Naipaul’s A House for M. Biswas is rife with mentions of clowns and fools such as “Punch,” the popular British clown. Also, the protagonist has been described by critics as a “mimic man,” a clownish cultural figure who was born out of the interaction between the colonizer and the colonized. What important point does the novel suggest through the figure of the clown /fool / the mimic man?

– Close-reading requirement: demonstrate ability to closely engage literary devices
– Source requirement: use at least four credible secondary sources to complement your own argument, including at least two scholarly or peer-reviewed journal articles
– Citation requirement: demonstrate ability to cite all sources correctly according to the MLA style
– Ratio between your own ideas vs. borrowed ideas: the majority  of the finished essay should consist of your own arguments and analysis of the literary text
– Avoid using “pure” psychology, sociology, or political science sources
– Do not use Wikipedia or other similar anonymous and “free” internet sources
– Writing for the professor and classmates who have read the same literary text(s) and expect to be convinced that your reading is reasonable and well-supported