“Suffering” is a word which carries negative connotations, used to incite pity, empathy or fear. Why would it not? Is suffering not simply agony, defined justly by the Oxford Dictionary as “the state of undergoing pain, distress, or hardship” (“Suffering)? Yet, we accept suffering as part of life, a fundamental aspect that defines living. Nietzsche tells us that the very act of living is suffering itself, but to survive is to find value in that suffering. Yet, what sort of value can be attached to an idea so negative? Pico Iyer’s editorial in the New York Times explores the value of suffering, likening suffering to passion and “[p]assion with the plight of other’s makes for ‘compassion’” (________________).I began to think upon the cohesive …show more content…
In fact, much of writing shows the positives of strife; those who are affected grow stronger as“... [W]e also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Romans 5:2-3). Thus, there is an overarching idea that with all adversity, there is hope. Such is the case in Adiga’s “The White Tiger,” narrated by Balram, who transcends his confinement to a lower class and becomes a successful businessman. Balram’s ascent to success attaches value and beauty to his suffering, which was catalytic in nature to his achievement. We are first introduced to Balram’s hardships in his description of Laxmangarh as a decrepit town within the “darkness” of India. Through a series of events only describable as suffering: being pulled out of school, losing his father, working odd jobs, and being maltreated by officials; Balram eventually becomes a driver. Even within this rank, there is already a sense of achievement for Balram and his ordeals as a path to his success is symbolized in his short struggle to become a driver. Balram says of his …show more content…
In fact, by attempting to glamourize suffering by portraying it superficially, writers may lose the connection with us that appreciates literature. Instead, what we are left with is an over extended attempt to glorify suffering, or hide it within a guise of reality that is too savage to be true. Instead of the appreciative feeling that reality imbues within me as a reader, I am left with a sense of disgust, confusion and dissatisfaction. This feeling almost overwhelmed me while reading Adiga’s “The White Tiger” and it tainted my experience with the book. Adiga had written the novel without any firsthand experience in the rural areas of India to which his main character referred to as the darkness. Instead, being of a higher class, his accounts were based on second or third hand experiences which do not adequately depict the lower class’ realities. I found the following depiction of India’s ghettos both farcically unrealistic and eventually
David Brooks argues, in his essay “What Suffering Does”, that pain often gives people a new outlook and possibly even a new path in life. He explains that suffering can help people see their lives from an outsider’s perspective, discover new depths of their character, and often find new paths: “The grief of having lost a loved one smashes through what they thought was the bottom floor of their personality, revealing an area below,” (Brooks 286). Brooks in this passage describes how suffering can enhance a person’s character. As cliché as it sounds, hardships can, in fact,
The theme of suffering will be talked about throughout this essay. Even though it isn’t the most pleasant topic to talk about, it is part of our lives. The dictionary defines suffering as “The state of undergoing pain, distress, or hardship.” This essay will examine suffering and how it shows up in different printed sources, as well as in my personal life.
Suffering is an obstacle that everyone has to confront at all times in their life. Most of time, suffering is painful. However, if people consider it as a chance for learning, they can gain a broader appreciation of life and success. They will grow one step further in the process of overcoming and stepping out from the disincentive. However, confronting suffering is not necessarily drawing the beneficial consequences: sometimes, suffering seems ultimately pointless. It may ruin people devastatingly and even lead them to the dehumanization by drawing out their negative hidden traits. A Long Way Gone--a book of Ishmael’s dreadful memories of being a boy soldier and the atrocious truth of the war--and Othello--a tragedy of jealousy, vengeance, and love--indicate those two
The nonfiction novel “"Lion"” by Saroo Brierley explores different attributes that a person must possess in order to survive. This novel ,”"Lion"” is based on a true story about a 5 year old indian boy who by chance leaves his poverty stricken home and ends up in the city of Kolkata. After 25 years of separation from his family he finds his way home. “"Lion"” showcases many idea’s about survival, some of these being thinking instinctively, knowing how to source basic needs and knowing when to trust others.
What argument does he provide for why we should not fear death? What is the ethical purpose of this argument for how we should live our lives? Do you agree with Epicurus’s views? Why or why not?
