SOCIOPATHIC PERSONALITY AS SEEN IN THE MAIN CHARACTER OF ARAVIND ADIGA’S THE WHITE TIGER
SOCIOPATHIC PERSONALITY AS SEEN IN THE MAIN
CHARACTER OF ARAVIND ADIGA’S THE WHITE TIGER
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
EKA SHANTI BUDI ASIH
Student Number: 044214047
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2011
SOCIOPATHIC PERSONALITY AS SEEN IN THE MAIN
CHARACTER OF ARAVIND ADIGA’S THE WHITE TIGER
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
EKA SHANTI BUDI ASIH
Student Number: 044214047
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2011
i
ii
iii
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:
Nama
: Eka Shanti Budi Asih
Nomor mahasiswa
: 044214047
Demi perkembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan
Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
SOCIOPATHIC PERSONALITY AS SEEN IN THE MAIN
CHARACTER OF ARAVIND ADIGA’S THE WHITE TIGER
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan
kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan,
mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan
data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya secara terbatas,
dan mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis
tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya
selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal: 15 Oktober 2011
Yang menyatakan
(Eka Shanti Budi Asih)
iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank and express my greatest gratitude to Jesus Christ for
His blessing, love, and guidance to finish this undergraduate thesis. I would like to
give my deepest gratitude to my father Eddy Santoso, my mother Isnaningsih, my
brother Yanuar and my sister Ajeng. Their love and support gave me the strength
to finish this thesis.
I would like to thank my advisor, Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum. for her
time, guidance, help and supports in correcting my thesis. I also would like to
thank my co-advisor Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. for the advice and
correction to this work. I also thank for all the lecturers and the staff (especially
Mbak Nik) in the English Letters Department for all their guidance and help
during my study.
I would like to thank all my friends, Bernard, Irine, Troy, Deva, Echi, Deon
and Meme for the togetherness in finishing our thesis. I also thank forall my
college friends, Fian, Astrid, Toni, Diah, Dhinar, Galon for the fun time in class
and thanks to all my friends in the English Letters Department whom I have not
mentioned yet. I also thank my family, especially my cousins, Arie, Tyas, Hoho,
Ita and Adit for encouraging me all the time in working on my thesis and for the
laugh we have shared. I greatly thank Hanes for his support and all the things that
he has done along the process of writing this thesis.
Eka Shanti Budi Asih
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE............................................................................................. i
APPROVAL PAGE.............................................................................
ii
ACCEPTANCE......................................................................................... iii
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI...................iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..................................................................
v
TABLE OF CONTENT........................................................................... vi
ABSTRACT..........................................................................................
vii
ABSTRAK.................................................................................................. viii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION............................................................. 1
A. Background of the Study............................................................ 1
B. Problem Formulation................................................................... 5
C. Objectives of the Study.............................................................. 5
D. Definition of Terms.................................................................... 6
CHAPTER II: THEORITICAL REVIEW.............................................
A. Review of Related Studies.........................................................
B. Review of Related Theories.......................................................
1. Theories of Character and Characterization...................
2. Theories of Setting.........................................................
3. Theories of Social Psychology.......................................
4. Theories of Antisocial Personality Disorder..................
C. Theoritical Framework...............................................................
7
7
9
9
10
11
12
17
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY.........................................................
A. Object of the Study....................................................................
B. Approach of the Study...............................................................
C. Method of the Study..................................................................
18
18
19
20
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS......................................................................
A. The Characteristics of Balram Halwai........................................
B. The Social Condition in India in The White Tiger......................
C. The Social Condition Influences Balram’s Sociopathy..............
22
22
34
39
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION.................................................................
BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................................
APPENDIX.................................................................................................
Summary of The White Tiger...........................................................
52
57
59
59
vi
ABSTRACT
EKA SHANTI BUDI ASIH. Sociopathic Personality as Seen in the Main
Character of Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger. Yogyakarta: Department of
English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2011
The novel The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga depicts the portrait of social
disparity between the rich and the poor in India. The gap that occurs causes the
poor to be marginalized. They never get the chance to escape from poverty. The
main character, Balram Halwai, tells how he comes from the lower caste and he
can become a successful person in India. Balram tells all the way what he does to
achieve his goal and escape from poverty.
