17. Nandana S Pillai

Abstract 17. Nandana S Pillai

The Voice of Dissent in Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger

abstract

Aravind Adiga’s debut novel The White Tiger depicts the different layers of corruption infiltrating the contemporary Indian scenario, be it in the form of politics or religion. In particular it explores the theme of casteism as a form of social dissent, in the Indian society. The novel portrays how the multifarious country called India, despite her rich cultural heritage and legacy, is still entrenched in the evils of class-divide. The White Tiger is a challenging piece of literature of dissent, in the sense that the protagonist, who is a Dalit, is a symbol of ‘change’ rather than of ‘oppression’. As the story unfolds, the author unveils life in the rural hinterlands of India and narrates the story of an underpaid Dalit chauffeur rising beyond his caste to become a successful entrepreneur; unfortunately at the price of losing his own morality, sensitivity and humanism. My paper intends a reading of the novel from the Dalit perspective of the protagonist, within a Dalit theoretical framework, and would like to delve into the nuances of the creation of a successful entrepreneur in spite of the social oppression experienced by the protagonist at every step in life.

Aravind Adiga is a thirty-four year old Indian diasporic writer and journalist. A former correspondent of TIME magazine, he is currently settled in Mumbai. He is the fourth Indian to be awarded the Man Booker, the other three being Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy and Kiran Desai.