Discuss the way Adige has utilized literary techniques to position his audience to respond to Balram in this way.”

1330 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Eassay on importance and significance of Dramatic monologue

Aravind Adiga’s novel, The White Tiger, discusses the life of entrepreneurial India, Balram. Moving from a weak frightened boy living in what he calls the ‘darkness’, a place of poverty and cruel leaders, he moves up the social hierarchy to the point were he becomes a CEO of a large business corporation. In a letter format to a Chinese minister he conveys his personal thoughts on India’s corruption, the difficulty of social mobility and the change in his own person identity during his life. The readers of this text are forced to form an emotional bond with the protagonist and empathises with him to the extent that a friendship is formed between the two. This bond is achieved through many different literary techniques used by Adiga such as monologue, the plot and the imagery achieved throughout his writing to develop Balram’s character as a likeable person.

Adiga’s use of monologue is key to the formation of this emotional bond between the reader and Balram as it gives a direct insight into his opinions and reasoning. Throughout the text Balram conveys his story in a first person perspective and often adds his own thoughts as well as perspective on the events. An example of this opinion giving is when Balram states “in this country we have two kind of people”. These kinds of thoughts are commonly displayed throughout the text and characterise him to be an intelligent, interesting person, despite being only “half-baked”. This forces the reader to start to like his character and appreciate his potential. The use of monologue also allows Adiga to further develop Balram’s character with the use of tone. Throughout the text Balram sustains a humorous yet condescending tone again furthering the reader’s appreciation towards him. An ex...

... middle of paper ...

...r he now process over the light and how he can make it conform to his command. Imagery has been used throughout the text to display the theme of identity and allows the reader to empathise with his need to escape and become ‘The White Tiger’.
The characterisation of Balram throughout the book has been achieved through the use of several key techniques that enables Adiga to force the reader to like, sympathises and even become friendly with a killer. Overall we side with Balram because he is depicted as a true human, with flaws, hopes and dreams. In this all reader can relate some part of their life to his situation and a level of understanding is reached between the reader and Balram. He is like because of his perceptiveness, humour and ambitions. In light of these aspects and with constant justification it is easy for the reader to side with him.

By: Jack O’Brien

Show More
Related

  • Suffering and Struggle in Sonny´s Blues by James Baldwin

    1195 Words  | 3 Pages

    I think the main idea the narrators is trying to emphasize is the theme of opposition between the chaotic world and the human need for community with a series of opposing images, especially darkness and light. The narrator repeatedly associates light with the desire to clear or give form to the needs and passions, which arise out of inner darkness. He also opposes light as an idea of order to darkness in the world, the chaos that adults endure, but of which they normally cannot speak to children.

    Read More

  • How To Write A Speech About Life

    1787 Words  | 4 Pages

    The time period this work takes place in is a very gloomy and frightening time. He wakes up in a dark place by himself and in fear, which makes things worse. A common theme we can relate this dark place to is when we fall off of the path of God. Since God represents all things good, the dark is the exact opposite. Since everything is not so clear in the wood he his describing, the path back to God is even more difficult to attain.

    Read More

  • One Day In the Life of Ivan Denisovich: A Comparison of the Film and Novel

    2237 Words  | 5 Pages

    This novel and film commentary analysis or interpretation will be first summarised and then critiqued. The summary will be divided into twenty- four episodes. While summarising it is well to remember that the film was made out of the book.

    Read More

  • Innocence: The White Heron by Sarah Orne Jewett

    1201 Words  | 3 Pages

    The imagery used in “The White Heron” is shown through the relationship that is formed with Sylvia and the pine tree. She realizes that she needs to connect with nature and not let human greed take over. “The pine tree seemed to grow taller, the higher that Sylvie climbed. The sky began to brighten in the east. Sylvie’s face was lik...

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of Hills Like White Elephants

    2256 Words  | 5 Pages

    Life is a series of crossroads, major and minor, and each decision plays a key part in analysing the character of a person. In “Hills Like White Elephants” Ernest Hemingway tears back the curtains and exposes one of these moments in full ingenuousness. A man and a woman, named Jig, are at an impasse. They have to decide whether or not they are going to abort their child. The man wants no change in his life, and so he wants no child. The woman wants a change in lifestyle, but in order to keep the child she has to break the autonomous lifestyle that has surrounded her for her entire life. She, in essence, must change her identity in order to follow her aspirations. By juxtaposing the character’s perceived identity to the character’s hopes, Hemingway provides the reader with certain axioms of life. These axioms that Hemingway presents fit into the curriculum of Junior Year by relating to specific values and social conventions, by having literary merit and lastly by transcending time by influencing modern society’s media themes and motifs.