There are three problems in this thesis. The first problem is aimed at finding
out the description of Balram Halwai as the main character. The second problem
is aimed to depict at depicting social condition in India that is described in the
novel. The third problem is aimed to find at finding the influence of the social
condition that causes Balram become a sociopath.
The writer applied the library research method to analyze the novel of The
White Tiger. The additional sources are taken from books and other sources
related to the study. This study uses the psychological approach because it
discusses the psychological aspects of the main character. The theories applied are
concerned with the theory of character, the theory of antisocial personality
disorder, the theory of social psychology.
Balram Halwai is portrayed as an intelligent person, selfish, cunning,
irresponsible, dishonest, and lack of remorse. Social condition in India is
influenced by caste which causes some problems. Those problems are poverty and
unemployment, corrupt system of education, poor health service, as well as the
dowry system and master-servant relationship. The social condition influences
Balram’s psychological condition, in which he becomes a sociopath. It can be
seen from the characteristics of Balram who is selfish, dishonest, lacks of remorse,
always tries to show a good impression, and displays little affection or feelings.
He has no real appreciation and affective response to other people. He also has a
deviant sexual behaviour. All of his characteristics are shaped or influenced by the
social condition in which he lives.
vii
ABSTRAK
EKA SHANTI BUDI ASIH. Sociopathic Personality as Seen in the Main
Character of Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra
Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2011
Novel Aravind Adiga yang berjudul The White Tiger menggambarkan potret
kesenjangan sosial antara orang kaya dan orang miskin di India. Kesenjangan
yang terjadi menyebabkan orang miskin tersingkir, mereka tidak pernah
mendapatkan kesempatan untuk lepas dari kemiskinan. Tokoh utama, Balram
Halwai menceritakan bagaimana dirinya yang berasal dari kasta rendah dapat
menjadi salah satu orang yang sukses di India. Balram menceritakan segala cara
yang dia tempuh untuk meraih cita-citanya, lepas dari jerat kemiskinan.
Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk membahas lebih jauh tentang Balram
Halwai. Terdapat tiga permasalahan yang dibahas dalam skripsi ini. Permasalahan
pertama adalah bertujuan mencari gambaran Balram sebagai tokoh utama.
Permasalahan kedua adalah bertujuan untuk menggambarkan kondisi sosial di
India yang dideskripsikan dalam novel. Permasalahan ketiga bertujuan untuk
menemukan pengaruh kondisi sosial yang menyebabkan Balram menjadi sosiopat.
Penulis menggunakan studi pustaka untuk menganalisis novel The White
Tiger. Sumber tambahan lainnya diambil dari buku-buku dan yang berhubungan
dengan penelitian. Studi ini mengunakan pendekatan psikologis karena membahas
aspek psikologis tokoh utamanya. Teori-teori yang diterapkan adalah teori
karakter, teori gangguan kepribadian yang anti sosial dan teori psikologi sosial.
Balram Halwai digambarkan sebagai sosok yang pintar, egois, licik, tidak
bertanggung jawab, tidak jujur, dan tidak menyesali tindakannya. Kondisi sosial
di India sangat dipengaruhi oleh kasta dan menyebabkan masalah. Masalah yang
disebabkan oleh sistem kasta adalah kemiskinan dan pengangguran, sistem
pendidikan yang korup, pelayanan kesehatan yang buruk, sistem mahar dan
hubungan antara majikan dan pembantunya. Semua masalah tersebut berdampak
pada Balram Halwai. Kondisi sosial berpengaruh terhadap kondisi psikologis
Balram, dia menjadi seorang sosiopat. Hal itu dapat terlihat dari karakteristik
Balram yang sangat egois, selalu berusaha memperlihatkan sisi yang baik, tidak
jujur, tidak pernah menyesali tindakannya, tidak bisa menunjukkan perasaannya
dengan baik, tidak bisa menujukkan respon terhadap orang- orang di sekitarnya,
dan memiliki kelainan seks yang menyimpang.
viii
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
The White Tiger is the debut novel by Aravind Adiga. The novel became the
winner of the Man Booker Prize 2008, after defeating another candidate like
Sebastian Barry and Amitav Gosh. It was first published in 2008 and in the same
year won the Man Booker Prize. His debut novel The White Tiger received
attention from thousands of Indian readers because of the realistic picture of some
facts about India. It presents the crude, dark and naked facts of India. Adiga
portrayed different images of India, India of Light and India of Darkness. The
inspiration comes from the fact about India that struck into the author forcefully:
there is a gulf between the poor and the rich and there is a voice from the middle
class that is never recorded. This novel got into a debate about whether or not it
would become the winner of the biggest literary prize in the world. Although the
winner was announced by the judging panel, not everyone can accept the decision.
