In his novel "The White Tiger", Avarind Adiga explores the corruption and extreme poverty that plague modern India. Through an allegorical representation of the enormous gap between rich and poor, Adiga condemns the oppression and desperation endured by the lower classes. Furthermore, illustrating the multitude of obstacles to the emancipation of the poor, Adiga suggests that the emergence of class consciousness is of utmost importance in enabling individuals to escape the “Coop of the Cocks.” Adiga presents Balram's entrepreneurial journey as evidence of the ability of members of the lower classes to ultimately create their own identity, symbolically underscoring his success in earning a place in the Light. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Through a symbolic depiction of the hardships endured by India's poor and the exploitative behavior of the upper classes, Adiga condemns the social structure of New India, which facilitates such pervasive inequality. In the first pages of his epistolary novel, Adiga inserts a suggestive description of the funeral of Balram's mother, whose corpse is burned and abandoned in the "black mud" of the Ganges river. Adiga establishes the foul river as a symbol of the desperation endured by those in the Darkness, suggesting that although Balram's mother's body was "trying to fight the black mud", it was "sucking her in" and she would inevitably became “part of the black mound”. Balram expresses his awareness that this struggle is emblematic not only of his mother's life, but of the adversity faced by all denizens of the Darkness, who despite their efforts, would never be "freed". The symbolism is also used by Adiga to represent the "two countries" within India. Adiga conveys that the "Light" includes the rich coastal regions and the "Darkness" incorporates the poor rural regions of India, such as Balram's Laxmangarh village. Through this depiction of the completely contrasting halves of India, Adiga highlights the dichotomy between rich and poor that largely eliminates any possibility of social mobility. Adiga continues his critique of the Indian social system through the figurative description of the upper classes as "Men with big bellies" and the poor as "Men with small bellies", creating an association between the incredible wealth of the upper classes and their greed and “Big Bellies.” Adiga makes it clear that the elite of Indian society have gained their position by “devouring everyone else,” underscoring the ferocity of the “food chain” of the Indian social system. This concept is also developed through Adiga's use of an animal allegory to represent the four landowners of Laxmangarh. Adiga recounts that the buffalo, stork, wild boar and crow “fed on the village and everything that grew in it,” until the villagers were unfairly left with “nothing… to feed on.” Furthermore, Adiga highlights the hardships suffered by those in Darkness on an individual level through Balram's contrast between the body of a rich man and that of a poor man. While a rich man's physique is "white, soft and hollow," a poor man's body is recognizable by his numerous "cuts and scars" and the collarbone that curves around his neck "like a dog's collar." Adiga conveys that the “life story of a poor man” is depicted on his body, which serves as tangible evidence of his suffering and poverty. Using allegorical elements to emphasize the suffering of the classesinferiors of India, Adiga denounces the class system that forces the majority of the population to remain oppressed for their entire lives. In “The White Tiger,” Adiga also uses symbolism to emphasize the need for individuals to achieve class consciousness to escape poverty and oppression. While Balram begins to resent his master for exploiting him, such as forcing him to take responsibility for "a murder that [he] had not committed", Adiga demonstrates that he gains awareness of the broader injustices faced by the lower class. The Stork's visit to a private hospital in a "large and beautiful glass building", is contrasted in Balram's mind with Vikram's pitiful death in a decrepit village hospital, a symbol of his complete helplessness. Through the disparity between these two episodes, Adiga further develops the novel's dualities, exemplifying the inequality between India's "two castes" and providing justification for Balram's anger towards the upper classes. Balram's emerging resentment towards the Indian elite is also illustrated by Adiga through Balram's portrayal of Delhi as a living, sentient being. Balram imagines that Delhi agrees to "talk to him about civil war" and "blood on the streets" and promises that the corrupt minister's assistant "with folds of fat under his neck" will be the first to die in blood. Adiga reports that Balram begins to sense support for his cause everywhere in Delhi, as the "dense pollution" informs him that his crime will be well hidden and a guard "puts down his gun" in an action that tells Balram "[ he would] do the same, if [he] could. The symbolic expression of Balram's desire for a class revolt is included by Adiga to demonstrate that Balram's subsequent violent actions stem not only from self-interest, but from desire of revolution of the Indian social system, dominated by the rich capitalists of the upper classes, as the minister's assistant Adiga further highlights Balram's resentment towards his masters by spitting “on the seats of the Honda City”. in the first chapter, vowing never to return, Balram illustrates his complete rejection of Ashok and the elite class he represents through this "disgusting" action. Adiga further highlights the vital role of Balram's class consciousness in his escape from Rooster Coop, through the method of his final and climactic murder of Ashok. Adiga establishes "Johnnie Walker Black" whiskey as a symbol of upper-class prestige, describing it as too expensive to ever be purchased by those in the Darkness, who are mere "Indian liquor men". Therefore, Balram's decision to turn the empty bottle from Ashok's car into a murder weapon, with "long, cruel, claw-like glass tips", is representative of his anger towards Ashok's privilege and the decision to use their prestige against him. Describing Balram's escape from the "Rooster Coop", Adiga provides a metaphorical representation of his emerging awareness of the unjust class stratification of Indian society. Following Balram's metamorphosis from a poor villager to a successful businessman of the Light, Adiga uses symbolic elements to highlight the ability of individuals to forge their own identity. Even in his first letter to Wen Jiabao, Balram expresses pride in his office, which is “the only 150 square foot space in Bangalore with its own chandelier!” While literally “throwing light across the room,” the chandelier also serves as a figurative representation of Balram's place in the Light of India, resulting from his newfound wealth and social position. The next one.
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