The White Tiger Essay

Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger shares the debauchery, fraud and cancer-like corruption dominating Indian society. With constant references to the corrupt practices existing in schools, hospitals, elections and the entirety of the government; Adiga explores injustice is common amongst all characters. Corruption exists in similar aspects of India; a tainted education system leaves Indian’s ‘half baked’ and forced to work off endless debt landlords steal from their families. Politicians, police and judges easily bribed with a high price tag, support a corrupt voting system, medical assistance and abuse of teacher salaries. Lastly a case of immorality can be seen through Balram’s twisted and warped morals to progress towards the ‘light’. Through

Those living in the ‘darkness’ are almost entirely “half-baked”, meaning their education is limited, and evidently useless; forcing them to leave school and work for their family’s debt. Rickshaw pullers, tea shop workers or breaking coal, were among the various jobs available to the poor who like Balram’s father, would remain their future. However, education is vital to one’s success and thus those of low social status are inherently poor “you always talk about a man’s education when describing him”. The governments refusal to pay teacher salaries (6 months at most) made stealing students lunch money and rejection to teach unless “[a] pay cheque arrived in the mail” tolerable. Furthermore, auctioning of student uniforms to satisfy his salary was perceived as a justified rebellion against a corrupt system. Balram gains his resemblance to a “white tiger” due to his rare intellect among his generation of “thugs and idiots”. Thus, Balram is seen to have been given a chance to initiate his way to ‘light’. Balram who reveals his family as a restriction to becoming successful, learns that he must use corruption to “live like a man” and learns his real education of the world on the “roads and pavement”. Consequently, education stagnates the low social class of India leaving them to live lives of survival rather than pleasant