A House for Mr Biswas

by

V. S. Naipaul

The Solicitor’s Clerk Character Analysis

A man who builds houses in his spare time, then lives in them with his mother until he can sell them. He builds and sells Mr Biswas the Sikkim Street house for 5,500 dollars (even though he actually only wanted 4,500 dollars for it). He is slick and hides his shoddy craftsmanship by showing Mr Biswas the house in the rain and at night, when the scorching afternoon sun does not shine into the living room and the flaws in the staircase are not visible.
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The Solicitor’s Clerk Character Timeline in A House for Mr Biswas

The timeline below shows where the character The Solicitor’s Clerk appears in A House for Mr Biswas. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Prologue
Independence vs. Belonging Theme Icon
Social Status and Hierarchy Theme Icon
Gender and Family Theme Icon
Colonialism, Oppression, and Escape Theme Icon
...the earth.” It was well-known in town, the two-story “huge and squat” construction of a solicitor’s clerk who, as a hobby, used his position and contacts to build houses out of old... (full context)
Gender and Family Theme Icon
The solicitor’s clerk lived in each house with his mother while he began to build the next—Mr Biswas... (full context)
Part 2, Chapter 6: The Revolution
Independence vs. Belonging Theme Icon
Social Status and Hierarchy Theme Icon
Education, Work, and Language Theme Icon
...it was too rainy outside to go anywhere. A man he knew to be a solicitor’s clerk tapped him on the shoulder, said it was much easier to buy a house those... (full context)
Independence vs. Belonging Theme Icon
Colonialism, Oppression, and Escape Theme Icon
Over lunch, the solicitor’s clerk explained his situation: he and his mother were living in a two-story house in the... (full context)
Independence vs. Belonging Theme Icon
Social Status and Hierarchy Theme Icon
As the rain continued to pour, the solicitor’s clerk took Mr Biswas to Sikkim Street in St James and pulled up in front of... (full context)
Independence vs. Belonging Theme Icon
Social Status and Hierarchy Theme Icon
Education, Work, and Language Theme Icon
The solicitor’s clerk said the house was “not bad for six thousand” and quickly lowered the price to... (full context)
Gender and Family Theme Icon
...the car and was “overcome by anger and dread.” The children were charmed by the solicitor’s clerk ’s mother and the house’s luxurious furnishings—in the dark, they too missed “the crudity of... (full context)
Part 2, Chapter 7: The House
Independence vs. Belonging Theme Icon
Social Status and Hierarchy Theme Icon
Gender and Family Theme Icon
The solicitor’s clerk moved out as soon as he received payment, and in three days Mr Biswas brought... (full context)
Colonialism, Oppression, and Escape Theme Icon
...repairs, and Mr Biswas in turn complemented the man’s house. The man revealed that the solicitor’s clerk built the whole house himself, and “the man was a joke, man. I don’t know... (full context)
Independence vs. Belonging Theme Icon
Colonialism, Oppression, and Escape Theme Icon
...sensuous reminded them of their past’s now distant pleasures. Mr Biswas dreamed about hurting the solicitor’s clerk , who showed up unannounced on their doorstep one day. The clerk did not respond... (full context)