Thematic Concerns in Aravind Adiga’s novel ‘The White Tiger’

   Assignment Paper: - E-C-401, New Literature

    Topic                     :-Thematic Concerns in Aravind Adiga’s novel

‘The White Tiger’

  Student’s name     : - Vala Neeta T.

    Roll no                 :- 20

   URL                      :-valaneeta391011.blogspot.com

   Semester               :- 4

    Batch                    :- 2011-12

                                                 

                                     

                                          Submitted to,

                                                         Dr. Dilip Barad,

                                                         Department of English,

                                                         Bhavnagar University.

§  Introduction:

                         ‘The White Tiger’ is written by Indian author, Aravind Adiga. It was first published in 2008 and won the Man Booker Prize in the same year. The White tiger is the best example which shows the real Indian society and caste system in the society.

§  Themes:

1.      Caste system:

             Most of the part of this book is described the India’s caste system. A social system divides the Indian population into higher and lowers social classes. Here, we have pointed out that which caste you belong depends on the person's occupation.

            Basically, if you were born of a servant or a rickshaw driver, you're in a 'servant' caste or a 'driver' caste. Earlier, it was not allowed for people of lower castes to rise above their inherited occupation. In the same way, Adiga has represented caste system through the character of Balram Halwai in the following manners:

 Balram Halwai writes the letters to the Wen Jiabbo and he writes,

I should explain a thing or two about caste. Even Indians get confused about this world, especially educated Indians in the cities. They'll make a mess of explaining it to you. But it's simple, really.

Let me start with me.

See: Halwai, my name means 'sweet-maker'.

That's my caste, my destiny.

---

To sum up--- in the olden days there were thousands castes and destinies in India. These days, there are just two castes: Men with Big Bellies, and Men with Small Bellies. And only two destinies: “eat… or get eaten up.”

2.      Empowerment

                  Balram’s act is a rebellion against prevalent dominant ideology, cultural supremacy and investigates the petrified condition simultaneously issuing a warning for struggle of the marginalized because humiliation, resentment and grief are the fundamental components of the process of their struggle.

                Thus, for the advancement and growth of the country in true sagacity, this ever increasing socioeconomic inequality has to be bridged because the educated population of youth belonging to the marginalized sections is increasing at an alarming rate and their helplessness and vulnerability is obvious either from their reticent suppression or intrepid rebellion. They have a right to enhance their social status and in order to achieve this, they are in a catch position, to follow the path of virtue or to leave the traditional moral values and follow the dangerous road chosen by Balram because they are to survive at any cost. 

3.       Two kinds of India

           In this novel, in India which Adiga is describing, there are two choices “eat or get eaten up”. For example, while in Delhi and Gurgoan, Balram counters two kinds of India, one that eats and the other to be eaten, and there are two types of people like prey and predators. Balram wants to be a predator, a man with a big belly, at any cost. In his greed for money and desperation for glamorous life, he follows the path of crime. Emulating his master, he becomes a usurper by resorting to corruption and misdemeanor, ignoring all refined ways of life.

              The viciousness of the so called modern rising and shinning India’ is in stark contrast to value based traditional India as Balram claimed, ―

      To sum up- in the old days there were one thousand castes and destinies in India. These days, there are just two castes:

‘Men with Big Bellies, and Men with Small Bellies’.

 And only two destinies:

‘eat-or get eaten up’.

                The inevitable result is that due to disparity in income the rich grow richer and the poor turns poorer. Balram reverses the role and becomes ‘master like servant’.