Thursday, March 4, 2010
Morality? Define Morality...
First and foremost, I find The White Tiger to be a refreshingly humorous novel. I have only made it through the first 100 pages at this juncture, but I have been waiting for a character to match the immorality that is found in the ridiculously stratified societies that we continue to be presented with in this course. Balram's sardonic nature makes him an unpredictable character in a literary realm where the only characteristic that matters is the size of your belly. Another reason this book is so appetizing might be the fact that we have just finished a novel that evokes an overwhelmingly futile outlook on the possibility of altering the inequities of our world. Adiga deviates from this viewpoint just a bit. With Balram, Adiga seems to be saying, "Sure, there are ways to make a splash when your swimming up from the bottom with feet kicking you in the mouth...you just have to slit some tendons." I don't mean to sound disturbed, I just find this approach to the question of agency in poverty to be more effective than most attempts found in literature. Maybe I am a sucker for shocking, unpredictable, and just a bit on the wild-side characters, or possibly my fascination with this book is due to the timing of our reading it. The only problem I see with Adiga's approach at this point is the chance that many readers won't be able to identify with a character whose upward mobility is grounded in criminal behavior. Is anyone feeling that way?
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I agree that it is going to be harder for a reader to identify with the characters progression since it is grounded in criminal behavior. The reader most likely sees criminal behavior as a fail or set back in the end. But, at the same time, Balram does not seem to be the only one in shoes that involve criminal behavior in this book. The fact that all the other drivers in his same position have the same incentives (leading towards criminal behavior) exemplifies a similarity. The reader is not able to necessarily identify well with Balram, but the similarities that he has with other characters could open a different door for their connection.
ReplyDeleteBalram's criminality is somewhat hard to identify with, but at the same time, the way he describes his reasoning makes it difficult to see him as a horrifying criminal. The agency that Adiga creates for Balram makes him a versatile character that at times, such as when his family or society is taking advantage of him, allows most readers to relate. It seems to be back and forth especially since it is hard to blame just Balram for his actions without looking at his motives.
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