Zulueta, Ryan Bong C. M.A.Ed. Literature
Literature Theories and Criticism Dr. Ma. Antoinette Montealegre
ARAVIND ARAVIND ADIGA’S ADIGA’S THE WHITE TIGER : A PSYCHOANALY PSYCHO ANALYTIC TIC AND MYTHOLOGICAL-ARCHETYPAL ANALYSIS
The White Tiger by by Aravind Adiga Adiga can be seen as a or! o" "iction that basically #resent #resents s a charact character er ho voices out his $ourney to a orld orld leader leader.. This This #articul #articular ar $ourney is both mar!ed and marred ith e%#eriences e%#eriences that de"ined him not $ust as a #erson, but also as a symbol "or many things. Balram &alai, the novel's narrator and anti(hero un"olded his tale in a manner that can never be more #ersonal. As he rote those letters to )en *iabao, the readers are e%#osed to many layers o" reality in +ndia. Adiga's novel is not $ust a sim#le tale o" a man's undeniably undeniably interesting interesting uest "or success, but it is also a smart and dar!ly humorous social commentary o" li"e in +ndia, ith all its rich traditions, "ragile #olitics, and heart(arming, i" not gut(renching loo! at humanity.
This This anal analy ysis sis ill ill larg largel ely y e%am e%amin ine e the the nove novell by usin using g to to a##r a##roa oach ches es #sychoanalytic criticism and mythological(archety#al criticism. The "irst #art ill largely tal! about Balram &alai's thought #rocesses using the reudian model and the second #art ill attem#t to e%#lain the meaning o" the multi#le symbolisms #resented in the novel.
Balram Halwai’s Psychoanalytic Processes Processes The thought #rocesses that Balram &alai underent or had throughout the novel can be best e%amined using reud's #sychoanalytic theory, #articularly the ones #ertaining to Balram's re#ression o" his "eelings and inter#retation o" his dreams and hallucinations hallucinations in the novel. /sing these to #sychoanalytic #sychoanalytic "unctions, one can illustrate the #rotago #rotagonist nist Balram Balram &alai's &alai's metamor# metamor#hos hosis is and a variety variety o" social social issues issues that deserve the readers' attention and dee# thought. Li!e many men raised in rural +ndia Balram, too, is only scarcely educated and barely has any manners. 0evertheless, he is a smart man, as he "inds a ay to ma!e u# "or his lac! o" education by overhearing #eo#le's conversations herever he is to learn about #olitics, the economy and trivial !noledge. Balram's motivations in the novel to be success"ul can be largely u#rooted "rom his e%#eriences hen he as younger. younger. &e su##ressed su##ressed all o" these dar! emotions and made use o" them to "ormulate the #erson that he ants to become. )hile or!ing "or Mr. Asho!, he ould "reuently thin! bac! at the times that he had e%#eriences un"ortunate losses in the "orm o" an o##ressive and limiting childhood li"e. &is lac! o" uality education #ushes his character to re#ress his morals and do dar!ly motivated actions.
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rom these thought #rocesses, he develo#s a strong o#inion about the +ndian government and religion in general, hich he o"ten shos in ironic and sarcastic comments throughout the boo!. These comments are only one e%am#le "or him being a humorous man, ho has a high sel"(esteem. Even though he gre u# here tradition, "amily and morals are highly im#ortant, Balram loses interest in "olloing hat his "ather taught him as it inhibits him "rom esca#ing his destiny as an uneducated, #oor servant. The longer he or!s as Mr. Asho!'s driver the more he gros egoistic and solitary and determined to change his li"e. By the end o" the story he has almost "orgotten all his standards and e%cuses his actions ith double morals and his intention o" becoming an entre#reneur. This #articular "orm o" re#ression is enhanced by his dreams and hallucinations o" his #ersonal standards o" living. +n the novel, he ould o"ten see himsel" thin!ing about the actual situation relating to his e%#erienced #overty. To change his "ate and to esca#e the e%tremely harsh conditions o" his reality, he ould o"ten end u# in a trance( li!e state here he ould imagine his sel" as a re#ressed individual and the only ay to get out o" it is to act accordingly ith traditionally evil moti"s.