This novel got many criticisms. One of the criticisms comes from Sam Jordison in
his article How did The White Tiger Capture the Booker?
“I'm annoyed and embarrassed to admit that I hadn't really considered the
White Tiger as a contender. Although I enjoyed the book, I had discounted it
as too rough and too much of an over-enthusiastic debut to really make the
running.”
(http://www.guardian.co.uk, 2008)
Many Indian critics have expressed disagreement with the judge’s decision,
many feels that The White Tiger presents their country in a poor illustration. One
1
2
of the criticisms comes from Amardeep Singh in his article Why I Didn’t like the
White Tiger.
“I haven’t been able to shake the sense that The White Tiger, despite its
topicality and its readability, is somehow fundamentally fake. I almost
hesitate to bother saying it, because it's quite common for Indian authors to
be accused of composing narratives about India's poor primarily for nonpoor, non-Indian reader.” (http://www.lehigh.edu/~amsp/2008/09/why-ididnt-like-white-tiger.html)
Michael Portillo, a member of the judging panel of the Man Booker Prize
2008, provides a reason why The White Tiger became the winner. Portillo in Out
of the Darkness Adiga's White Tiger Rides to Booker Victory Against the Odds,
states:
The White Tiger takes a sharp and unblinking look at the reality of India's
economic miracle and the work's attention to "important social issues: the
division between rich and poor, and issues on a global scale. And it is
extremely readable”. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/oct/14/bookerprize-adiga-white-tiger)
Another comment comes from Michael Portillo in another article:
“The novel undertakes the extraordinarily difficult task of gaining and
holding the reader's sympathy for a thoroughgoing villain. The book gains
from dealing with pressing social issues and significant global developments
with
astonishing
humour.”
(http://www.themanbookerprize.com/news/stories/1146)
Although this novel has received many criticisms about the winning the
Man Booker Prize 2008, the writer thinks that it is still worth studying, it still
offers more complex issues that can be debated. Having read the novel The White
Tiger, the writer found many interesting aspects. It tells about poverty, poor health
services, corrupt education system, and the huge disparity between the rich and
the poor in the country. The White Tiger is a satire novel about the inequality of
the poor and the rich in India as a consequence of the economic growth. This
3
novel is a fiction but based on Indian’s reality. A literary work is the
representation of life as Graham Little states in Approach of Literature, that the
literature functions “as a representation of the situation and the thoughts
happening in a certain setting time and place” (1963: 1).
The White Tiger is written in the form of letter by Balram Halwai, a young
man from Bihar, to the Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, who visits Bangalore on an
official assignment. The letters are written in seven nights. His letters to the
Chinese Premier are a confession of Balram’s life story. He tells about the poverty
of rural Bihar and the evil of the feudal landlords. In the letters, Balram describes
his rise from his origins to his current position as an entrepreneur in Bangalore.
After he becomes a driver in Delhi, he becomes aware of the wealth and
opportunity all around him, while knowing that he will never be able to gain
access to that world. He realizes that there is only one way he can become part of
this glamorous new India. The only way to become a rich man is by murdering his
employer.
One topic that is interesting for the writer is the main character, Balram
Halwai. Balram describes his rise from a son of rickshaw puller into an
entrepreneur in Bangalore. It is interesting that a poor man from the low caste
becomes a wealthy entrepreneur, and it becomes a question to the writer, how he
overcomes the poverty in the countryside to be a success person in the new India.
Another reason why the writer is interested with the main character is the
characteristic of Balram. His characteristics are truly unique and interesting. The
way in which the story is told is so refreshing and real. He explains his past of
4
becoming an entrepreneur through manipulation, murder, and theft, but as a reader
the writer have a question: can we blame him? It is very interesting to the writer
how the author can create a unique character; he can make the reader angry,
cringe, smile, worry and sympathize at the same time.