Friedrich Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher and held in regard amongst the greatest philosophers of the early part century. He sharpened his philosophical skills through reading the works of the earlier philosophers of the 18th century such as Immanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill, Arthur Schopenhauer and African Spir; however, their works and beliefs were opposite to his own. His primary mentor was Author Schopenhauer, whose belief was that reality was built on the foundation of experience. Such as it is, one of his essays, Schopenhauer als Erzieher, published in 1874, was dedicated to Schopenhauer (Mencken, 2008). In the past two centuries, his work has had authority and influence in both
Some are destined labor and task for the more fortunate while others in a society are fated to a relaxed lifestyle of master. In the setting of India, where the caste system exists and has been practiced for thousands of years, these social groupings are rigid with little hope of escalating to a higher status. Aravind Adiga’s work The White Tiger focuses on Balram Halwai, one of few people who has accomplished the feat as he is introduced as a son of a rickshaw puller that completes his narrative with the email address for his successful taxi service. Along his journey he faces adversity in his formally uneducated or half-baked nature, poor background, and competition with millions within the rooster coup. The concept of the rooster coop draws
It cannot fairly be said that in Aravind Adiga’s novel, The White Tiger, the only way to escape the Darkness and advance in society is through violence, as an alternative route to the Light is presented in the story arc of Vijay, the pig herder’s son turned politician. Balram asserts that the murder of Ashok is not only the direct cause of his new wealth and status, but also the only possible trigger for his newfound social mobility. Yet, this is contradicted earlier in the story when he presents Vijay, the bus driver, as his role model for a successful person. Vijay, in order to achieve his elevated position, resorted to prostitution; despite not being a desirable alternative to violence, it is an alternative all the same and therefore violence is not the only way to escape the Darkness. Following this logic, it is Balram’s story and the immediate increase in wealth that results from the murder of Ashok that best supports violence as the only means of moving into the Light, and Vijay’s story is the best evidence against that point of view.
Written by Aravind Adiga, The White Tiger tells the story of a man who went from living with nothing to someone with everything he could ever want. Balram Halwai grows up in “the Darkness,” an area of India where, among other things, family was the main source of life and contempt for family was of the utmost evil. When he decides to find a job outside of his social circle, Balram’s family implores him to send money home to sustain them. He finally hits his final straw when his grandmother begins to try to force him to be married, something he does not have interest in and knows it will take away his independence. Once he disconnects from his family, he is able to be himself, free from his former life that tied him down. As Balram Halwai embarks on his journey to become successful as the “White Tiger”, the social concept of family breaks down, thus giving way to him finding his independence.
Relationship between servant and master is found in the Aravind Adiga’s novel The White Tiger. With the rise of capitalism, the growth of economy and political corruption in India led to a change in lifestyle of the wealthy, who now live in a hedonistic way. However, the protagonist of the novel, Balram Halwai belongs to a low social class that is prevented from the luxuries of the rich’s world. He is employed by Ashok Sharma, a landlord, to be his chauffeur. Thus, we can assert that Balram represents the working class whereas Mr. Ashok, the bourgeoisie of the country. Adiga focuses on the experiences of Balram under the Mr. Ashok’s domination to exemplify the master-servants relationship in India.
The White Tiger, in which readers witness the eventual and anticipated downfall of the protagonist’s idol figure to a man who has embraced the social conventions and twisted ethics that he once so despised. In The White Tiger, Adiga constructs the character of Mr. Ashok
“Action without a name, A who is attached to it, Is meaningless” -Hannah Arendt. The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga, is a novel about a self-made entrepreneur who wants to make a change for his life, named Balram. Throughout this story, the author gives various names to our protagonist that expresses many things about him. Such names include: Munna, Balram, country mouse, and Ashok Sharma. These names represent the different parts of his personality, how he is embracing each name, how others see him vs. how he sees himself, and his identity. Not only are these names important, but they give a certain meaning to his life. The numerous names Adiga gives Balram throughout the novel reveal the different purposes and meanings of those names.
"The origin of suffering is attachment to transient things and the ignorance thereof The reasons for suffering are desire, passion, ardour, pursue of wealth, prestige, striving for fame and popularity" (The Big View).
In the novel, The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga the main character, is Balram, one of the children in the “darkness” of India. Adiga sheds a new light on the poor of India, by writing from the point of view of a man who was at one time in the “darkness” or the slums of India and came into the “light” or rich point of view in India. Balram’s job as a driver allows him to see both sides of the poverty line in India. He sees that the poor are used and thrown away, while the rich are well off and have no understanding of the problems the poor people must face. The servants are kept in a mental “Rooster Coop” by their masters. The government in India supposedly tries to help the poor, but if there is one thing Adiga proves in The White Tiger,
The novel show about Mumbai culture, tradition, Landscape and behavior of the people. While reading the novel “The White Tiger” there is a urge that due to poverty the protagonist who is from pelor family his master. Not only poverty