Why we have to read original text? If you are not able to complete reading of the full text, at list few pages. I understand this when I read few pages of Arvind adiga's novel 'The white tiger'. This is not an simple text. To understand what Adiga wants to convey through this novel, we have to read the novel, not the summery of the text.
Aravind Adiga is an Indo-Australian writer and journalist. His debut novel, The White Tiger, won the 2008 Man Booker Prize. The protagonist character of the novel is Balram Halwai who belongs to lower class family and village boy. The novel tells the journey of Balram Halwai. This is not journey of Balram but the story of the real society and the people who live in this society. India has also big Dark heart which is shown in the novel. Adiga is deconstructing the India in which we live. This story is confession of Balram Halwai.
"what is telling is not important, how is telling is important."
1. How far do you agree with the India represented in the novel The White Tiger?
I find real India in the novel. How nation is narrated in the novel is very important. The novel is an allegory of the nation.
"It is something where is something is grown."
The novel captured the real progress of the nation. The novel studies the contrast between India's rise as a modern global economy and the lead character, Balram, who comes from crushing rural poverty.
“At a time when India is going through great changes and, with China, is likely to inherit the world from the West, it is important that writers like me try to highlight the brutal injustices of [Indian] society. That's what I'm trying to do – it is not an attack on the country, it's about the greater process of self-examination."
So in this Adiga himself said that he wants to highlight the brutal injustices of Indian society. We all are believe that, in India everything is good and with the rise of Indian globalization, India enter in the new era or as Adiga mention India is going through great changes with China. But is it reality? I think it is not the reality.
"See, when you come to Bangalore, and stop at a traffic light, some boy will run up to your car and knock on your window, while holding up a bootlegged copy of an American business book, wrapped carefully in cellophane and with a title like:
TEN SECRETS OF BUSINESS SUCCESS! "
[Original dialogue : Page no. 6]
So, here we can Read that some boy run up to your car and knock on your window and tell you to by the bootlegged. This is our real India in which there are boy or girl who have to do this just because they have no family or if they have then abducted.
abducted. So this is our real India and Adiga captured this.
Recently, I went to Mall and I found some boy who requested me to buy the kitchens. And there are other places in India where you find boy or girl.
In the novel, there were chapters in which Adiga represented real India.
2. Do you believe that Balram's story is the archetype of all stories of 'rags to riches'?
Yes I believe that Balram's story is the archetype of all stories of 'rags to riches'.
“Where there is a will, there’s a way!”
In the novel we can find that Balram was a miserable child born to a Rickshaw driver in Laxmangrah and at the end of the novel he became successful entrepreneur. When we see the Balram’s portrayal archetype we come to know that he was forced to live school and after that he worked at tea post and then became a driver of Ashok who is a very rich entrepreneur. The entire novel is unfolded as he wrote letters to Chinese premier, Mr. Jiabao. When you decide to do something which is good for you or for your family, then you will not care about the way that you choose is good or bad. So, here we can find Balram's character who choose his own way for became successful entrepreneurs. whether it is good or bad, he don't care about this.
3. "Language bears within itself the necessity of its own critique, deconstructive criticism aims to show that any text inevitably undermines its own claims to have a determinate meaning, and licences the reader to produce his own meanings out of it by an activity of semantic 'freeplay' (Derrida, 1978, in Lodge, 1988, p. 108). Is it possible to do deconstructive reading of The White Tiger? How?
Deconstruction is an approach to understanding the relationship between text and meaning and it was originated by the philosopher Jacques Derrida. In the novel Balram halwai himself refered the word "half-baked" for him. He is not educated as well as he has not knowledge of philosphy. Balram is very honest about himself. When Ashok tell him that truth at that time he accept the fact that he doesn't know and said he was wrong. The is also the frist name given by him to his story is, 'An autobiography of Half-baked Indian'.
“The thing is, he probably has...what, two, three years of schooling in him? He can read and write, but he doesn't get what he's read. He's half-baked. The country is full of people like him, I'll tell you that. And we entrust our glorious parliamentary democracy”he pointed at me“to characters like these. That's the whole tragedy of this country.”
