A Study on Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger as
a Catastrophic Novel
Dr. S. Sudha
Assistant Professor
Department of
English
Dr. N. G. P. Arts
and Science College
Coimbatore, Tamil
Nadu, India
Abstract:
Facts are forming as stories and the stories
are the formation of truth. The inherent truth is a story seems to have changed
its form to become disaster novels of the century. The disaster novel of the
‘present’ is making ‘news’ personal and intimate and actually born out of it,
as news are everywhere. It is elaborated by the writers like Jonathan Safran
Foer and Don De Lillo, Indra Sinha, Amitava Kumar, Shashi Tharoor, Robin David
and Aravind Adiga are some of the writers throw their lights on disaster novels.
The White Tiger is on Adiga’s understanding of insider-outsider complexes in
Indian culture. It is not a realistic novel but magic realism can be acceptable
in various senses. The paper focuses on how this episodic novel carries
elements of suspense and thrill. As a novel of booker prize, The White Tiger
contains lot of qualities to analyze in the way of disaster novel.
Keywords: Disaster novel, Episodic novel, Social
disaster, Religious faith, Indian Slavery
While reading a genre, one can express his feelings like weep, laugh, or
mourn. Like most literatures, the commonwealth literature expands the scope
about the world. Through divulging the ill of the society, the commonwealth
writers satirize the unpopular manifestations of their society in order to
educate the populace. The idea of commonwealth literature is quite straight
forward because it is the literature produced by countries which are former
colonies for Britain or had the dominions. The commonwealth studies potentially
offer democratic interpretation of modernized societies and communities more
than colonialism.
These novels have the real-universal element
of such strong-minded literature despite the focus on actual issues. These
novels revolve around social disasters. Amitava Kumar’s Home Products (2007) give a realistic account of social
complexities of small town in Bihar showing the aspiration of the ‘Amm admi’,
similar to what Adiga does in The White
Tiger (2008). The novel
makes a change in its shape and it is a visual picture of the corrupted Indian
society and shows how the innocents are also polluted by the politicians.
Aravind Adiga was born in affluent
professional family in Madras on October 23, 1914. He admits that he had
greatly influenced by Salman Rushdie and three African – Ralph Ellison, James
Baldwin, and Richard Wright are three postwar American writers. The White Tiger is the novel of
realistic vein, which rebukes on subalterns who has been focusing through
cinemas, short stories and of course media hyped news-stories. The novel is narrated using unanswered questions.
“The narration reveals not only Balram's personal story, but also the corrupt
system that operates in two Indias - India of bright and India of dark. (14, A
Freakish) This novel starts in a letter form which is addressed to Chinese
Primier. While he is addressing himself, he writes as,
The
White Tiger,
A thinking man
and entrepreneur,
living at the
world's centre for technology and sourcing,
Electronic City
Phase 1 (just off Hosur Main Road)
Bangalore,
India. (3)
These words show the mental ability of him.
Like that he never wants to give up his courage whether he is right or wrong.
He says to the Chinese Premier that the both do not know English but he is
ready to share some thing in English. In that letter he quotes the corrupted
status of India. He claims that India lacks potable water, power, and a sewage
system, as well as a sense of hygiene, discipline, courtesy, and timeliness. He
says, “…there are entrepreneurs. There are thousands upon thousands of them. Especially
in the technological field. And these entrepreneurs - we entrepreneurs - have
established all of these out-sourcing firms that now effectively control
America.” (4) Continuously he quotes that when premier comes to India, he may
knock by some boys to sell the books such as "The Ten Secret of Business
Success!" or "Start Your Own Business in Seven Days!" by
conveying these he says American books are about yesterday but he is for
tomorrow.
Balram is a man of humour. He describes the
religions and its faith in a manner of humour. Through Balram, Adiga details
the mockery of religions. It is mandatory to know what religion is and what
role it plays in shaping the Indian culture. In his view religion is a psychic
urge with thoughts, will and feeling, actually embraces the faith that
conserves value which helps a man in realizing god. It is a force that unites
all under a main source. India is a country of spirituality. The spirituality
is the outcome of the long processes of worship and the devotion of the rishis
and munis. They guided the people to a discipline and religious life. In this
novel, Balram, the protagonist considers himself as Hanuman who serves Ram and
Sita. But later this Hanuman (Balram) kills his Rama (Master, Ashok). When he
enters into Bangalore with his bribe money he changes his name as Ashok. The
meaning of Ashok is ‘without sarrow’. This name is associated with king Ashok,
a 3rd century BC emperor in India.
Balram mocks the Hindus religious faith. He
calls the gods as ‘asses’ it is indeed an insult to India and its culture. He
says he is not communist but he mocks god. He mentions as ‘asses’ which has two
meanings as a part of human body and another is ‘irritating’. The number of
goods may irritate him. He abuses as well as shows his respect to Gods. As a
thinker and says, these Gods do not exist and he declares that he is not a
philosopher. He compares these Gods with the politicians who have no work
expect winning re-election. Balram Halwai considers religion as the cause of
Indian slavery and it never allows the people to raise against the master:
Inside is an image of a saffron-colored
creature that is half man and half monkey: Hanuman, everyone's favorite, is
banished into the darkness. Do you know anything about Hanuman, sir? He was a
devoted servant of the god Rama, and we honour him in our temples as a shining
instance for how to serve your lord with utmost dedication, love, and devotion.
