Analysis Of Theme Throught The Protagonist In Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger And Vikas Swarup's Slumdog Millionaire.

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ABSTRACT

Penulis menganalisis dua buah karya sastra dalam bentuk novel. Novel yang dibahas dalam skripsi ini adalah The White Tiger karya Aravind Adiga dan Slumdog Millionaire karya Vikas Swarup. Dalam skripsi ini, penulis membahas tema melalui protagonis. Dengan menganalisis karakteristik para tokoh protagonis, kita dapat mengetahui tema cerita dalam kedua novel tersebut.

Protagonis novel The White Tiger adalah seorang pelayan miskin yang berhasil mengatasi berbagai kesulitan hidupnya dan menjadi seorang pengusaha sukses. Karakteristiknya yang pintar, egois dan berkeinginan kuat telah membawa sang protagonis melewati kesulitan hidup dan meraih kesuksesan.

Protagonis novel Slumdog Millionaire adalah seorang anak yatim piatu yang harus berjuang seorang diri untuk bertahan hidup. Karakteristiknya yang jujur, setia dan peduli kepada orang lain telah membantunya melewati masa-masa sulit dan akhirnya memenangkan hadiah utama di sebuah kuis.

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

There are many developing countries in Asia and India is one of them. With its richness of culture, tradition and religion, India is facing a changing society caused by modernization. As a result, there is a wide gap between the rich and the poor, as portrayed clearly in The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga and Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup. The authors of the novels describe the reality of India through the eyes of their protagonists and how they survive the world of poverty in India.

Balram Halwai is the protagonist of The White Tiger, a novel set in modern India. As a poor man that has served the rich since he was a young boy, Balram lives a very tough life. He sees the life of the rich and wants to live like them, taste the fancy and modern things that he never has in his poor life. Aravind Adiga has developed Balram to be a strong character in the corrupt world of India, a character who survives poverty and is willing to do anything, even commit a crime, to succeed. Balram becomes a winner in the end, starting from a lowly servant to becoming a successful entrepreneur.

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had to struggle alone since his childhood. However, his life experiences have brought him to a big fortune, winning the top prize of a television game show. In this novel, Ram manages to survive the cruel life in India and reaches happiness in the end.

The characteristics of both protagonists are formed by the situation and condition of their lives, and they manage to improve their living condition while struggling for survival. My reason for choosing these two novels is that they tell stories about people who can survive difficult situations and reach their goals. I admire some of the protagonists’ characteristics that bring them to success and happiness. How the protagonists live their lives is defined by their characteristics.

I would like to discuss the themes of The White Tiger and Slumdog Millionaire through the protagonists. Analyzing the characteristics of the protagonists is significant in revealing the theme. The themes of the two novels are related to someone's characteristics in deciding the way of living, especially in surviving difficulties. In How to Analyze Fiction, Kenney states, “Theme is the meaning of the story. By a theme we mean some sort of comment on the subject, whether the comment is stated explicitly or remain implicit” (88-90). Based on Kenney's statement, I would like to analyze what is implied in the novels through the portrayal of the protagonists. I will reveal the themes so that I can see the meaning of the stories and learn from the protagonists' life experiences.

Statement of the Problems

The problems of this study are stated as follows: 1. What are the themes of the two novels?

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Purpose of the Study

Based on the statement of the problem, this study is conducted 1. to reveal the themes of the two novels.

2. to show how the themes of the two novels are revealed through the protagonists. All the information and knowledge gathered is then used to analyze the theme of the novels. As a final point, I draw some conclusions of the research I have done.

Organization of the Thesis

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CHAPTER FOUR

CONCLUSION

After analyzing Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger and Vikas Swarup’s

Slumdog Millionaire, I would like to draw some conclusions. I conclude that

one’s characteristics can help him or her to survive his or her difficulties in life.

The theme of The White Tiger is ‘Being smart, selfish and highly determined can help someone to survive the difficulties in life.’ Balram Halwai, the protagonist, is a poor servant who has a big determination to leave his life as a servant and become a succesful entrepreneur. He must face so many difficulties on his way to success because of poverty. However, Balram is a man who does not mind committing a crime and sacrificing his own family to achieve his goals. He kills his master and steals his money to start a new business and a new life in some new place. He also puts his family in danger as the consequence of his crime. He is so selfish and highly determined that he only cares about himself. In the end, because he is smart, he can manage to survive his difficulties and eventually become a successful entrepreneur in the end.

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and wins the top prize of a quiz show. He manages to survive his hard life without being a criminal and to stay honest. He is also very loyal and caring to the people around him, especially his girlfriend and best friend. His valuable characteristics bring him advantages in surviving difficulties and lead him to one billion rupees. After winning a lot of money, Ram does not change into a big headed person and does not abandon his friends. He uses the money wisely so he and the people he cares about can have a better life.

There is a similarity between the two novels, which concerns the protagonists' background. They are both poor men who come from the lower class of Indian society. They both struggle to survive a hard life and to improve their economic condition. In the end, the protagonist of both novels can survive their difficulties in life and have a good life.

However, their characteristics are very different. Balram in The White Tiger is selfish and highly determined. He is so determined to become a successful entrepreneur that he decides to commit a crime and sacrifice his own family. On the other hand, Ram in Slumdog Millionaire is a good person that never commits any crime for selfish reasons. He gets his fortune by coincidence and he decides to stay honest, loyal and caring to the people he cares about.

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On the other hand, Ram is an orphan boy with no relatives at all. He has had nobody to rely on since he was a little kid. He depends on himself to survive poverty. Friends are very important for Ram since he has no family. He is very caring and loyal to the people he cares about.

In my opinion, the authors’ purpose in making such stories is to show the readers about the struggle for life. We can learn that we have to struggle to survive the difficulties and achieve the important things in our lives. So many people in this world suffer from poverty and try to survive every single day. They try to improve their economic condition. However, man usually never feels satisfied; they tend to seek for more and more wealth.

For Ram, the protagonist of Slumdog Millionaire, the key to a happy life is to be grateful for what he has and to realize that being with the people he loves is more important than being rich. Even if he can be a rich person, he will not be happy if he does not have friends and family. But Balram, the protagonist in The White Tiger, is the type of person who sees wealth as the only symbol of success. He is highly determined and will do anything in order to become a rich person. He does not care if he has to lose his family as long as he can be rich. However, at the end of the novels, both protagonists manage to survive and reach their goals in spite of their poor background and all the difficulties they face.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary Text(s):

Adiga, Aravind. The White Tiger. New York: Free Press, 2008.

Swarup, Vikas. Slumdog Millionaire. New York: Scribner International, 2005.

References:

“Biography of Aravind Adiga.”, squidoo.com, 2009. 29 Oct. 2009.

< http://www.squidoo.com/Aravind-Adiga>

Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Third Edition. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Kenney, William. How to Analyze Fiction. New York: Monarch Press, 1996.

“Vikas Swarup Biography.”, Vikasswarup.net. 29 Oct. 2009.