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Unit 15: Aravind Adiga: The White Tiger—Plot

It is not surprising then that the greatest literary influences on the book were three great African- Notes
American 20th-century novelists - Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin and Richard Wright. "They all
wrote about race and class, while later black writers focus on just class. Ellison's Invisible Man was
extremely important to me. That book was disliked by white and blacks. My book too will cause
widespread offence. Balram is my invisible man, made visible. This white tiger will break out of
his cage."
For Indian readers, one of the most upsetting parts of that break-out is that Halwai casts off his
family. "This is a shameful and dislocating thing for an Indian to do," says Adiga. "In India, there
has never been strong central political control, which is probably why the family is still so important.
If you're rude to your mother in India, it's a crime as bad as stealing would be here. But the family
ties get broken or at least stretched when anonymous, un-Indian cities like Bangalore draw people
from the villages. These really are the new tensions of India, but Indians don't think about them.
The middle- classes, especially, think of themselves still as victims of colonial rule. But there is no
point any more in someone like me thinking of myself as a victim of you [Adiga has cast me, not
for the first time, as a colonial oppressor]. India and China are too powerful to be controlled by the
west any more.
"We've got to get beyond that as Indians and take responsibility for what is holding us back."
What is holding India back? "The corruption, lack of health services for the poor and the presumption
that the family is always the repository of good."
Our time is nearly over. Adiga doesn't know how he will spend his prize money, isn't even sure
if there's a safe bank in which to deposit it. Doesn't he fear attacks at home for his portrayal of
India? After all, the greatest living Indian painter, M F Husain, lives in exile. "I'm in a different
position from Husain. Fortunately, the political class doesn't read. He lives in exile because his
messages got through, but mine probably won't."
Adiga, who says he has written his second novel but won't talk about it ("It might be complete
crap, so there's no point"), flies home to Mumbai today to resume his bachelor life. His most
pressing problem is that Mumbai landlords don't let flats to single men. Why? "They think we're
more likely to be terrorists. I'd just like to say, through your pages, that I am not. In fact, if you
check the biographies of Indian terrorists you'll find they are mostly family men who are well-off.
It's a trend that needs to be investigated."
15.1 The White Tiger—Analysis

The White Tiger, Aravind Adiga’s introduction novel that won the 2008 Man Booker Prize as well
as received a great deal of critical commendation. This novel is an innovative and persuasive story
about modern India. The book interesting from the perspective that how Adiga intertwines such
a broad gamut of aspects of life in India—from local democracy to caste to religion to family duty
to the rising technology centers and culture of entrepreneurism. The novel contains massive amount
without being an extensive epic or losing its firm focus. The White Tiger is a moving story and an
eye-opening picture of Indian society.

The White Tiger tells the story of a young entrepreneur in India whose childhood
nickname was the white tiger.

Towards the end of this debut novel, its voluble, digressive, murderous protagonist makes a
prediction: “White men will be finished in my lifetime,” he tells us. “In 20 years time it will just be

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