The theme of Adiga's The White Tiger is liberation. That Adiga's protagonist Balram achieves his liberation by way of the murder of his wealthy oppressor forces the reader to wrestle with the heaviest of ethical dilemmas. But the weight of all this is eased by Adiga's wicked black comedy. Apparently you can laugh while wondering how complicit you are in creating the conditions that force Balram to choose between murder and a life of naked servitude. I am lucky enough not to have to make Balram's choice, but does that make me one whom the Balrams of the world might need to kill?
Saturday, May 29, 2010
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
The theme of Adiga's The White Tiger is liberation. That Adiga's protagonist Balram achieves his liberation by way of the murder of his wealthy oppressor forces the reader to wrestle with the heaviest of ethical dilemmas. But the weight of all this is eased by Adiga's wicked black comedy. Apparently you can laugh while wondering how complicit you are in creating the conditions that force Balram to choose between murder and a life of naked servitude. I am lucky enough not to have to make Balram's choice, but does that make me one whom the Balrams of the world might need to kill?
The theme of Adiga's The White Tiger is liberation. That Adiga's protagonist Balram achieves his liberation by way of the murder of his wealthy oppressor forces the reader to wrestle with the heaviest of ethical dilemmas. But the weight of all this is eased by Adiga's wicked black comedy. Apparently you can laugh while wondering how complicit you are in creating the conditions that force Balram to choose between murder and a life of naked servitude. I am lucky enough not to have to make Balram's choice, but does that make me one whom the Balrams of the world might need to kill?
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