Thinking Activity on The White Tiger by Arvind Adiga

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                       "The White Tiger"

"The White Tiger" is a debut novel written by Indian author Arvind Adiga , was published in 2008 and won the 40^th Man Booker Prize in the same year as well.This ground breaking Epistolary novel moves further with the binary narrative of Indian society in a letter from having seven chapters, which is a hard hitting on the naked reality of India, striking in different cultures and compromises two faces, brighter and darker side of India in a term of exploitation of various sections in rising India through the character of Balram Halwai- a modern Indian hero. His views on rich and poor India get more crystal clear when Arvind Adiga quotes,

“The dreams of the rich, and the dreams of the poor- they never overlap, do they?

See, the poor dream all their lives of getting enough to eat and looking like the rich, and what do the rich dream of?

Losing weight and looking like poor”. (225)

The novel unfolds through the letters, Balram Halwai wrote during seven nights to Chienese Premiere, Wen Jiabao. Indeed,the novel seems as providing the example of journalistic view on Indian Society. In fact it presents a courage and keen observation of Arvind Adiga in speaking out reality among the glorious narration,his unglamorous depiction of India was also taken as insult, but he clarified that:

“What I am trying to do-is not an attack on the country; it’s about the greater process of self-examination”(Guardian).

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

As far as my opinion is concerned, in a very realistic way without having use of too much exaggeration and sugar coated words, he represented India in very realistic way. In his narration he presented binaries such as people big bellies and small bellies and dream of poor and rich people, to satirize political system in rising India. The reference of Ganga in his narration presents the darker side of India or the religious people who worshipped mother Ganga where  reference of cities like Delhi and Banglore give glimpses of brighter growing India. He himself gave an idea about representation of India in his novel when he replied for a question in Outlook magazine:

“The book is an attempt to relocate India in political and economical context”

Recently we have “Digital India” slogan enchanted by governement of India to showcase a emerging of technology in shining India, earlier we had “Incredible India” slogan to attract huge number of tourists around the world to experience unity in diversity in India. What I mean by it is that it represents the glorious side of India. On the other side we could find continuously attacks on minority or on lower cast. In the entire novel Arvind Adiga portrayed the dark rural side of Indian subcontinent and political system as well. He satirized the dark side of school education of India where teachers were looting the money granted for students as well as he also satirized the harsh reality of government hospitals in villages, where government doctors are busy in serving in their private hospitals and people are dying in government hospitals. Indeed, in many ways through many narrations Arvind Adiga represents realistic India which is far darker than Bollywood manufactured India.    

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

 ‘Rags to riches’ refers to any situation in which a person rises from poverty to wealth and as a consequence a person obtains heights of fame. In the novel we can find that Balram was a miserable child born to a Rickshaw driver in Laxmangrah and at the end of the novel he became successful entrepreneur. Looking at Balram’s portrayal archetype we come to know that he was forced to live school and his scholarship was used to pay the lawn taken by families, he worked at tea shop and later on by learning driving he became a driver of Ashok- a very rich entrepreneur. Later on he killed his master, stole the bag of money and became a successful rich entrepreneur. What basically I mean by it is the character portrayal of Balram showcases his greed or desire for money and at last he was succeeded too. In fact the entire novel is unfolded as he wrote letters to Chinese premier. It suggests his journey from rages to riches. There is a related comment found on the novel by Evelyn beck in Library Journal;

“Blaram’s evolution from likable village boy to cold-blooded killer is fascinating and believable. Even more surprising is how well the narrative works, in the way it’s written as letter to the Chienese premier, who’sset to visit Banglore, India”.

 In climbing a ladder of success, he doesn’t care for path chosen by him whether it is moral or immoral. From all this it can be said that Balram’s story is the archetype of all stories of rages to riches.

3) "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?

Deconstructive reading suggested by Derrida is all about to find a loophole or loose stone in any literary text which helps in supporting our hypothesis. In the novel Balram halwai himself refered the word "half-baked" for him; the man who has not capacity for metabolism of wider knowledge. How far can we rely on the narrative of half baked man?  As far as my point of view is concerned, this word seems as ground breaking loose stone which helps in deconstruction of the novel. He is not that much educated as well as he hasn't deeper knowledge of philosphy.

4) With reference to screening of select scenes of Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire in today's class:

Write a blog on similarities between The White Tiger and Slumdog Millionaire. Include following points:

1)  Narrative structure - Wanted Poster # KBC show

As far as narrative structure of “The White Tiger” and “Slumdog Millionaire” is concerned, we can find a similarities at larger part including use of flashback narrative technique in storyline. The entire novel is formed in a series of letters addressed to Premiere of China, Wen Jiabao; the writer of the letter Balram Halwai observes a poster and use quotation from it to narrate the further story which brings him back in his early days of crime.