The study focuses on the protagonist, Balram Halwai. The writer will
analyze the character of Balram Halwai, and in this case his process of his
personality disorder. Personality disorders are sometimes considered less serious
than other mental disorders, however these disorders can ruin lives as any mental
disorders can. According to Millon, as cited in Baron (1987: 532), people are
diagnosed of having a personality disorder if they have inflexible and maladaptive
traits that cause significant social or occupational problems. The problems are
usually more disturbing to the society than to the individual. There are several
types of personality disorders. Antisocial personality disorder is one of the types;
the popular term for this type of individual is sociopath or psychopath. Sociopathy
in males has more serious implications than in females, and this disorder is found
three times more often in men than in women.
A person with antisocial personality disorder shows a lack of concern
toward the expectations and rules of the society. They fail to adapt to the social
norms and disrespect the law. Sociopaths seem typically intelligent and charming
in the first meeting. They are characterized by a deficit of the social emotions like
love, shame, guilt, empathy, and remorse. Though they understand the wishes and
concerns of others, but they simply do not care. They believe that they have the
5
right to do what they want and to take what they can. They manipulate others by
deception or intimidation for their personal gain.
In this thesis, the writer wants to analyze the influence of social condition to
the main character’s personality. This study will point out how social condition
gives influences to his personality and how he becomes an individual with
antisocial personality disorder.
B. Problems Formulation
1. How is the main character characterized in Aravind Adiga’s The White
Tiger?
2. How is the social condition in India described in Aravind Adiga’s The
White Tiger?
3. How does the social condition influence the main character to be a
sociopath?
C. Objectives of the Study
Based on the problem formulation, the first objective is to know the
characterization of the main character in the story. The second objective is to
identify the social condition in India that is described in the novel and to analyze
how the social condition influences Balram’s personality and leads him to become
a sociopath.
6
D. Definition of Terms
In order to help understand the thesis and provide clearer explanation to
answer the problem formulation, it is necessary to give the definition of the term
used in this study.
Sociopath is a popular term of antisocial personality disorder. According to
Greene, Nevid and Rathus (2005: 277), individuals with this disorder break the
law frequently, fail to act responsibly with interpersonal relationship and work,
violate others’ rights. They often use their charm and have above-average
intelligence. Hare, as cited in Huffman (2000: 533), describes individuals with
this disorder as completely lacking in conscience and empathy, they selfishly take
and do what they want, violating social norms without a sense of guilt or regret.
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Reviewed of Related Studies
The White Tiger is known as a provocative novel about the social condition
in India, the social disparity between the poor and the rich. Some view The White
Tiger as a criticism about social injustice in India. Sebastian A. J, Ph.D in PoorRich Divide in Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger states that social injustice
between the poor and the rich will have a dangerous effect if the problem is
unresolved. Adiga wants to expose the economic disparity that happens in India.
He shows different images of India, india of Light and Darkness. The poor has no
representative and gets a marginal place in the society. Balram is the
representative of the poor in India who want to break out of the rules because they
do not have the chance to get a better life. Balram realizes that it is difficult for
him to get the chance to get out of poverty until he decides to kill his master and
take
the
money
to
start
a
new
life
(http://
www.japss.org/upload/6poorrichdivide.pdf).
Sebastian A. J, Ph.D and Nigamananda Das, Ph.D in Drawbacks of Indian
Democracy in Homen Borgohain’s Pita Putra And Aravind Adiga’s The White
Tiger and between the Assassinations: A Comparative Study states that they tried
to analyze the Indian democracy in earlier years and the recent years. They want
to compare the development of democracy over the years. They think that liberty
and equality are two important aspects in democracy but corruption has destroyed
7
8
them.
That is why it is important to look into the drawbacks of Indian democracy.
In the article they seek to reflect on the drawback of India in the forms of
maladministration, deprivation of liberty or equality, prevalence of injustice, and
widespread corruption. The comparative analysis would like to focus on how over
the years the state of governance in democracy has deteriorated. Pita Putra by
Homen Borgohain and The White Tiger and Between the Assasinations by Aravind
Adiga have been chosen to compare the analysis.