    Read More

  • Pluto Had to Die

    913 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... blindingly illuminated that his perceived reality was not equal to that of actual reality. The unreliable narrator shows the readers just how out of touch with reality he has been at the resolution of the story; the narrator effectively hands himself over for murder of his wife simply because of his spite for the black cat.

    Read More

  • Foil In The Kite Runner

    420 Words  | 1 Pages

    On example of contrast between Baba and Rahim Khan, is their attitudes toward Amir’s writing. Baba feigns interest in Amir’s writing, refusing to read his story. Rahim, contrasting Baba’s views, supports and praises his writing. He writes Amir a letter urging him to continue with his passion. Amir reflects on this saying “As always, it was Rahim Khan who rescued me.” The reason for Baba’s disapproval stems from the sexist belief that creative writing is not masculine enough.

    Read More

  • The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

    982 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel, The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga the main character, is Balram, one of the children in the “darkness” of India. Adiga sheds a new light on the poor of India, by writing from the point of view of a man who was at one time in the “darkness” or the slums of India and came into the “light” or rich point of view in India. Balram’s job as a driver allows him to see both sides of the poverty line in India. He sees that the poor are used and thrown away, while the rich are well off and have no understanding of the problems the poor people must face. The servants are kept in a mental “Rooster Coop” by their masters. The government in India supposedly tries to help the poor, but if there is one thing Adiga proves in The White Tiger, it is that India’s government is corrupted. Despite the government promises in India designed to satisfy the poor, the extreme differences between the rich and the poor and the idea of the Rooster Coop cause the poor of India to remain in the slums.

    Read More

  • Shonal Arches by Nazneen Sadiq

    818 Words  | 2 Pages

    Everyone has the tendency to think or act immaturely when something does not happen the way they wanted it to. How people behave and develop in such situations can uncover hidden sides and the true inner self of their character. The changes that occur to them through conflict can depict how mature they really are. Nazneen Sadiq’s story “Shonar Arches” shows the impact on a character’s maturity as a result of the main conflict. The happy resolution of Amit’s conflict shows how through time, even a rude little boy can mature into becoming a gentleman.

    Read More

  • Symbolism of the Bear in the Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini

    712 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this book, Baba has been seen as powerful and moral. On the other hand, Amir is seen as weak and cowardly. Baba’s character is strong because he faces his struggles while Amir runs from them. In the beginning Amir did not resemble Baba because of his weak and cowardly character. As the story progresses Amir begin to resemble Baba as he faces his fears and past mistakes. Through the symbolism of the bear the author shows the growth of Amir’s character and the resemblance of Baba and Amir.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Father And Son In The Kite Runner

    1500 Words  | 3 Pages

    To start of, the awkward relationship betwixt the protagonist, Amir, and Baba,his father as well as the circumstances

    Read More

  • The Most Dangerous Game Mood Analysis

    445 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the setting of the yacht, there is a dark mood that affects the characters. “There was no sound in the night as Rainsford sat there, but the muffled throb of the engine that drove the yacht swiftly through the darkness…” (13). Connell is using imagery to convey the dark mood within the text. The imagery is helping paint a picture of the yacht in the darkness to better understand the mood. “The sensuous drowsiness of the night

    Read More

  • How Nightmares Become Reality in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road

    1447 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...he “dead white and sightless eyes”(1); this creature represents the evils of humanity and its failure to exist. McCarthy blurs the border between dreams and reality in order to emphasize the inherent weakness of humans to let their realities be taken over.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Once More To The Lake

    795 Words  | 2 Pages

    First, White uses imagery throughout his essay to create an effective visual of his experiences at the lake. To start his essay, White reflects on his childhood memories of the lake when he and his family visited every summer: “I remembered clearest of all the early morning, when the lake was cool and motionless, remembered how the bedroom smelled of the lumber it was made of and the wet woods whose scent entered the screen.” This passage enhances

    Read More

  • Injustice And Poverty In Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger

    854 Words  | 2 Pages

    Aravind Adiga’s debut novel The White Tiger highlights his views of the injustice and poverty present in India’s class system. He does this through the perspective of Balram Halwai, a fictional village boy from Laxmangarh. In this epistolary novel, Balram narrates his life in the form of a seven-part letter addressed to Wen Jiabao, the premier of China. He describes how he escaped his caste, which was thought to be impossible, and became a successful entrepreneur after killing his own master. The inequality between rich and poor is an important motive of the story. This paper will go in depth into the representation of the poor, the motivation for it and the effects it has on the interpretation of the story.

    Read More

More about Discuss the way Adige has utilized literary techniques to position his audience to respond to Balram in this way.”

Open Document