“One day Kusum found out about me and the fort. She followed me all the way from our home to the pond with the stones, and saw what I was doing. That night she told my father, “He just stood there gaping at the fort—just the way his mother used to. He is going to come to nothing good in life, I’ll tell you that right now.”
When I was maybe thirteen I decided to go up to the fort on my own. I waded into the pond, got to the other side, and climbed up the hill; just as I was on the verge of going in, a black thing materialized in the entranceway. I spun around and ran back down the hill, too frightened even to cry.
It was only a cow. I could see this from a distance, but I was too shaken up to go back.
I tried many more times, yet I was such a coward that each time I tried to go up, I lost my nerve and came back.
At the age of twenty-four, when I was living in Dhanbad and working in Mr. Ashok’s service as a chauffeur, I returned to Laxmangarh when my master and his wife went there on an excursion. It was a very important trip for me, and one I hope to describe in greater detail when time permits. For now, all I want to tell you is this: While Mr. Ashok and Pinky Madam were relaxing, having eaten lunch, I had nothing to do, so I decided to try again. I swam through the pond, walked up the hill, went into the doorway, and entered the Black Fort for the first time. There wasn’t much around—just some broken walls and a bunch of frightened monkeys watching me from a distance. Putting my foot on the wall, I looked down on the village from there. My little Laxmangarh. I saw the temple tower, the market, the glistening line of sewage, the landlords’ mansions—and my own house, with that dark little cloud outside—the water buffalo. It looked like the most beautiful sight on earth.
I leaned out from the edge of the fort in the direction of my village—and then I did something too disgusting to describe to you.
Well, actually, I spat. Again and again. And then, whistling and humming, I went back down the hill.
Eight months later, I slit Mr. Ashok’s throat” (Adiga 35-36).
On pages 35-36 of Aravind Adiga’s novel The White Tiger, the dominant impression is Balram’s shift from servitude to mastery. This dominant impression is achieved through symbolism, connotations of the words, the shift in atmosphere, alliteration, parallelism, and imagery. These literary devices work together to show an important turning point in the story of Balram Halwai. This turning point also illustrates the main theme of The White Tiger. Born into poverty, Balram’s desperation justified him killing his master to make the change from eternal servitude to mastery. This passage describes the moment when Balram makes the decision to defy morality and social hierarchy by becoming a master instead of a servant.
In this passage there are multiple symbolic items and events that illustrate Balram’s shift from servitude to mastery. The “Black Fort” is an imposing structure on a hill overlooking Balram’s village, Laxmangarh. The “Black Fort” symbolizes the historical social hierarchy that Balram initially conforms to. At first, Balram is too intimidated to enter the Black Fort, symbolizing how he cannot face defying the social class he was born into. “When I was maybe thirteen I decided to go up to the fort on my own...just as I was on the verge of going in, a black thing materialized in the entranceway. I spun around and ran back down the hill, too frightened even to cry. It was only a cow...”. At the same time, Balram recognizes that the “Black Fort,” the social hierarchy, might not actually be as powerful as it seems. Balram continues to persevere and try to enter the Black Fort. “I tried many times, yet I was such a coward that each time I tried to go up, I lost my nerve and came back”. Eventually, Balram enters the Black Fort and realizes that it is not so impressive. He spits on the fort and his village and says, “Eight months later, I slit Mr. Ashok’s throat”. When Balram entered the fort and recognized that it was not as intimidating as he thought, it symbolized his recognition that the social class system can be defied. When Balram realizes this he kills his master and makes the shift from servitude to mastery.
The connotations of words in this passage indicate the shift from servitude to mastery. Before Balram enters the Black Fort, the words of the passage connote powerlessness and servitude. Balram is described as “gaping” at the Black Fort, at the power of the social hierarchy, suggesting that Balram is overcome by his powerlessness to the social hierarchy. Balram describes himself as “ frightened” and a “coward”. His own grandmother, Kusum, tells him “He is going to come to nothing good in life”. Balram comes back to Laxmangarh not on his own terms, but only because his master returned and brought Balram with him, indicating that Balram is in servitude. “I returned to Laxmangarh when my master and his wife went there on an excursion...While Mr. Ashok and Pinky Madam were relaxing, having eaten lunch, I had nothing to do, so I decided to try again [to enter the Black Fort]”. Balram enters the Black Fort only when his master allows him. However, once he enters the Black Fort, the connotations of the words change. Balram recognizes the Black Fort is not as intimidating as he thought: “There wasn’t much around—just some broken walls and a bunch of frightened monkeys watching me from a distance”. Now the the Black Fort is “frightened” of Balram, not the other way around. Balram puts his foot “on the wall” of the Black Fort and looks down on his village possessively: “My little Laxmangarh”. The connotation of “looking down on something” instead of “gaping up” at the Fort indicate that Balram now feels like he is in charge. He even spits on the fort and his village, actions that connote contempt and disregard for the social hierarchy that keeps him in servitude. Then he heads down the hill “whistling and humming,” connoting that he feels free and unencumbered by the social hierarchy.
The change in the connotations of the words creates a shift in the atmosphere that supports the shift from servitude to mastery. In the beginning the atmosphere is one of powerlessness and intimidation but at the end the atmosphere is one of purposeful power.
The critical sentence that indicates the shift from servitude to mastery is accented by both alliteration and parallelism. Balram says he “entered the Black Fort for the first time”. This alliteration emphasizes that this is the “first” time Balram is entering the fort. That moment is when Balram makes the shift from servitude to mastery. Parallelism is also shown in the critical sentence: “I swam through the pond, walked up the hill, went into the doorway, and entered the Black Fort for the first time...". The parallelism in this sentence creates a feeling of anticipation that leads to Balram literally crossing the threshold from servitude into mastery. Together, parallelism and alliteration create a sentence that makes Balram’s crucial moment of change stand out.
Imagery of Balram’s village reinforces Balram’s shift from servitude to mastery. Balram recognizes that his village is beautiful in some ways. The social hierarchy argues that the living conditions Balram was born into are good enough for him. Balram acknowledges this when he says “I saw the temple tower, the market, the glistening line of sewage, the landlords’ mansions—
and my own house, with that dark little cloud outside—the water buffalo. It looked like the most beautiful sight on earth”. This combination of hyperbole and imagery show that Balram knows he could continue to live like he has been, yet he does not. This imagery and hyperbole accentuates how Balram consciously made the decision to defy the social hierarchy. He knew his village was beautiful in some ways and that his life was liveable but he still decides that he deserves better. Spitting on his village that he called beautiful only a moment before, emphasizes that he has rejected servitude for mastery.Lastly, the shocking ending of the passage cements the idea that Balram has shifted from servitude to mastery in this passage. The passage (and the chapter) ends with “Eight months later, I slit Mr. Ashok’s throat”. This ending is jolting and thus emphasizes that it was in this passage that Balram made the mental shift from servant to master that resulted in him murdering his master.
In this passage, Adiga describes Balram’s shift from servitude to mastery. This is the passage where Balram decides he must murder his master or remain a servant forever. Adiga’s book The White Tiger deals with precisely the morality and effects of the actions displayed in this passage. It is a powerful idea and a controversial one that murder and other immoral actions can be justified by extreme circumstances like poverty.
No comments:
Post a Comment