Pita Putra is a novel that depicts the Indian democracy during the earlier
years. This novel notifies that from the beginning Indian democracy didn’t work
properly. The story tells us that the character in the novel who should be the
guardian of liberty and equality has given into corruption. The White Tiger and
Between the Assassinations give a portrayal about the bad practices in the Indian
democracy in the recent years. Through the novel Adiga wants to show the gap
between the poor and the rich. Both of the authors portray the drawbacks of
Indian democracy.
(http:// www.japss.org/upload/5.SebastianandNigamanandaarticle.pdf )
Other studies mentioned above focus on the social criticism. This study will
try to develop something quite new and different from the studies above. This
study will focus on the psychological subject. The writer will relate the influence
of social condition to the main character’s personality that leads him to become a
sociopath.
9
B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theory on Character and Characterization
Characters in the novel are presented through characterization. A character
in literary works is usually defined as the creation of imaginary person that seem
life-like and the characterization is all things that are related to the character.
Rohrberger and Woods state that characters have particular personalities and
physical attributes that can make them different from one other. The personality
can be analyzed as the part of psychological aspects that considers people entirely
as an individual and complex human being. Their consistency with their nature
makes the characters behave in particular way (1971: 20-21).
Characterization is important to create the character in a story. The way the
author creates the characters is defined as characterization. According to M.J.
Murphy in Understanding Unseen (1972: 160-173), there are some ways that the
authors use to make the characters understandable to the readers.
a. Personal Description
The author described the personal appearances of the characters such as the
face, body and even clothes. It will help the readers understand the characters.
b. Character as Seen by Another
The author describes the characters using the eyes and opinions of other
characters.
c. Speech
The author gives the readers an insight into the characters through what they
say.
10
d. Past Lives
The author can give out clues to the events that help shape a character
through his or her past life in order to get some ideas about the his or her thoughts,
behaviour, and action.
e. Conversation of Others
The author can give the readers some clues to a character through the
conversation between other people and what they say about him or her.
f. Reaction
The author can give out clues to a character by letting the readers know how
that person reacts to various situations and events.
g. Direct comment
The author can directly describe or comment on a character.
h. Thought
The author can give the readers direct knowledge of what a character is
thinking about and what he or she feels.
i. Mannerism
The author can describe a person’s ways of behaving, which may also tell
the readers about specific characteristics of different people. The habits or
behaviour are the clues in examining the character closely.
2. Theory of Setting
Yelland, Jones, and Easton in A Handbook of Literary Terms state that
setting is the element that gives the readers an abstract impression of the
11
environment in which the characters move. The setting is usually provided by the
prevailing conditions (1953: 84).
According to Abrams in his book A Glossary of Literary Terms, the setting
in the literary works is the setting of narrative or dramatic work that is the general
locale, historical time, and social circumstance in which its action occurs; the
setting of an episode or scene within a work is the particular physical location in
which it takes place (1981: 175). The background of the story that involves place,
time, or social condition is definitely the setting of the story where and when the
story takes place.
3. Theory on Social Psychology
According to Psychology in Action, social psychology is a branch of
psychology that studies how an individual’s thought, feelings and action are
influenced by other people. The society and culture directly influence us from the
moment of our birth to our death. Our culture teaches us to believe certain things,
feels certain ways, and act in accordance with these beliefs and feelings. These
influences are so strong and become a part of who we are, that we find it difficult
to recognize them (Huffman, 2000: 601). To social psychologists, social influence
refers to “any actions performed by one or more persons to change the attitudes,
behaviour, or feelings of one or more to others” (Baron and Byrne, 1987: 224).
12
4.Theory on Antisocial Personality Disorder
People are diagnosed as having a personality disorder if they have inflexible
and maladaptive personality traits that cause significant social or occupational
problems. There are several types of personality disorder. One of the best known
types is antisocial personality disorder. The term antisocial personality disorder is
used interchangeably with the terms “sociopath” and “psychopath. The differences
between sociopath and psychopath have been revealed. According to Lykken,
sociopaths have normal temperaments, and their personality disorder tends to
affect their lives regarding parenting, peers, and their intelligence. They often
believe they are doing something good for society or at least nothing that bad.
