Extended Essay
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Research Question
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Is Balram Halwai a rounded character or is
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he a mouthpiece of the author?

Balram Halwai- Protagonist or Mouthpiece?

Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger’ is an epistolary novel consisting of a series of letters written by Balram Halwai, an entrepreneur who owns a taxi driving company, for the Chinese Premier, when he visits Bangalore. Balram Halwai is a man who has freed himself from the Darkness and now lives in the Light (The two India’s living side by side). The novel shows us the large gap between the rich and the poor, the struggle of the deprived-class and feudalism in the smaller villages. It also highlights the individual’s aspiration to get out of the Darkness of his life. As Balram is the only narrator in the novel, the question arises as to whether his thoughts are his own or is he representing the views of the author. In order to explore this issue further, the following research question is framed-
“Is Balram Halwai is a rounded character or is he the mouthpiece of the author?” In an attempt to answer this question an in depth analysis of the novel was done. As the novel is a comparatively new novel, not much secondary data was available. With the limited references available I investigated the narrative technique used by the author and the evolution of the character of Balram as the novel progresses. Through Balram Halwai’s narration, Adiga takes us on a safari as it were, covering the gamut of the underbellies of the cities (Delhi and Bangalore) as much as of the spectrum of mofusil India. I concluded that the character of Balram Halwai grows in the novel.