The White Tiger

This section again sheds light on Corruption, Politics, and India, while emphasizing the struggle of Collectivism, Individualism, and the Search for Identity. Skipping the third night (of seven), Balram continues to address Premier Wen Jiabao on the fourth morning and fourth night. The inclusion of the fourth morning, the first morning he’s narrated in the novel, represents his literal and metaphorical movement toward the Light. Balram embodies the blurred boundaries between the Darkness and the Light, as his employers in the Light (Ashok and Pinky Madam) kill and try to cover up the murder of a child, and Balram himself begins to manipulate others (Ram and the Nepal Guard) the longer he’s in the Light. This blurring continues as both the Darkness and the Light value family, perhaps too much, with misfortune following whenever Balram and Ashok’s families value their collective identity more than individual happiness—as embodied by Balram’s grandmother Kusum being complicit in Pinky Madam’s family framing him for the accidental murder of a child, as doing so will maintain the “natural” order.

Balram’s love of chandeliers and their light reinforces the importance of light for him, especially as someone from the Darkness: “[…] when you forget something, all you have to do is stare at the glass pieces shining in the ceiling long enough, and within five minutes you’ll remember exactly what it is you were trying to remember” (98). Balram’s memory remains an important aspect of the novel, as his letters to Jiabao are grounded in past events. However, associating light with knowledge brings complications—as Balram’s love of light isn’t innocent. As a wanted murderer, Balram uses light to hide his crime: The “police searched for me in darkness, but I hid myself in light” (98), and as of the fourth morning, his story grows darker and his chandelier shines brighter.

As Balram’s tales of driving in Delhi prove, the Light doesn’t signify innocence and perfection, especially considering his migration from the Darkness to the Light. One of the driving hazards in Delhi originates from the Socioeconomic Inequality in India besetting those of the Darkness:

[Those] who live under the huge bridges and overpasses, making fires and washing and taking lice out of their hair while the cars roar past them…never wait for a red light—simply dashing across the road on impulse. And each time I braked to avoid slamming the car into one of them, the shouting would start from the passenger’s seat (99).

Ashok and his family generate wealth from the Darkness, their rapacious appetites worsening poverty, whether in Laxmangarh or Delhi. Disconnected from reality, they complain about sudden stops, rather than express concern for those who are unhoused. While Ashok and Pinky Madam are enlightened (educated), they remain shrouded in metaphorical darkness (ignorance), unable to see the consequences of the economic order that enriches them, represented by cars that act as literal barriers between them and the less fortunate.

Light and darkness, morning and night, separate those in cars and those outside of them, as illustrated by Balram’s use of the Honda City and other cars. Signifying the ignorance of those of the Light and their complicity in the costs of a car, this “dark egg” (116) shelters its inhabitants from accidents and smog. Straddling the Darkness and the Light, Balram feels the pull of both worlds: He couldn’t stop “[…] recognizing [his father’s] features in some beggar out there. So I was in some way out of the car too, even while I was driving it (116). Despite being drawn to the modernity of Delhi, Balram remains tied to his father and family, bound by the collectivist identity of Laxmangarh.

Pinky Madam’s drunk driving, however, presents the inverse of Balram’s careful driving and obedience. Speeding through Delhi, she kills a child from the Darkness. To calm her, Ashok claims the child was a dog, but Balram recognizes his own from the Darkness—with this murder foreshadowing his eventual murder of Ashok. Pinky Madam’s family protects her and Ashok from facing justice, a decision grounded in collectivist identity. Forcing Balram to sign a false confession (for potential future use), the Mongoose insists he will sign, because “He’s part of the family. He’s a good boy” (142). The Mongoose weaponizes the concept of family to make Balram take the blame for Pinky Madam’s crime, but it is the complicity of Balram’s own grandmother that wounds him. Kusum’s influence points to the power of family across castes, a power that, too, can be corrupt. The Mongoose and Kusum only treat Balram like family when they want something out of him. Overall, the boundaries between the Light and the Darkness remain malleable, and the Light, though initially presented as positive, has a dark side, just like the notion of family.