The White Tiger : A Man’s Journey Against a Social Coop -MSF Sadib

Before we delve into the nitty-gritty of Arvind Adiga’s masterpiece, it’s essential that we understand what the title glorifies.
It is said that the white tiger is regarded as a sacred animal in India and a rare find all across the globe. The white tiger is a native feline found in India, with definite states being Assam, Bihar, and Odisha. Their white fur with exquisite black stripes makes them an eye-catching entity to behold among the general population. No matter where you put a white tiger, it’ll steal the show from the common masses.

The main protagonist is Balram Halwai, the son of a rickshaw puller. This book revolves around the different key roles he has to play to break free from the hardship and mental disfigurement he has to sustain throughout his adulthood. From being the outstanding student in his native village to having entrepreneurial prowess. Through Balram’s open statements and confessions via imaginary letters to Chinese President Xiaobao, the reader shall explore India’s nepotism, rural exploits, and uncanny dreams.

Once symbolized as the white tiger in his tender age at school by an administrative superior, Balram has to make it out through social monotony and caste segregation to mark the words. Adiga sketches masterful strokes to organize the book with wit and might. Unlike other authors who generally try to draw sympathy for characters that’re in distress, Adiga, on the contrary, shatters the barrier between the reader and Balram, poking them in the eye to demonstrate what a man can do in his distressful hours to break free from the cage of obscurity.

The book contains a backdrop of socialism and Naxalite, like many other notable Indian schematic books, e.g., “The Lowland” and “The God of Small Things.” This backdrop highlights the disparity between social and economic conditions rather than the actual credo of socialism itself. Readers shall behold the corruption and hush money empowering a bleak government through the eyes of Balram.

The twists and turns of events and Balram’s monologues about his ushered past mark “The White Tiger” as an all-encompassing portrayal of everything that social dilemmas could project in India and its dramatic expressions.