[Original Dialouge Page no. 10]4. With ref to screening of select scenes of Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire in today's class:
Write a blog on similarities between The White Tiger and Slumdog Millionaire. Include following points:
1. Narrative structure - Wanted Poster # KBC show
The narrative structure of “The White Tiger” and “Slumdog Millionaire”, we can find similarities. In both the narrative structure, the narrator uses flashback narrative technique in storyline. In the novel, Balram use letters and then one poster. On the other hand, In the movie, "Slumdog Millionaire", Jamal who is protagonist character of the movie, use same technique. In the show "Who wants to be Millionaire?", to find answers of the questions, he go back.
2. Indianness
In the novel and the movie, we can find our real India. This is well captured by both, by Author who write this beautiful novel and the director of the movie. In both, we can find ugly side of India’s slum area in which people are living. Then the education system of India is also well captured in both movie as well as in novel. The novel takes place in poor village of Bihar,’Laxmangrah’ whereas the novel sets in ‘Dharavi’, larger slum area of India. So in both, we can find our real India.
3. List of questions asked in the film. If you have to replace or add a few questions, which questions would you like to add. Remember, questions shall be in-tune with the screenplay of the film .
The following are the questions answered by Jamaal by recaping the some indcidents from his life during the show.
1.Who was the star in the 1973 hit film Zanzeer...
a) Shah Rukh Khan
b) Salman Khan
c) Amitabh Bachhan
d) Ranbir Kapoor
2. A picture of three lions is seen in the national emblem of India. What is written underneath it?
a) The Truth alone triumphs
b) Lies alone triumphs
c) Fashion alone triumphs
d) Money alone triumphs
3. In depiction of God Rama, he is famously holding what in his right hand?
a) A bow and arrow
b) A sword
c) A child
d) A flower
4. The song " Darshan Do Ghanshyam" was written by which famous Indian poet?
a) Surdas
b) Tulsidas
c) Mira bai
d) Kabir
5. On the American One Hundred Dollar Bill, there is portrait of which American Statesman?
a) George Washington
b) Franklin Roosevelt
c) Benjamin Franklin
d) Abraham Lincoln
6. Who invented the revolver?
a) Samuel Colt
b) Bruce Browning
c) Dan Wesson
d) James Revolver
7. Cambridge Circus is in which UK City?
a) Oxford
b) Leeds
c) Cambridge
d) London
8. Which cricketer has scored the most first class centuries in history?
a) Sachin Tendulkar
b) Ricky Ponting
c) Michael Slater
d) Jack Hobbs
9. In Alexander Dumas' book, "The Three Musketeers", two of the musketeers are called Athos and Porthos. What was the name of the third Musketeer?
a) Aramis
b) Cardinal Richetieu
c) D' Artagnan
D) Planchet
4. On what grounds can you deconstruct the film with reference to post colonial tools / theories.
Postcolonial study helps us to question the power dynamics. The film Slumdog Millionaire is directed by an English director Danny Boyle. He presents the harsh reality of India. His centre of focus is the slum area of India. But when we see foreigners in the movie, they portrayed foreigners in a good way. For example, in the movie, by showing that foreigners are coming to visit Taj Mahal, they wants to tell us that they are very educated and they are good observer. We can see Salim Malik used to guide them, but he asked for more money to loot them. So, Indian are portrayed as cruel and thief. Danny Boyle satirizes on the Indian , Police system, crowd at station,education system, portrayal of gangster. We can say that still we are slave, not physically but mentally.
5. Compare with Texture and Treatment of subject content in film and novel.
In the technique of movie and novel, we can see many similarity. Movie and novel, both wants to show the real India and darker side of our nation. We can find same themes in both like poverty, corruption, binaries etc. In the movie, sailm and Jamal both are intresting characters. When Jamal get the autograph of Amitabh Bachhan at that time Sailm sells that autograph for money. So we can see the theme of corruption in both.
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