Page 128 - DENG503_INDIAN_WRITINGS_IN_LITERATURE

Indian Writings in Literature

Notes 16.1 Detailed Study—The White Tiger

The Book “The White Tiger” from Aravind Adiga is about a men who writes a letter to the premier
of China, Wen Jiabao. The name of the man is Balram Halwai. He lives in Bangalore, India. In his
letter he wants to ask the premier, if it’s true that he wants to come to India and talk to Indian
entrepreneurs, like Balram hear to on the All India Radio before. He also hears that the premier
wants to know the truth about Bangalore and Balram knows, that he can tell him the real truth
about Bangalore. He shows the premier the truth while talking about his life. For example what
happen when he visit Bangalore for the first time. “See when you come to Bangalore and stop at
a traffic light, some boy will run up to your car and knock on your window, while holding up a
bootlegged copy of an American business book, wrapped carefully in cellophane.”
Balram begins to tell him a story about a day in his life, when he was driving in a car with his ex-
employer Mr. Ashok and his wife Pinky Madam. Mr Ashok tells Balram to drive on the side of the
street and then he was starting to ask him some questions. After he give his best to answer the
questions. Mr. Ashok was wondering what Balram said. He tells his wife that Balram is just half-
baked and haven’t finish the schooling.
Then Balram tells the Premier how he got his name. At the first day of school, the teacher changes
his name from “Munna” into “Balram”. After that he give him a information about India and his
dark an light sides. The Darkness comes from the River Ganges. He had a bad experience when
Balram carry his dead mother to the ganges and his granny made the zeremony of death. His
mother was wrapped from head to toe in a saffron silk cloth. Then he saw his mother burning on
an wooden platform and then he fainted.
After that he tells something about an Indian village laxmangarh. He talk about this place where
he lived. He mentions a water buffalo, which was important from his family in this time. He
shows the premier the every day life with his family together.
There is a tea shop in the central of Laxmangarh where his father works as a rickshaw -puller. In
front of the tea shop stops a car and somebody comes out. Another person is sitting in the car. It’s
the Buffalo, one of the four landlords in Laxmangarh.
He is one of the chiefs in the lands around Laxmangarh. If someone wants to work for them, they
have to ask these landlords for work. Balram know, that his father don't want to work with these
landlords together, so he gets trouble with them. Balram’s brother Kishan wants, that Balram
works in the tea shop of his father to earn more money, but this father said, that he have to finish
the school. But Balram doesn’t want to visit the school anymore, because he get mobbed by his
classmates. One day some of his classmates put a lizard in his face.
When Balram told him this story, his father wasn’t angry. His father Vikram and Balram visit the
school and were killing the lizard. After narrating this event Balram writes that he soon has to end
writing tonight, because it is almost two and he checks for other information on the poster. After
looking for informations, he tells the premier about an inspection in the school, when he was a
child. The inspectors prove the kids by reading a sentence form the board. The Inspectors is
impressed about Balram in the way he reads the sentences. He asks Balram some more questions,
for example which deals about the rarest animals that comes along only once in a generation.
Balram answers this question with the white tiger.
The people there work very hard and do their job well. While working in the tea shop Balram
starts spying other people’s conversations. In his mind a good way to learn more to hear new,
different things. Sometimes the miners come to the tea shop and tell exciting stories. Firstly
Balram wants to become a miner, but when he finds out, what a taxi driver earns a month, he
changed his opinion.

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