The White Tiger by aravind adiga Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The White Tiger by aravind adiga - Essay Example The metaphor of â€Å"light and darkness† appears quite often in the Balram Halwai story. For example, Balram believes that river Ganga symbolizes darkness and that is why he refers to its as â€Å"Ganga of black† (Adiga, 57). Balram warns Wen Jiabao to avoid washing himself in Ganga and he mentions the acids, garbage and diseases that are in the river. He describes the river as one that brings death. Initially, it is described as â€Å"holy† and is meant for cleaning the soul and the body. This makes it a big tourist attraction centre. However Balram opposes this idea and argues that it is only the Indians who know that the river is full of dirt. People who live far away from the river are also not aware of this dirt. Therefore, this means that people who live far from the Ganga River are in darkness of this reality and those who live near the Ganga River are in lightness of this reality. The novel also represents the concept of lightness and darkness among poor and rich people. While the richer people own pets like dogs, poor people may only afford a water buffalo that they require for survival. The class of the divine creature is recognized with the dogs of the wealthy as well. Another disparity in possessions is the type of alcohol people afford. Wealthy people only buy most luxurious alcohol that is referred to as â€Å"English liquor†. ... These themes encounter each other all through the novel. Even while Balram has managed to establish himself in the town of Bangalore, he carries on looking for methods of distinguishing himself from â€Å"darkness.† As one of his white tiger drivers knocks a boy by the road, he pays a visit to the boy’s family and gives their surviving son a job (Aravind, 10). He recognizes that this verdict may make him seem weak, but he says that he was left with no other choice. He says, â€Å"I cannot live in the same way as the Buffalo, the River and wild Boar lived, and perhaps still live, back in Laxmangarh. Now I have seen the light.† Rooster Coop Rooster Coop is a metaphor that Balram uses to define the system of the master/servant system of India. The rooster coop symbolizes the cage that Balram lives. He depends on his master who makes all the decisions about what he ought to do. Apart from these conditions, the servants are also accommodated symbolize a rooster coop. The author states that the majority of the servants are caught in the Rooster coop, just like the poor people in the poultry market. He argues that ninety nine percent of the servants are caught in the rooster coop and Balram is one of them. On a certain day at the marketplace, Balram gets to see caged roosters being butchered next to one another. All the Roosters are aware that they are next in the list to be slaughtered, but they are reluctant to rebel. Balram sees the Indian servants entrapped in servitude, but they are all reluctant to break out of the â€Å"Rooster Coop† because they honor their families. Aravind Adiga often cites the rooster coop when he is talking of a feature or situation of the Indian servant class and he also supports himself for killing his master with it. The