In his novel “The White Tiger,” Avarind Adiga explores the corruption and extreme poverty plaguing modern India. Through an allegorical depiction of the enormous gap between rich and poor, Adiga condemns the oppression and despair endured by the lower classes. Furthermore, illustrating the multitude of obstacles to the empowerment of the poor, Adiga suggests that the emergence of class consciousness is of utmost importance in enabling individuals to escape the “rooster cooperative.” Adiga presents Balram's entrepreneurial journey as evidence of the ability of members of the lower classes to ultimately shape their own identity, symbolically highlighting his success in carving out a place in the Light. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay Through a symbolic representation 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 widespread inequality. In the opening pages of his epistolary novel, Adiga includes an evocative description of the funeral of Balram's mother, whose corpse is burned and abandoned to the "black mud" of the Ganga River. Adiga views the foul river as a symbol of the despair endured by those in the Darkness, suggesting that although Balram's mother's body "tried to fight the black sludge", it "sucked her in" and she would inevitably become “part of the world”. black mound.” Balram expresses his realization that this struggle is emblematic not only of his mother's life, but also of the adversity faced by all denizens of Darkness, who despite their efforts, would never be "liberated". The symbolism is also used by Adiga to represent the "two countries" of India. Adiga says "Light" encompasses wealthy coastal regions and "Darkness" includes poor rural areas of India, such as Balram's Laxmangarh village. Through this depiction of completely contrasting halves of India, Adiga highlights the dichotomy between rich and poor that largely eliminates any possibility of social mobility. Adiga furthers 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 explains that the elite of Indian society gained their position by “devouring everyone,” thus emphasizing 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 owners of Laxmangarh. Adiga says that the buffalo, storks, wild boars and crows “fed on the village and everything that grew there,” until the villagers were unfairly left with “nothing…to feed” themselves. Additionally, 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 pristine," a poor man's figure is recognizable by his many "gashes and scars" and the collarbone that wraps around his neck "like a dog collar”. Adiga says that "the story of a poor man's life" is depicted on his body, which constitutes tangible proof of his suffering and poverty. Using elementsallegorical to highlight the suffering of India's lower classes, Adiga denounces the class system that forces the majority of the population to remain oppressed throughout their lives. In “The White Tiger,” Adiga also uses symbolism to emphasize the need for individuals to achieve social class. conscience in order to escape their poverty and oppression. As Balram begins to resent his master for exploiting him, such as forcing him to take responsibility for a "murder he did not commit", Adiga shows his awareness of the wider injustices facing him. the lower classes face. The stork's visit to a private hospital housed in a "big, beautiful glass building" contrasts in Balram's mind with Vikram's pitiful death in a decrepit village hospital, a symbol of his utter helplessness. Through the disparity between these two episodes, Adiga further develops the novel's dualities, illustrating the inequality between India's "two castes" and justifying Balram's anger toward the upper classes. Balram's burgeoning resentment towards the Indian elite is also illustrated by Adiga through Balram's depiction of Delhi as a living, sentient being. Balram imagines that Delhi agrees to "talk to him about civil war" and "blood in the streets" and promises that the corrupt minister's assistant "with the big folds under his neck" will be the first to die in the bloodshed. Adiga relates that Balram begins to see support for his cause throughout Delhi, as a "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] do the same, if [he] could. The symbolic expression of Balram's desire for a class uprising is included by Adiga in order to demonstrate that Balram's subsequent violent actions stem not only from his self-interest, but also from the aspiration for revolution of the Indian social system, dominated by wealthy upper-class capitalists. classes, like the minister's assistant. Adiga further highlights Balram's resentment towards his masters through his spitting "on the seats of the Honda City". Just as he spits on Laxmangarh 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 the Rooster Coop, through the method of his final murder of Ashok. Adiga makes "Johnnie Walker Black" whiskey a symbol of upper-class prestige, describing it as too expensive to ever be purchased by those of the Dark, who are mere "Indian liquor men". Thus, Balram's decision to turn the empty bottle from Ashok's car into a murder weapon, with "long, cruel, claw-like spikes of glass", is representative of his rage towards Ashok's privilege and of his decision to use his own prestige against him. Depicting Balram's escape from the "Rooster Cooperative", Adiga provides a metaphorical representation of his dawning awareness of the unjust class stratification of Indian society. Following Balram's metamorphosis from poor villager to successful businessman of the Light, Adiga uses symbolic elements to emphasize the ability of individuals to forge their own identities. 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!" » Although it "literally casts light across the room", the chandelier also serves as a figurative representation of Balram's place in the light of India, arising from his new.