Psychopaths were born with temperamental differences, their emotionlessness and
fearlessness that lead them to being risk seekers, impulsive, and not being able to
socialize normally.
(http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1013712/sociopath_vs_sociopath_there
_is_a_pg3.html?cat=72)
An individual with antisocial personality disorder is characterized by a lack
of regard for the moral or legal standard in society. There is inability to get along
with others. An individual with this disorder is called a sociopath or psychopath.
Davison and Neale in Abnormal Psychology describe that an individual with
antisocial personality disorder shows an almost total disregard for the rights of
others. Rules and regulation are not for them. They are often irritable and
aggressive, highly impulsive, seeming fearless in the face of danger and highly
deceitful, they will lie for their personal gain. They typically show no remorse
13
after performing actions that harm others (1996: 271-272).
Huffman states that the causes of antisocial disorder are not completely
understood, research supports both nature and nurture explanations. Evidence also
exists from environmental or psychological causes (2000: 533). The causes of
antisocial personality disorder could be the environment a person is brought up in
or the current circumstances he or she is going through. This includes the family,
neighborhood members and friends that a person grew up with and events that had
occurred. Good or bad treatments that he or she had received from others could
also affect. People with antisocial personality often come from homes
characterized by emotional deprivation, absence of parental discipline, low
socioeconomic status and antisocial behaviour on the part of the parents. The
behaviour pattern that indicates antisocial personality disorder begins in childhood
or adolescence and continues into adulthood. However, antisocial and criminal
behaviour related to this disorder tends to decline with age, and may disappear
when the individual reaches the age of 40. Nevertheless, this is not the case with
personality traits that underlie antisocial disorder—traits such as egocentricity,
manipulative, lack of empathy, lack of guilt or remorse, and cruelty towards
others. Those traits are relatively stable with age (2005: 277).
People with antisocial personality disorder persistently violate the rights of
others and, often, the laws. They ignore social norms, are impulsive, and fail to
develop interpersonal and work commitments. They often show their charisma in
outer appearance and have above average intelligence.
Harvey Cleckley provides a more detailed explanation about the
14
characteristics of the people with antisocial personality disorder in his book The
Mask of Sanity. He formulated a set of criteria to recognize the antisocial
personality disorder (1976: 339-364):
1.
Superficial charm and good “intelligence”
Sociopaths exude charm that gives a positive impression during the first
encounter. They do not seem peculiar or fake; people will tend to regard them as
normal and agreeable, intelligent people. Psychometric tests also very frequently
attest to their superior intelligence. (ibid. 338)
2.
Absence of delusions and other signs of irrational thinking
Sociopaths do not have delusions, and also react they way normal people
do. They have excellent logical reasoning, and when exposed to direct psychiatric
examination do not show anything pathologic. Observers may view them as
people of compassion and firm assurance. (ibid. 339)
3.
Absence of “nervousness” and psychoneurotic manifestation
Sociopaths are devoid of reactions stemming from nervousness. They are
always extraordinarily calm even under extreme circumstances. During captive or
in psychiatric facility, they may indeed become tense but only from external
influences, not from penitence or insecurity from within themselves. (ibid. 339)
4.
Unreliability
Sociopaths are likely to perform an excellent amount of reliability, maybe
even in a long period to achieve gain, before finally showing their true colour and
disregarding obligations and responsibility. (ibid. 340)
5.
Untruthfulness and insincerity
15
Sociopaths are not capable of truthfulness. They easily promise anything to
declare their innocence. They will lie about anything in any condition but show no
marked signs typical of liars in their speech. However, when confronted with their
lies, they can admit them straightforwardly without flinching. (ibid. 341)
6. Lack of remorse or shame
Sociopaths will declare themselves innocent of any blame and
responsibility, never showing major shame or remorse. (ibid. 343)
7.
Inadequately motivated antisocial behaviour.
Sociopaths are unreliable and willing to commit any criminal behaviour,
even that which holds a great risk. In addition, they do it seemingly without
scruple or even purpose. (ibid. 343)
8.
Poor judgment and failure to learn from experience
Despite their brilliance, sociopaths may go after their objectives while
throwing away great chances for gaining. In addition, no amount of punishment is
likely to bring them to change their tune. (ibid. 345)
9.
