The White Tiger

The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga, is a story about Balram Halwai - chauffeur, businessman, servant, and murderer. Told in retrospect through a series of letters written late at night to the Premier of China, Balram explains how his determination and entrepreneurial spirit brought him to where he is today, and that perhaps the Premier might learn a thing or two to share with his own country, which Balram feels is very similar to his own.

Balram was born and raised in a small rural village located in 'the Darkness', the nickname given to India's most undeveloped regions. He is eventually taken to Delhi as a driver and it's there that he comes to the realization that there's a new caste system at work in modern day India. It only has two groups: those who are eaten, and those who eat. He decides he wants to be an eater.

Balram recognizes that those who are eaten are similar to those trapped inside a small cage, like in a rooster coop, their options limited. What's worse, they begin to internalize these limitations and indignities, so that after awhile, they're unable to imagine that they deserve any better. Balram's dream is to break free of his coop, to shed his feathers and become what is for him, a symbol of individualism, power, and freedom: a white tiger..