POST COLONIAL ERA: EROSION OF HUMANISTIC VALUES AS DEPICTED IN ARAVIND ADIGA’S THE WHITE TIGER

Abstract

Aravind Adiga’s debut novel The White Tiger, published in 2008 portrays the darkest side of the Indian society during the post-colonial era. The novel reveals the struggle and misery of the downtrodden people amidst various societal issues like corruption, poverty, unemployment, discrimination in terms of wealth and caste, etc. After the end of colonialism people acquired freedom from the colonial powers. But even in the post-colonial era the lower strata of the society are exposed to all societal evils and they are not treated equally. Their freedom still remains as a big question mark in this modern era. They are dominated and handled like animals. The society’s lack of humanism has paved way for the agony of the poor people. In his early novel, Adiga has taken the challenge of highlighting corruption, the tapping issue and other issues which make the country crippled. This paper aims to bring out the erosion of humanistic values and depicts how the poor people are corrupted and forced to commit crimes to survive this hard era.