White Tiger Essay

Cultural Anthropology
November 20, 2012
The White Tiger Response The White Tiger is a brilliant collaboration of wit and darkness. The main character, a servant of his own kind, is a witty and somewhat likable killer from the underbelly of India. You can not help but enjoy this killer while also being disappointed with this character. Blaram’s story brings up a truth about Indian culture, as well as one- third of the world’s population who suffer from poverty. He explains the white world and the dark world into perspective for this particular culture. This country’s political system, religion, and family life intertwine and contribute to the poverty of the people. The corrupt caste system of India is disturbing. This unethical tale captures the reality of poverty and crime in modern India. In the beginning of the book, Balram writes a letter to the Chinese Primere, who anticipates a trip to India in hopes of learning the reason behind all of the entrepreneurs and success stories that come out of this country. In this letter, Balram finds it necessary to tell him his own story, but he winds up not sending it. He intends on telling Primere the truth about his homeland with no sugar coating. He states that “one fact about India is that you can take almost anything you hear about the country from the prime minister and turn it upside down and then you will have the truth about that thing.”(Adiga, 12) This quote does not even begin to explain how fraudulent India is and how much servitude exists. The servants in this culture will work their fingers to the bone and bow down and offer their pride to their employer with great respect. Balram and his family are at the lowest and poorest caste, they can not go much lower unless it is underground into death. There are no hopes for this economy to change because nobody’s opinion really counts in rural India unless they are wealthy, and those who have money have nothing to complain about. The rulers of this country hold so much pride and think their country is at its best; but the fact is if not everyone has healthcare, and if the lower caste of hard workers are not much more than skin and bones, treated no differently than a cockroach on the wall, there is something terribly wrong with this political system. The people in the lower castes live for nothing more than an income; they sacrifice their health, well-being and even life to support their families and serve their masters. It appears that the government owns all things and all people and will even go so far as to deter people’s votes to its own will. Those that don’t agree with the government suffer consequences and start having a reputation of being dishonest and disloyal to their nation. Balram himself never quite fits into this category, as he is continuously striving to join the rich, white world; however, he tries to accomplish this goal in a most unethical manner. The Indian religion itself reflects this importance of income. The water buffalo is considered to be a sacred animal to the Hindus. It would be the fattest member of the family; “their hopes were concentrated in her fatness…she was the dictator of our house!”(Adiga, 17) Balram states that if the buffalo produced enough milk to sell, it meant more money in the family’s pockets, therefore the buffalo had first priority before all other family members. Balram shows us that he is in fact religious, but that religion does not mean that people have ethics or even morals for that matter. He appreciates nature and acknowledges temples as well as sacred trees. Throughout the book, Balram prays and if he passes a sacred tree he signs the appropriate gesture. He shows that beauty and graciousness can be found in a corrupt world. But by describing the way people in the lower caste systems are treated and expected to live in this religious country, Balram teaches us that religion does not create desirable qualities or good worth, and money does not solve every problem or make one sanctified. The importance of money and the sense of business are even reflected in the way Indian families interact with each other. Balram’s family does not appear to be appreciative or caring to anyone other than each other, except for the water buffalo, but that is only as a focus of money. There does not appear to be much love shown in Balram’s family, rather it functions more like a business. At one point, Balram has his mind set on becoming a driver, so he comes up with the money with the help of his family for the necessary driving classes. Once Balram has his driving job, he will send the family more than half of his earnings. This job is not only to make money, but is also one that would be looked up to by his villagers. Even marriage is seen as a business arrangement. Women are married off to families for the financial benefit of their own family; men gain benefits from being married. Balram says about his cousin-sister marrying, “Because we were the girl’s family, we were screwed. We had to give the boy a new bicycle, and cash and a silver bracelet, and arrange a big wedding – which we did.”(Adiga, 31) The woman’s family must scrape together enough to be worthy of her man; once she is married the family no longer has to support her as this is the new husband’s duty, and in turn he has a wife to keep the cherished water buffalo alive. In order to collect money for this wedding, the Indians will practically sell their soul and take a loan from the wealthy in exchange for their family as servants. All money that is made by the brothers should be sent to support the family. Living in this society makes Balram very desperate. Although he has a good job, he cannot enjoy his wealth because he is still in the servant caste. Balram, just like all servants, have been brought up to never lie, steal or cheat from his master. The consequences would include his entire family possibly being killed; even if they were left to survive he whole family would be disgraced and looked down upon by society. However, Balram’s greed is ghastly; the need for money has been so ingrained into his being that he kills his very kind and thoughtful master, even knowing that his entire family would be killed, just for money. I suppose this is one of the many blood-chilling truths about this country. When Balram comes across this quote out of a poem, "I was looking for the key for years, but the door was always open,”(Adiga, 216) I believe it relates to him and his struggle to achieve his goals of becoming and entrepreneur. He had to rely on himself for change, he could not depend on the world around him to change he would always have to do the work on his own to succeed.