Representation of India in the white Tiger

1. Prepared by
Monika Makwana
Department of English
The New Literature

2. • Representation of India in The
White Tiger
• Name:- Monika Makwana
• Roll no:- 19
• Paper No:- 13 The New Literature
• Topic:- Representation of India in The New
Literature
• Enrollment No:- 206908420190027
• Email I’d:- makwanamonika26@gmail.com
• Submitted to:- S. B. Gardi department of English

3. • Introduction of the novel
• Written by Arvind Adiga.
• Published in 2008.
• Won Man Booker Prize.
• The novel revolves around
the life of Balram Halwai.
• The novel provides a
darkly humorous
perspective of India's class
struggle in a globalized
world.

4. • About the Author
• Arvind Adiga
• He is an indo -Australian writer
and journalist
• Born in madras in 1974
• Winner of Man booker Prize
• His famous works:-
• The White Tiger
• Last Man in tower
• Section days
• Between the assassinations

5. • Representation of India in The
White Tiger
• Lightness and darkness
• Identity
• Globalization
• Marriage
• Class and caste
• China’s relationship in India
• Freedom

6. India
Lightness Darkness
wealth
Time (The future)
Location (Bangalore)
Obligation
past
poverty
Rural India
Loyalty to family and
master

7. • Balram's vision of two Indias forms the central image around which the
novel is organized. The most significant of the many dualities explored
in the text, the dichotomy between the Light and the Darkness frames
Balram's journey.
• His fervent desire to enter into the "Light" of urban coastal India is the
driving force behind the dramatic transformation detailed in his
narrative.
• This passage also suggests an impenetrable barrier; in the same way
that the ocean is immovable, so are the Light and Darkness
necessarily distinct. That Balram is able to transcend that barrier is
evidence of his unique abilities. That he remains uncertain whether he
can ever fully be a denizen of the "Light" represents his belief,
expressed here, that the separation is beyond any individual's control.
“Please understand, Your Excellency, that India is two countries in one:
an India of Light, and an India of Darkness. The ocean brings light to
my country. Every place on the map of India near the ocean is well off.
But the river brings darkness to India—the black river."
Balram, 12

8. • Identity
• The opening chapter also
establishes the theme of
identity.
• the novel explores how
identity is malleable enough
that one can construct one’s
own selfhood.
• Balram’s determination to
take charge of his own
identity
• can be traced through the
many names he takes on
throughout his life.

9. • At first, he is nameless, known simply as “Munna”.
Later, he passively accepts the name Balram, which
labels him as a “sidekick”, still a subsidiary of
another.
• It is therefore a crucial moment when the inspector
dubs him the “White Tiger”, not only because it
evoked uniqueness, but also because it
distinguished him.
• He accept this name because it allows him to define
himself.

10. • Globalization
• The White Tiger takes place in a time in which
increased technology has led to world globalization,
and India is no exception.
• In the past decade, India has had one of the fastest
booming economies.
• Specifically in India has played its role in the plot,
since it provides an outlet for Balram to alter his caste.
• Globalization has assisted in the creation of an
American atmosphere in India.

11. • Ashok justifies this move by
explaining..
• By blackmailing Ram Persad, the other
driver, Balram is promoted and drives
Ashok and Pinky to their new home.
“Today it’s the modernist suburb of Delhi. America
Express, Microsoft, all the big American companies
have offices there. The main road is full of shopping
malls- each mall has a cinema inside! So if Pinky
Madam missed America, this was the best place
to bring her”.

12. • Marriage in India
• Marriage plays a key role in Indian society as well as the
novel. When Balram's cousin becomes engaged, his
family “gets screwed” with a large dowry they cannot
afford.
• To save their reputation and the marriage, the
family has to take out a loan from the Stork. Balram is
forced to drop out of school and work in a teashop to
help raise money to pay back the debt –triggering the
events of the rest of the story.

13. • class system
• The White Tiger is the discussion of the India
caste
system.
• The caste system in India is a social system that
divides the Indian population into higher and
lower social classes.
• Although said to be disappearing in urban India,
the caste system still remains in rural India.
• A person is born into a caste, and the caste one
belongs in determines his or her occupation.
Balram gives his own breakdown of the caste
system in India.

14. • China’s relationship in India
• At the beginning of the novel, Balram mentions to the Premier
that China is the only nation he admires besides Afghanistan
and Abyssinia. Why? Because he read in a book called
Exciting Tales of the Exotic East that these are the only 3
countries never to be ruled by outsiders. He dubs China the
“freedom-loving nation,” a place that has never been subject to
a master-slave relationship with the West. But although he
hears on All India Radio that “you Chinese are far ahead of us
in every respect,” Balram observes that China does not have
entrepreneurs – hence the Premier’s visit to Bangalore.

15. • Freedom
• Arvind Adiga talked about how “The White Tiger” was a book
about a man’s quest for freedom.
• The novel is somewhat of a memoir of his journey to finding
his freedom in India’s modern day capitalist society.
• Towards the beginning of the novel, Balram cites a poem from
the Muslim poet Iqbal where he talks about slaves and says
“They remain slaves because they can’t see what is beautiful
in this world.” Balram sees himself embodying the poem and
being the one who sees the world and takes it as he rises
through the ranks of society, and in doing so finding his
freedom.

16. Conclusion
• Arvind Adiga’s The White Tiger is
defining the postmodern India of light
and darkness in the white tiger.
• Arvind Adiga portray an image of
India through the character of Balram
Halwai.

17. Thank You.