With his debut novel The White Tiger (Atlantic Books, 2008), Aravind Adiga has created a central character who is both distressingly amoral and an object of sympathy. Readers’ adjust their initial perception of the self described “thinking man and entrepreneur” as he gradually reveals his background, experience and the complex mixture of unavoidable circumstance and deliberate action that have brought him to his current position.
Balram Halwai – The White Tiger
Balram gradually reveals himself and his background to the reader as he introduces himself to Premier Wen Jiabao of China in a series of one-sided conversations. Hearing reports that the Premier is to visit India seeking information about how to encourage entrepreneurial talent, Balram offers his own life experiences as the ultimate guide.
The son of a rickshaw driver, Balram is removed from school at an early age so that he can work to earn money for his family. Frustrated by his miserable life, Balram looks for opportunities to improve his lot. His chance comes when he secures a position as a driver to the son of the local landlord. In Delhi his naive country beliefs are challenged by the cut-throat network of city servants, the disdain of the upper classes and his own experiences and perceptions.
An incredibly complex character, Balram appears at different times worldly wise and rustically naive, honest and corrupt, subservient and unbearably arrogant. At times he rigidly adheres to the correct standards of behaviour, while also being distressingly dismissive of his amoral response and actions. His story reveals a shocking disregard for the sanctity of human life and basic human rights from individuals at all levels of society.
A Complex Central Character and Culture
As Balram’s experiences shape his actions, the reader is torn between repulsion at his behaviour and motives and a sympathetic understanding that he would be so shaped by his experiences and culture. The White Tiger describes an India far removed from the colourful costumes and music of the Bollywood films and the mystical enticements of tourism promotions. This India is a seething network of people locked into a social framework that promotes injustice and class segregation.
Balram refers to the “Rooster Coop” syndrome whereby those who are oppressed and contained by the unjust class structure fail to take advantage of opportunities to free themselves and change their destiny, conditioned to accept their restrictions and repression by the more affluent members of their society.
Aravind Adiga
One of two debut novelists short-listed for the 2008 Man Booker Prize and only the fourth debut novelist to win the award, Aravind Adiga has received much acclaim for The White Tiger.
In an interview on the Man Booker website, Adiga reveals that he never intended The White Tiger to be a political or social statement. “It's a novel - meant to provoke and entertain its readers. ...but there is something I'd like my readers to think about. I'm increasingly convinced that the servant-master system, the bed rock of middle-class Indian life, is coming apart: and its unraveling will lead to greater crime and instability. The novel is a portrait of a society that is on the brink of unrest.”
The White Tiger
Believing that he is exceptional and beyond his circumstances, a rare “white tiger” amongst his generation, Balram achieves that which seems impossible – to break free from the chains of his poverty, lack of education and low social status to develop a business of which he is the master, rather than the servant.
Balram’s amoral attitude makes him unlikeable, but his circumstances create within the reader a feeling of sympathy and compassion. Adiga skilfully weaves a multifaceted picture of India and its people that stirs similar conflicting responses from the reader, driving the story forward and drawing the reader into this blackly humorous, insightful and thought-provoking tale.
The White Tiger (ISBN: 978-1-84354-721-1, 321 pages)
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