ROOSTER COOP ANALOGY: THE STRUGGLE OF THE SUBALTERN IN ARAVIND ADIGA’S THE WHITE TIGER

Abstract

The White Tiger was published in 2008 and it is the debut novel by the Indian author Aravind Adiga. This novel is acclaimed universally as it portrays the darkest side of the Indian society during the post colonial era. The White Tiger also unveils the struggle and suffering of the subaltern people amidst various societal issues like corruption, poverty, unemployment, etc. Even after the end of colonialism people are segregated into upper and lower class based on the caste, community, occupation and economic background. The lower strata people are dominated and suppressed by the higher strata for their posh living. The landlords, business class and industrialists exploit the working class by practicing rooster coop system. In The White Tiger Balram Halwai, the protagonist, a man from the sweet maker caste who is fed up with the rooster coop ideology unchains himself from that system by alternative ways. This reveals that the subaltern people are hard-pressed to choose alternative paths to attain a position in the society. This paper aims to bring out the plight of the subaltern in the post colonial era where the men with large bellies eat up the men with small bellies.