Double Entry Journal White Tiger
Eoin Fitzsimons
Humanities 1
Double Entry Journal
12/3/2014
“In 1947 the British left, but only a moron would think that we became free then.”
(Adiga 18).
The above quote is from White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. The speaker, Balram Halwai aka White Tiger is a self made man out of the so called darkness of India. He goes from working in a tea shop to working as a driver and after a few bad decisions becomes a self proclaimed entrepreneur. In his time period, India’s government is corrupt. Officials constantly take bribes, by votes and participate in other suspicious activity. Balram noticies this from a early age and makes this clear in his letters to the Chinese Premier. He is feels strongly about the landlords in his area and their generally suspicious activities as well. Balram was called the White Tiger because at a young age he was gifted academically and it was noticed by some school inspectors. A white tiger is a very rare animal and they felt that Balram was very rare as well. Balram later embraces this name as he feels he is a rare person who will go to any lengths necessary to be successful, including condemning his family to die.
I find the quote significant because even before the British ruled India, the Muslims did. So had India ever been truly free up until that point? Now because of the governments corruption, the country is practically ruled by the highest bidder. Balram notices this and thinks you would be a moron if you think that the country is actually now free to rule itself. It also raises the interesting point that since vote rigging/buying is done by the rich, they will most likely choose politicians who would please the needs of the rich, which is a key reason the poor are being treated so badly in India.
By killing Mr. Ashok, Balram is freeing himself from his oppressor. Balram, who feels he is being restricted and limited whilst working for Mr. Ashok. After killing Mr. Ashok, he is no longer a low class citizen who is ruled by a
Humanities 1
Double Entry Journal
12/3/2014
“In 1947 the British left, but only a moron would think that we became free then.”
(Adiga 18).
The above quote is from White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. The speaker, Balram Halwai aka White Tiger is a self made man out of the so called darkness of India. He goes from working in a tea shop to working as a driver and after a few bad decisions becomes a self proclaimed entrepreneur. In his time period, India’s government is corrupt. Officials constantly take bribes, by votes and participate in other suspicious activity. Balram noticies this from a early age and makes this clear in his letters to the Chinese Premier. He is feels strongly about the landlords in his area and their generally suspicious activities as well. Balram was called the White Tiger because at a young age he was gifted academically and it was noticed by some school inspectors. A white tiger is a very rare animal and they felt that Balram was very rare as well. Balram later embraces this name as he feels he is a rare person who will go to any lengths necessary to be successful, including condemning his family to die.
I find the quote significant because even before the British ruled India, the Muslims did. So had India ever been truly free up until that point? Now because of the governments corruption, the country is practically ruled by the highest bidder. Balram notices this and thinks you would be a moron if you think that the country is actually now free to rule itself. It also raises the interesting point that since vote rigging/buying is done by the rich, they will most likely choose politicians who would please the needs of the rich, which is a key reason the poor are being treated so badly in India.
By killing Mr. Ashok, Balram is freeing himself from his oppressor. Balram, who feels he is being restricted and limited whilst working for Mr. Ashok. After killing Mr. Ashok, he is no longer a low class citizen who is ruled by a
Cited: Adiga, Aravind, The White Tiger, New York: Free Press, 2008. Print [1] "Corruption Perceptions Index 2008." 2008 Transparency Index. Transparency International, 22 Sept. 2008. Web. 02 Dec. 2014.