The Multiple Symbolisms in The White Tiger There are many symbolisms in the novel. The conce#ts #resented range "rom the ma$or character attributing himsel" as the hite tiger to a lot o" other meta#hors that suit the situations that he as in. Balram earns the nic!name )hite Tiger hen he im#resses a visiting school o""icial ith his intelligence and reading s!ills. +t's a symbol "or rare talent - only 1 in 12,222 Bengali tigers are hite. 0ot only does this to!enistic identity symboli3e him as a uniue creature but it also necessarily s#ea!s about his #ersonal outloo! o" his environment. Balram &alai sees himsel" as a $ungle animal in the savage ild. Balram sees himsel" eui##ed ith the necessary tools "or survival #ossessing a s#ecial s!ills set #lus an outstanding identity to be success"ul. Being the hite tiger also re#resents the hero in Balram's character. &e sees himsel" as this #oer"ul creature that hides in the shado and is ready to !ill. &is li!ening himsel" to a very dangerous and uniue #redator also serves as a meta#hor "or his hidden identity that uses his instincts and !noledge to succeed in the challenges that have already e%isted "rom the moment that he as born. This image o" him being a #redator s#ea!s not only o" his uest to establish himsel" at the to# o" the $ungle(li!e hierarchal "ood chain that is the +ndian society but also serves as a tormenting endeavour o" a hero unli!ely to succeed. 4erha#s Balram's "avorite moti" is the duality o" 5Light6 and 5Dar!.6 rom the very beginning, he attem#ts to navigate "rom his hometon in 5The Dar!ness6 to become a 2
member o" urban society. Light, then, becomes a multi"aceted symbol o" time 7the "uture8, ealth 7lots o" it8, location 7Bangalore8, and obligation 7none8 - hile Dar!ness re#resents the #ast, #overty, rural +ndia - and most im#ortantly - loyalty to "amily and master. These themes battle each other throughout the novel. Even a"ter he has established himsel" in Bangalore, he continues to see! ays to di""erentiate himsel" "rom the 5Dar!ness.6 )hen one o" his )hite Tiger drivers runs over a boy, he visits the "amily and o""ers their surviving son a $ob. &e reali3es this decision may ma!e him a##ear ea!, but he argues he has no choice. 5+ can't live the ay the )ild Boar and the Bu""alo and the River lived, and #robably still live, bac! in La%mangarh. + am in the Light 0o.6 9ther symbols that recur in the novel become secondary "or they re#resent and mirror ideas that are common in human nature. Aside "rom 5The Dar!eness6 hich a#tly re"ers to the #overty(stric!en, rural area o" +ndia here Balram:s village, La%mangarh is located, many other symbols re#resent some elements o" Balram's reality. Another symbol is the Blac! ort. This architectural center#iece o" Balram:s village serves as his #ersonal #ast. As a child he is a"raid to go alone, but he conuers this "ear as he gets older. +t later becomes his sanctuary, here he goes to contem#late his mis"ortune. The "ort is located high on a hill, and as he loo!s don on his village, he vos to esca#e "rom The Rooster Coo# and never to return. &anging in Balram's Bangalore o""ice is a vintage chandelier. This chandelier means so much more than being a sim#le light. &e "reuently loo!s to it "or 5ins#iration,6 con"essing to 5staring6 "or long #eriods o" time. The chandelier comes to symboli3e the 5Light6 o" Bangalore and Balram's ne li"e. The most #oer"ul o" the minor symbolisms in the novel may be the rooster coo#. +n the novel, Balram re"erred to it as a meta#hor to describe the +ndian servant;master system. 9ne day in the mar!et#lace, Balram sees roosters being slaughtered ne%t to other live, caged roosters. The roosters !no they are ne%t, but they do not rebel. Balram observes that servants in +ndia remain tra##ed in servitude - but no one brea!s out o" the 5Rooster Coo#6 because o" "amily honor. The novel as a hole s#ea!s o" the insight"ul li"e o" an individual ho considers himsel" as a signi"icant instrument in e%#osing o" hat li"e is li!e in a third orld country ith all its troubling situations. /ltimately, the novel success"ully #resents a hero ith dee# and #rovocative thought #rocesses in a orld here change is slo and #rogress seems absent.
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