Analysis of Theme Through The Protagonist in Aravind Adiga's 'The White Tiger' and Vikas Swarup's 'Slumdog Millionaire'.

(1)

iii Maranatha Christian University

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.

(2)

Maranatha Christian University ii

APPENDICES

Summary of The White Tiger

Balram Halwai comes from a poor family in a remote village of Laxmangarh, India. His father is a rickshaw puller who is too poor to pay for Balram‟s education. Even though Balram is a smart boy, he could not finish his

schooling. Instead, he must work at the teashop, wiping tables and breaking coals since a very young age to help his family.

When Balram gets older, he goes to Dhanbad to learn how to drive. He knows that a driver‟s salary is higher than that of a servant in a small teashop.

After making a lot of efforts, he finally gets a job as a driver for a rich landlord‟s family. He moves to New Delhi to serve the family‟s second son, Ashok, who has

recently returned from America.

Working for Ashok, and his wife, Pinky, Balram learns about political and economic matters. He pays attention to his master‟s family business and realizes that corruption is very common in this world. Being a driver of a rich and powerful family also makes him aware of the wealth gap between the rich and the poor. Balram becomes ambitious; he wants to live the life of a master and does not want to be a servant anymore.

To get his independence and start a new life, Balram decides to kill Ashok and steal his money. He abandons his responsibility for protecting his family from his master‟s family who obviously will take revenge. He becomes a fugitive and

(4)

33

With the money he has stolen, he starts a new business with a new identity. No one in his new place realizes that he is a murderer whom the police are looking for. Using his knowledge and lessons from his experiences when working as a servant, Balram manages to become a successful entrepreneur with many employees. He is finally a master.

Synopsis of Slumdog Millionaire

An orphan boy named Ram Mohammad Thomas is abandoned in the Church of St. Mary, Delhi. Ram ends up being raised by the parish priest of the church, Father Timothy Francis, until the age of six when Father Timothy is killed.

After that time, Ram gets sent to a juvenile home in Delhi. The condition of that home is terrible, but there he meets his best friend, Salim. They are very close like brothers, and together they escape from a criminal gang who tries to make them earn money as handicapped beggars in Goregaon, Mumbai. They live together and work hard to survive on their own in another side of Mumbai city, Ghatkopar.

At the age of thirteen, Ram and Salim get separated. Ram leaves Mumbai to Delhi and does various jobs to survive. Ram experiences so many things and at the age of seventeen he lives in Agra, working as a tourist guide at the Taj Mahal. He is happy living in Agra with his friends and his girlfriend who is a prostitute, Nita.

(5)

Luckily, he can answer all the questions on the quiz because they are related to the real events that have happened in Ram‟s life. He wins the top prize of the quiz,

one billion rupees.

The producers of the show do not believe that Ram really knows the answers because he is not educated. They also do not really have one billion rupees so they do not want to pay Ram. They ask corrupt police officers to arrest Ram and force him to admit that he has cheated. A lawyer comes to help Ram. Finally, Ram can claim his prize, marry Nita, and helps friends and the people he cares about with the money.

Biography of Aravind Adiga

Born in the year 1974 in Madras, present day Chennai, Adiga grew up in Mangalore and received his basic education at Canara High School and at St. Aloysius High School from where he graduated in 1990. He studied at James Ruse Agricultural High School in Sydney, Australia where he and his family emigrated to during the 90s. He further went on to study English Literature at Columbia College, Columbia University in New York, from where he graduated in the year 1997.

(6)

35

Winning the Man Booker Prize of 2008 for his debut novel, The White Tiger, made Adiga the fourth Indian born author to win the prize since Arundhati Roy, Salman Rushdie and Kiran Desai.

Between the Assassinations, Adiga's second book featuring 12 short stories was released in India on the 1st of November 2008.

Source: “Biography of Aravind Adiga”

Biography of Vikas Swarup

Vikas Swarup was born in Allahabad (India) in a family of lawyers. After his schooling, Vikas attended Allahabad University and studied History, Psychology and Philosophy. He also made his mark as a champion debater, winning National level competitions. After graduating with distinction, he joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1986, motivated by an interest in international relations and a desire to explore different cultures.

In his diplomatic career, Vikas has been posted to various countries such as Turkey (1987-1990), the United States (1993-1997) Ethiopia (1997-2000), the United Kingdom (2000-2003) and South Africa (2006-2009). Since August 2009, he has become the Consul General of India in Osaka-Kobe, Japan.

He penned his first novel, Q&A, in two months, when he was posted in London. Published in 2005 by Doubleday/Random House (UK & Commonwealth), Harper Collins (Canada) and Scribner (US), it has been published in 42 languages. It was short listed for the Best First Book by the Commonwealth Writer‟s Prize and won South Africa‟s Exclusive Books Boeke

(7)

in 2007. It was voted the Most Influential Book of 2008 in Taiwan, and winner of the Best Travel Read (Fiction) at the Heathrow Travel Product Award 2009.

The film version of Q&A, titled „Slumdog Millionaire‟, directed by Danny

Boyle, took the world by storm, winning more than 70 awards including four Golden Globes, 7 BAFTAs and a staggering 8 Oscars, including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture.

Vikas's second novel, Six Suspects, was released in the UK and the Commonwealth by Transworld in August 2008. Published by Harper Collins in Canada and St Martin‟s Press in the US, it has sold translation rights in 27

languages.

He has written for TIME, The Guardian, The Telegraph (UK), Outlook magazine (India) and Liberation (France).

(8)

Maranatha Christian University 1

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.

(9)

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?

(10)

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

(11)

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.

(12)

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.

(13)

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.

(14)

(15)

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.