Ironies In Naipaul’s A House For Mr. Biswas

A House for Mr. Biswas is one of the representative works of V. S.Naipaul. The novel, which has won the writer worldwide acclaim, tells ofthe tragic life story of Mr. Biswas. The protagonist has spent all his lifepursuing his dream of having his own house, but in vain. Naipaul hasmingled the tragedy with many elements of humors, enabling the story tobe tragicomic, to which the using of ironies has contributed greatly.The present paper, based on the theories of ironies, aims to explore theironies used in A House for Mr. Biswas, so as to prove that ironies helpgreatly in characterization, creation of tragicomic effects and theenhancement of the themes.Three types of ironies are used in the novel. They are verbal irony,dramatic irony and irony of fate. Verbal ironies in the novel contributegreatly in the characterization of the mindset of the immigrants. Naipaulhas used verbal ironies successfully in his delineation of the distortedpersonalities of the immigrants and the alienation which prevails in the colony. Dramatic ironies aid to create the tragicomic effects. Irony of fate,a special kind of situational irony, plays an important part in enhancingthe themes and displaying the inevitable tragic fate of the two generationsof immigrants represented respectively by the Tulsi family and Mr.Biswas.