Balram Hawai Essay

Balram Halwai is the story's narrator and protagonist. Ironically, he is also known as Munna, the White Tiger and Ashok Sharma throughout his life though he was never given a name or a date of birth. He tells a story in which he strongly believes that he is the epitome of greatness. He had no morals and social expectations and it is through this that he seems to only go forward and upwards in life. This was partially why he was able to change not only his life but his identity as well. He is a very dark and cynical character that shows no remorse or sympathetic emotions.

Balram is also a character that shows great determination. Throughout the novel, he continues educating himself to move up the social ladder. He starts as a very intelligent

Though Balram grew up in a household where tradition, family, and morals were extremely important he completely disregards his upbringing. Despite the fact that the main character grew up with the advice that he will stay in the social standing he was born in, he began his escape from his destiny of being an uneducated and poor servant. He began to work for Mr. Ashok as a driver and his ego and determination grows. Eventually, he loses all sense of his standards and attributes his actions as those of an upcoming entrepreneur which leads to his main focus becoming only

He begins to steal money from his employer but siphoning his gas, taking the car to corrupt mechanics, and using the car as a taxi service to obtain money on the side. When the red bag filled with ___ came into the story, the murderous thoughts began to thrive. This became Balram's main goal and what the book is based on. It was his thirst for money and success that leads him to take the paths he took in life and to kill his employer, Mr. Ashok. Through the novel, there are instances where Balram is witness to the amount of money his employer has, yet Mr. Ashok chooses to give him the bare minimum. There was the instance when Mr. Ashok thought Balram wanted to get married, and after pulling out large notes of money, he reluctantly gives Balram a mere 100 rupees. This adds more fuel to the fire and only encourages Balram with his malicious plans, especially since Mr. Ashok would waste hundreds and thousands of rupees on bribing