Mr Burnett Character Analysis in A House for Mr Biswas

An editor at the Sentinel who hires —first, provisionally for a month, after watching him paint a sign, and later full-time. He asks Mr Biswas to give him “a real shock” and promotes a sensational but often factually questionable style of journalism. After the Sentinel begins winning more readers and its owners decide to change its style, Mr Burnett gets sacked and returns to America. He writes Mr Biswas a letter encouraging him to do the same, but the protagonist never responds.

Mr Burnett Quotes in A House for Mr Biswas

The A House for Mr Biswas quotes below are all either spoken by Mr Burnett or refer to Mr Burnett. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

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DADDY COMES HOME IN A COFFIN
U.S. Explorer’s Last Journey
ON ICE
by M. Biswas

Somewhere in America in a neat little red-roofed cottage four children ask their mother every day, “Mummy, when is Daddy coming home?”

Less than a year ago Daddy—George Elmer Edman, the celebrated traveller and explorer—left home to explore the Amazon.

Well, I have news for you, kiddies.

Daddy is on his way home.

Yesterday he passed through Trinidad. In a coffin.

Related Characters: Mr Biswas, Mr Burnett

Page Number and Citation: 314

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