Similarly, in the “Slumdog Millionaire” the story goes back within the life of Jamal with his attempt to find the answer of every question that is being asked to him in the "Who wants to be Millionaire?" show. With the use of flashback technique parallel narrative goes on in novel and in movie as well.

2.  Indianness

The novel as well as movie depicts the ugly side of India’s slum area,electricity, education system, medical services and so on, indeed it is reality of India at certain level. The novel takes place in poor village of Bihar,’Laxmangrah’ whereas the novel  sets in ‘Dharavi’, larger slum area of India. We can also find a stereotypical representation of train in India in the novel and movie as well. Furthermore we can find a religion representation in both. The movie has happy ending, poetic justice, what Indian people used to see, while the novel has open end, in this comparison the novel seems more realistic than novel.

3)List of questions asked in the film. If you have to replace or add a few questions, which questions would you like to add. Remember, questions shall be in-tune with the screenplay of the film .

The following are the questions answered by Jamaal by recaping the some indcidents from his life during the show. 

 1.Who was the star in the 1973 hit film Zanzeer...

   a) Shah Rukh Khan
   b) Salman Khan

   c) Amitabh Bachhan

   d) Ranbir Kapoor

2. A picture of three lions is seen in the national emblem of India. What is written underneath it?

    a) The Truth alone triumphs

    b) Lies alone triumphs

    c) Fashion alone triumphs

    d) Money alone triumphs

3. In depiction of God Rama, he is famously holding what in his right hand?

    a) A bow and arrow

   b) A sword

   c) A child

   d) A flower

4. The song " Darshan Do Ghanshyam" was written by which famous Indian poet?

    a) Surdas

    b) Tulsidas

    c) Mira bai

    d) Kabir

5. On the American One Hundred Dollar Bill, there is portrait of which American Statesman?

    a) George Washington

    b) Franklin Roosevelt

    c) Benjamin Franklin

    d) Abraham Lincoln

6. Who invented the revolver?

    a) Samuel Colt

    b) Bruce Browning

    c) Dan Wesson

    d) James Revolver

7. Cambridge Circus is in which UK City?
    a) Oxford

    b) Leeds
    c) Cambridge

    d) London

8. Which cricketer has scored the most first class centuries in history?

 a) Sachin Tendulkar
 b) Ricky Ponting

 c) Michael Slater

 d) Jack Hobbs

9. In Alexander Dumas' book, "The Three Musketeers", two of the musketeers are called Athos and Porthos. What was the name of the third Musketeer?

    a) Aramis

    b) Cardinal Richetieu

    c) D' Artagnan

         d) Planchet

   4) On what grounds can you deconstruct the film with reference to post colonial tools / theories.

While studying the movie through post colonial lens, we can object it on the ground that; the film represented India in very insulting manner just like the English  director Dan Brown wants to serve the stereotypes of White worlds towards India- India as the country of slums, dust and thieves. In the movie there is seen when Jamal is stealing shoes from Tajmahahal and then sells out it as well as he takes money from foreigners in order to guide them at Taj Mahal even though Jamal himself do not know anything about it. Furthermore there is scene when driver comes to know that Jamal and his friends are those who stolen wheels from car and the driver hits the Jamal. But the foreigners gives money to him by showing mercy to him. These are several points through which we can prove that the movie tries to only fulfill the white world’s imagination towards India. As well as cricket as symbol of colonizer is used in the movie. Even at the end of the movie, Jamal is sitting at the railway station at one pillar and camera moves in certain way that shows that it was built by foreigner, in the sense he wants to prove that railway; every great things in India is due to white people. In reality, India is somehow, at some extend better than how it was portrayed in Dan Brown’s Slumdog Millionaires.

5) Compare with Texture and Treatment of subject content in film and novel.

The Texture and Treatment of subject content in novel and film is similar at larger scale, from the use of flasback technique or parallel narrative technique to the  representation of gloomy realistic India. the movie sets in biggest slum area of India, Dharavi whereas the novel sets in Laxmangrah. By usuing the falshback narrative techniques, both works move forward with parallel representation of past and present. Along with it we can also find a satire on Indian educatio sytem and on medical system. Bothe presents the gloomy texture of India.

References:
http://theachieversjournal.org/index.php/taj/article/view/126
https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/the-white-tiger/