The Story Archive

The White Tiger

Aravind Adiga · 2008 CE · Novel · Indian · Contemporary

Balram Halwai, a driver who escapes the poverty of his village for a post with a rich family in Delhi, writes a series of letters to a visiting Chinese premier telling how he became an entrepreneur. His account of servitude and ambition in a changing India is cheerfully amoral. A debut that won the Booker Prize.

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Attributes

Genre
SatireCrime / Noir
Theme
Class & InequalityPower & CorruptionAmbition & HubrisWealth & GreedGuilt & ConscienceIndividual vs Society
Archetype (Jung / Campbell)
Rebel / OutlawTricksterAnti-Hero
Plot type
Rags to Riches
Form
EpistolaryConfession
Symbol / motif
The CityGold / Treasure
Conflict
vs Societyvs Person
Mode / tone
SatiricalComicNoir
Culture / tradition
Indian

Closest analogues