The White Tiger by Arvind Adiga

The White Tiger examines the dark underbelly of contemporary Indian society, its caste system, and its place in the globalized world through the tale of an entrepreneur escaping rural poverty. The novel is stylistically unusual in that the entire narrative takes the form of a letter written by the central character, Balram, to Wen Jiabao, the Chinese Premier, who is due to visit India to discuss business and entrepreneurship. Through this letter, Balram describes his own life story and how he rose from a poor child in a rural village to the prosperous figure he is now, presenting himself as an example of successful entrepreneurship

Balram’s early life is largely a tale of poverty and oppression. He grows up as a member of a large family from the low-status Halwai caste in the small village Laxmangarh in the state of Rajasthan in India. His mother dies when he is still very young, and he is largely raised by his domineering grandmother, Kusum, with his father working hard to make ends meet with his rickshaw business. Four powerful landlords, known simply as the Buffalo, the Raven, the Stork, and the Wild Boar, dominate Laxmangarh and its poor inhabitants, and Balram is seemingly destined for a life of servitude and poverty.



 At school, Balram is considered an intelligent and gifted child, so much so that an inspector once called him a “white tiger,” meaning he is rare and exceptional. Despite this, however, his education is interrupted when his family force him to work with his brother in a teashop in Dhanbad so he can help pay for his cousin’s dowry. In many ways his education continuations here, albeit in a markedly different fashion: by listening in to customers’ conversations, Balram learns about the government and economy of India and the often-corrupt way this world operates.