The White Tiger Blog Task

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·                     How far do you agree with the India represented in the novel The White Tiger?

The White Tiger is the famous novel by Indian author Aravind Adiga. It was first published in 2008 and won the 40th Man Booker Prize in the same year. Genre of the novel is “Dark Humor”. India is represented through half-backed Indian ‘Balram Halwai’ in the novel.  The India that is presented in the fiction is quite true to the reality. Such as Satire on education, marriage system and suffering of poor children, school corruption, inadequacy of job, Haves v/s Have-nots, master-slave relationship, exploitation of poor people by rich, servants as animals, society as cage, landlords and exploitation of poor people, internalized slavery, satire on Indian police, Dark India v/s Light India etc. these all facts give us glimpse of India in which we are living.    

• Do you believe that Balram's story is the archetype of all stories of 'rags to riches'?

Balram can be the archetype of 50% people and for half of the people he doesn’t provide a model.  There are people in India who have done everything wrong to reach on the top. Success and money are prime objective for them, thus they are ready even to kill someone as Balram did. Then they will develop their own new morality in the form of “Lord Krishna”. As Balram justified his act of murder well with supporting arguments. In the same way people try to justify themselves and they do charity works.  

But all stories are not same. There are people in this world who have worked hard to achieve something. They have gained something on the base of their ability.   

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    "Language bears within itself the necessity of its own critique, deconstructive criticism aims to show that any text inevitably undermines its own claims to have a determinate meaning, and licences the reader to produce his own meanings out of it by an activity of semantic 'freeplay' (Derrida, 1978, in Lodge, 1988, p. 108). Is it possible to do deconstructive reading of *The White Tiger*? How?

 

Language can be broken by loose stones within itself. Language of any work itself provide clue to deconstruct it. In the same way this novel can be deconstructed by the words of protagonist of the novel. He confesses in one of his conversation that he is ‘Half-backed’ Indian, who was not allowed to complete his schooling. Thus, for the real picture of India one should not trust Balram Halwai.

·      Is it possible to read The White Tiger in context of the Globalization?

Yes, Novel can be read in context of globalization. Globalization is most attractive phenomena of rich country. This ideally talks about the opportunity for needy country. Thus, many golden chances are given to poor country in the form of business and job opportunities. But it has deeper dark side which is represented in the novel. Globalization creates new form colonialism, Master-slave relationship, exploitation of poor people etc. Rich people become more and more rich day by day and poor remains poorer. At present we can observe “American imperialism” as a result of globalization. Balram represents the effects of globalization.