The novel, The White Tiger, is an eye-opener as it manages to unfold the rather quiet and unknown story in the backstage of India’s growing economic prowess. Aravind Adiga’s novel vividly talks about the low life experienced by India’s rural poor, while strongly criticising the political and social system in India. It is a largely critical novel, consisting of several letters to the Chinese premier about to visit India, encompassing both subtle humour and sarcasm, and tells of Balram Halwai who manages to emerge from poverty to become a successful entrepreneur.
After reading the New York Times review for this book, I largely agree with it. This novel is definitely ‘penetrating’, as it paints a very lively picture of the backward lives of rural Indians, in contrast to the comfort luxuriously enjoyed by the richer Indians living in large, modernized cities. Furthermore, I also feel that this novel is rather unique. The author creates Balram, a fictional character, who was born into a poor family in the rural countryside, and tells the story in the eyes of Balram. Balram not only explains the extent of poverty in India, but also shows his contempt for the rich who do nothing to ameliorate the situation. In the start, we read about Balram’s childhood and learn about the landlords who “fed on the village… until there was nothing left for anything to feed on”. From Balram’s childhood, we also know of the lack of education facilities, and the immense hardship that takes a huge toll on the breadwinner to support his family financially. Then, after moving to Dhanbad, a slightly bigger city, and getting employed by the rich, we see the modernized India through Balram’s curious and inquisitive eyes, and the experience Balram goes through serving under harsh and arrogant employers. In addition, as Balram narrates the story, we get to listen to his frequent criticisms and complaints filled with both anger and sarcasm. For instance, he condemns the despicable political system where bribing is commonplace, also telling of his experience where his employer bribed the authorities to exchange for a determined election result.
The New York Times further commented that the characters in the book are ‘superficial’ and this ‘reduces the characters to symbols’. It also commented that there is an ‘absence of human complexity’ when Adiga tells the story of Balram Halwai. I greatly agree to this. It is quite unbelievable for Balram to make a decision to kill his employer without much consideration, to the extent of not being pitiful for him, who just split up from his wife. Many of the scenes are largely overdone with excessive details and this, I feel, is rather exaggerated. For instance, when Balram managed to sneak into a shopping center in Delhi, he “saw an elevator going up and down that seemed made of pure golden glass”, which cannot be quite believable since an elevator is just made of metal. Hence, I agree that these excessive details make the characters just representations in the Indian system. For example, Balram Halwai represents rare members of the rural poor trying to become successful and rich like the landlords controlling the villages. Upon his arrival into the cities, these rare few begin to get corrupted by the many different vices in the city, such as smoking, as Balram often finds himself drinking alcohol and smoke when he begins to live in the city. Balram’s employers, instead, represents the higher richer class that cruelly dominate the lower classed rural poor, and even to the extent of ruthlessly treating their servants. For example, there was an incident where, due to Balram’s employer reckless driving, got him into an accident. Yet, in the end, Balram was forced to take the blame by confessing to the crime of which he took part in no role of complicity.
On the contrary, I do not really agree with the New York Times book review when it claimed that ‘detailed descriptions of various vile aspects of Indian life are relentless — and ultimately a little monotonous’. Although this may be so to the writer of the book review given that the books are filled with abundant complaints and criticisms targeted at the Indian system, I cannot agree with the writer when he calls it ‘monotonous’. I feel that despite this, Adiga still creates an atmosphere of humour as he describes India. One of these significant comical analogies is that the rural poor are caged in a “Rooster Coop”, and only a Rooster “prepared to see his family destroyed – hunted, beaten, burned alive by the masters” can “break out of the coop”. This rather witty yet simple analogy that Adiga introduces into the story perfectly illustrates the rural poor. They do not dare to offend the landlords or the rich, because by doing so, their family would be targeted at and possibly killed, and it is quite obvious that no member of the family would wish to see that happen, maybe only Balram, who murdered his employer. Another interesting description that Adiga brings in is the “India of light” and the India of darkness”. He describes coastal cities with thriving businesses owned by the rich as the “India of light”, as it is the stereotype most people from foreign countries look at the growing Indian economy and the rising standard of living in India. However, on the contrary, there is the “India of darkness”, where the stories of the rural poor remain covered by the success stories of Indian great entrepreneurs. He then says that the “India of darkness” was because filthy Ganga River, where it is filled with “faeces, straw, soggy parts if human bodies… and seven different kinds of industrial acids”. Definitely, such wit cannot be labeled as ‘monotonous’, but rather as ‘creative’.
In conclusion, the White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, in my opinion, is an extremely successful and intelligent novel filled with ingenuity and wit that makes it a must-read for all book lovers out there. Although I only generally agree with the New York Time review of the book, I have to admit that I entirely concur with the review that this book is an excellent read and I strongly recommend it to those who are thirsty for a good novel.
Click the link below to view the New York Times book review for this book:
