In a Free State is a short story by V. S. Naipaul. It was published in 1971 as one of three short stories within a book of the same name, but is by far the longest. Surrounding them is the narrator's tale. The work is symphonic with different movements working towards an overriding theme. What that theme is, is not too clearly spelled out, but there is an important aspect relating to the price of freedom with analogies between the three situations.