossible for Mr. Biswas to achieve anything while he had many misfortunes. He felt like the Tulsi family’s hold over him was too strong. It seemed as if his bad luck was following him wherever he went and would ruin things especially his short lived relationship with his father. In conclusion, in the end, Mr. Biswas was able to surpass all of the obstacles in his life. He was able to escape the predictions given by the pundit, his bad luck seemed to have disappeared, and he finally escaped the hold the Tulsi family had on him. At last, he was able to live a normal and happy life with his wife Shama and his children. Breaking away from tradition and finding your true self is very important in life.