Mr. Jiabao understands now how difficult it is for an individual to win his
freedom in India because of the gods they have placed on him. (19)
The novelist becomes a victim of the western
mentality. Through Balram, Adiga focuses on the two division of India. On the
basis of ocean and rivers, he separates India into two distinct regions: dark India
and light India. Balram refers to India as the third most fertile country, full
of rice fields choked with lotuses and water lilies. The surroundings of river
are considered as the place of darkness and the ocean and its surroundings are
well off. “…India is two nations in one: one of light and one of darkness. The
water illuminates my country. Every location on the geographical representation
of India along the ocean is remote. However, the river--the black river--brings
gloom to India.” (14) According to him, Bangalore is the only city that is full
of light though the people are like animals.
Through Balram the lights are focused on the
rural and urban life style. He pictures his childhood which is always with his
father and the tea shop where he worked after his death. He says that drivers
of rickshaws are not allowed to make use of on the tea shop's plastic chairs.
They formed a line with their rickshaws and waited for the bus to unload its
passengers. They were forced to huddle near the rear, bowed over. It is a
crouching stance widespread among servants throughout India. The rural people
of India are mostly impoverished people in the world. Most of the people have
lived in the same village for many generations where the skills, knowledge, and
land have been handed down to the children. Life has reminded the same for
generations. In The White Tiger,
Laxmangarh, in India is depicted as one such village is described as ‘Typical
Indian Paradise.’
Electricity poles are no longer in service. a
broken water tap Children, too slender and short for their age, with large
heads and bright eyes, like the government of India's guilty conscience. Yes,
Mr. Jiabao, a classic Indian village paradise. I'll have to travel to China one
day to see if the villages in your paradises are any better. (20)
Balram conveys that the ladies in village
depend on Buffalos’ milk for their daily lifehood. Balram is recognized as an
untouchable, marginalized, dehumanized and oppressed person. In India of
darkness, he visualized the poor as bonded labours. Balram says that the land
lords are feeding on the poor. He selects the names as Stroke, Buffalo, Raven,
and Wild Boar for the names of land lords. Due to their large debts, the four
landowners, who have animal characteristics and own practically everything,
make the lives of rural people unpleasant. Slavery in villages creates slavish
tenancies. The 'Harijans,' an outcast, are persecuted. Balram's father
recognises the significance of education. He is a "planner." He
desires that his son learn to read and write. Balram’s father and his brother
are slaves; following it, his father’s death leads him into slave. The nature
of slavery has subtly changed.
Balram
decides to flee the coop due to social marginalization. The first step is to leave
the family in the village. When he is not working, he spends his time in the
city with drivers, such as the vitiligo - lips and others. He becomes aware of
the disparities that exist in India between the haves and have-nots. As a poor
in city he tries to practice a number of ways to cheat and deceive his
employers. He has started to lie, deceive and filch to be like his master. He
has started drinking and dresses like his master. He goes to visit the city
mall longs for the prostitute with golden hair. He compares himself with Mr.
Ashok who is his master. Balram longs for the life of his master. When Pinky
makes an accident he is forced to own responsibility for that accident. The
frustration reaches its crescendo and rankled by the inequality in distribution
of power. Balram notices that men sit together and read. They huddle together
and discuss.
When
discussing about Indian Revolution, Balram portrays the revolution may not
happen in Indians’ life. People in this nation are still waiting for the liberation
fight to arrive from somewhere else-the jungles, the mountains, China, and
Pakistan. That is not going to happen. Each guy must construct his own Benares.
"This city has its share of things and politicians," he says. That's
all there is to it here. A man can be good if he wants to. He doesn't even have
this option in Laxmangarh. It is the distinction betwixt this India and that
India is the choice" (306). Balram talks about the migration process and
for him this migration is from darkness, which he relates with the stagnant,
unproductive and devoid lives living in poverty admits unemployment and
non-educative atmosphere to light. All lessons to become entrepreneur Balram
learns from his professions.
Like
a good driver, he learnt to roar a head in life. His unique acumen to ROAR
reminds him of the comment made by the inspector of his village school. The
murder of slum boy was put on Balram by his employers in Delhi. He apologizes
to the bereaved family and gives them an envelope with 20,000 Rs, which is
accepted. The individual just yields to the system and poor have no choice. The
rich has some qualms and thinks of his head master with affection. “The White
Tiger by Adiga has a social message that effectively illustrates the
repercussions of subservience, exclusion, and relocation on the protagonist's
mind.” (66, Pathak). A man who is shown in the beginning of the story as a
decent and talented person who reflects on corruption, disintegrate brutality,
and wicked activities of others and laments the plight of the poor. He shows
that strong people may openly and proudly fight for his rights. Balram utilises
adjectives like freedom, servitude, lightness, and darkness to describe
himself. He does not only want money, but easy money. He transforms into the
stoke, buffalo, and raven that he used to be. He used to want to be a man but
his life leads him what he did not want to be in his childhood. His behavioral
changes ask a question, “Is he living as a human?” Balram is an example for the
innocent people who are tempted by the illegal society and leading the whole
society to disaster. It may be any society most of the people are living as
Balram. They lost their real identity by the corrupted society. The White Tiger adduces the societal
disasters of Indian society which makes it as a disaster novel.
Works Cited
Adiga, Aravind. The White Tiger. India: Harper Collin pb, 2008.
Nimsarkar, P. D. Aravind Adiga An Anthology of Critical Essays. New Delhi: Creative
Books, 2010.
Arora, K. Sudhir. Aravind Adiga’s The WTA Freakish Booker. New Delhi: Authors press,
2011.