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Introduction:

The book “The White Tiger ”is written by an Indian writer “Arawind Adiga”.

The book goes about Balram’s life from a poor indian villager who is known as The white tiger and also a boy whose ambitions are way bigger than the man’s limit. He is leading a life as a Bangalore entrepreneur and by coincidence, the president of China’s impending trip to Bangalore, Balram decides to write a letter to him describing his life in the territory of The white tiger himself.

Plot:

Although the story starts in his remote ancestral village of Laxmangahr, Balram writes from his luxurious office in Bangalore. Balram's poor family is subjected to four ruthless, cruel landlords known as "The Animals"—The Raven, The Stork, The Buffalo, and The Wild Boar—during his early years. Balram does well in school despite coming from a difficult background. He stands out from other students due to his intellectual potential and moral character, which attracts the notice of a visiting school inspector who calls him "the White Tiger," .

Balram's grandmother Kusum pulls him out of school early so he can work to support the family, despite the fact that his parents see his potential and want him to finish his education. Balram is committed to learning as much as he can. Balram neglects his work and spends his days listening to the talks of customers after he and his brother Kishan start working in a teashop in the next city of Dhanbad. He begs his grandma to send him to driving school after overhearing a customer criticizing the cushy life and high income enjoyed by private drivers in India. Kusum agrees, but Balram has to guarantee that, if he secures employment, he will return home his earnings.

After completing his training, Balram visits wealthy families in Dhanbad and offers his services. By chance, he shows up at the Stork's (one of Laxmangahr's animal landlords) mansion a day after Mr. Ashok, the Stork's son, and his wife, Pinky Madam, return from America. Balram gets hired by the family to drive Ashok. In reality, Ram Persad, another servant, gets the joy of driving the family, while Balram serves more as a general servant.

Balram finds out that the illegal selling of coal from government mines is the source of the Stork family's wealth. In order for the family to avoid paying income tax, they bribe ministers to ignore their fake enterprise. Unfortunately, the family and the Great Socialist, the region's strong politician, recently disagreed. In order to make amends, the family sends Ashok and Pinky to Delhi, where Ashok will give out additional bribes. Balram plans to have Ram Persad fired and takes his position after finding out that the couple will require a driver in Delhi.

Balram observes the quick downfall of Pinky and Ashok's marriage after arriving in Delhi. After killing a young child in a drunken hit-and-run tragedy, Pinky leaves her husband and moves back to the United States. While she is away, Ashok visits pubs and clubs, occasionally reuniting with a past lover and other times hiring a prostitute. Balram grows bitter and disillusioned after witnessing his master's slow corruption and taking him around the less decent areas of Delhi. Despite Ashok being a comparatively generous master, Balram understands that Ashok's generosity is a small portion of what he can afford. Ashok isn't particularly interested in improving Balram's life or improving the current situation.

Balram intends to kill Ashok then run off with the bag of cash he uses to buy off politicians all around the city. Balram has to deal with the logic of "the Rooster Coop," a cruel structure that traps India's poor, including Balram himself, in addition to the possibility of being discovered. Ashok's family will kill all of Balram's own relatives in Laxmangahr in vengeance if Balram kills Ashok. The presence of his little cousin Dharam in Delhi, whom Kusum sends from Dhanbad with the request that Balram assist in raising him, further frustrates Balram.

In the end, Balram decides to carry out the murder with a weapon he has made out of a broken bottle of liquor. When Balram is driving Ashok to deliver a particularly large bribe one day, he claims that the car has a mechanical issue. He stops, convinces Ashok to get on his knees so he can inspect the wheel, and then he drops the shattered bottle onto Ashok's head. He returns to Ashok's home after killing his master, picks up Dharam, and flees to Bangalore with his young cousin.

After Balram calms down sufficiently in Bangalore to not worry about getting caught right away, he starts to explore the city and listen to discussions in cafes, just like he did at the Dhanbad teashop, to plot his next move. He quickly discovers that contract labor is the backbone of Bangalore's business community and that many large tech firms operate around all the time. To safely transport call center employees home at night, Balram starts a taxi service named White Tiger Drivers, which proves to be a huge success.

Balram is a wealthy man who keeps to himself by the time he gets down to share his story because he still fears that his crime would be found out someday. He ends his letter to Wen Jiabao, however, by declaring that he will never regret his crime, even if he is discovered, because it allowed him to live as a free man instead of a servant.

Critical Analysis:

A man's journey from a rural village to a wealthy businessman is shaped by extreme poverty, injustice, and corruption, as the White Tiger narrative demonstrates. A clever and ambitious figure, Balram fights the "Rooster Coop," an unfair system that imprisons the poor. Despite his brilliant mind and talent, society and his family force him to live a life of service. The dark side of India's growing economy, where the wealthy live well and the poor suffer in silence, is shown by his journey.

Balram's transformation is both powerful and unsettling. He begins as a young man full of promise and becomes a murderer. The narrative raises the question of whether success based on criminal activity can ever be justified. It also demonstrates how those in positions of authority, such as Ashok, act kindly while yet enjoying the benefits of a corrupt system. Although Balram's acts are shocking, the narrative makes readers consider if he was acting morally or simply to get away.

Overall, it shows how the book challenges readers to consider justice, freedom, and surviving in a system of injustice by combining comedy, brutal reality, and powerful truths.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, The White Tiger depicts Balram's transformation from a poor village boys to a successful Bangalore businessman. Despite committing an awful crime, he feels that it is the only option to break free from a life of slavery. His story draws light on social injustice and the hardships faced by the poor. Balram's journey is both heartbreaking and motivational since he decides to start afresh rather than remain stuck in the life he was born into.