Pathologic egocentricity and incapacity for love
Sociopaths are always self-centred and detached from others. They have no
capacity for sincere compassion, but are sometimes impressively adept in
pretending to demonstrate such emotion. (ibid. 346)
10. General poverty in major affective reactions
Sociopaths display little affection or feelings. While normal people would
show despair when locked up, they do not show the same tragic quality of
16
reaction. Moreover, despite often being humorous, they never have a true sense of
humour. (ibid. 348)
11. Specific loss of insight
Sociopaths cannot view themselves from the perspective of others. They
cannot imagine other people’s feelings when they put themselves in others’ shoes.
Instead of facing the situation and coming up with a realization of it, they put
blame on others but with excellent reasoning despite maybe with a lame excuse.
(ibid. 350)
12. Unresponsiveness in general interpersonal relations
Sociopaths have no real appreciation and affective response to other people.
They may perform it only when gaining something from doing so. (ibid. 354)
13. Fantastic and uninviting behaviour with drink and sometimes without
Sociopaths are likely to indulge in alcohol at some point. However, alcohol
does not bring out impulses that are not characteristics of them. It only serves as a
catalyst that lowers their inhibition. What sets them apart from neurotic drinkers is
that they realize what they have done when drinking but will likely to drink again
knowing that. Neurotic drinkers, on the other hand, when sober, will regret what
they have done during drinking. (ibid. 355)
14. Suicide rarely carried out
Sociopaths may pass up opportunities but will never commit suicide. They
may show suicidal threats which are almost always empty. (ibid. 358)
15. Sex life impersonal, trivial and poorly integrated
17
Deviant sexual behaviours are common in sociopaths but they do not crave
sex or are moved by it as much as normal people do. They also regard sex more
casually than most people do. (ibid. 359)
16. Failure to follow any life plan
Sociopaths do not set a consistent life plan. Conversely, they may even
sabotage their own life and attribute failures to foolishness. (ibid. 364)
C. Theoretical Framework
The writer tries to apply the theories above to answer the problems
formulated in the problem formulation. First, the writer wants to understand the
main character more closely so that the writer can see his personality by using the
theories of characterization. By analyzing it, the writer hopes to find the position
of the main character in the society.
The theory of setting is the main theory to answer the second. The writer
uses the theory to show the social condition of India described in the novel.
The theories of antisocial personality disorder are the theories to answer the
third question in problem formulation. In analyzing the third problem to show
how the social condition gives influences toward the main character and leads him
to be a sociopath, the writer uses the theory of antisocial personality. In the
writer’s opinions, those theories are reliable to answer the third problem. By using
this theory, the writer will be able to show certain symptoms of a sociopath.
The writer also uses the statements and sentences in the novel to convey the
description of the main character in the novel, to know about the social condition
in India described in the novel and to find out the influences toward the main
character’s personality.
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The object of the study in this thesis is The White Tiger, a debut novel by an
Indian author, Aravind Adiga. It was first published in the United States of
America in 2008 by Simon and Schuster Inc and consists of 288 pages and seven
chapters. The version used in this thesis was published by Free Press, a division of
Simon & Schuster, Inc. It is a paperback edition published in 2008. The novel
became the winner of the Man Booker Prize 2008. This novel got into a debate
about whether or not it would become the winner of the biggest literary in the
world.
Adiga’s The White Tiger is a novel which presents a dark view of modern
day life in India. The story in the novel is presented by a first person narrator. The
narrator is telling the story from his point of view.
The novel describes the contrast between India’s rise as a modern global
economy and the working class people who live in rural poverty. The novel takes
the form of a series of letters written late at night by Balram Halwai, the main
character, to Wen Jiabao, the Premier of China, who is scheduled to visit India
soon. For seven nights Balram tells the story of his life. He tells his journey from
darkness of village life to the light of entrepreneurial success. Balram describes
his rise from a son of rickshaw puller become an enterpreneur in Bangalore. He is
constantly looking for the opportunities that can release him from poverty. He
18
19
becomes aware of the wealth and opportunity all around him, while knowing that
he will never be able to gain the access to that world. Balram realizes that a little
dishonesty can bring him enough money for a secure future. He realizes that there
is only one way he can achieve his dream, the only way to become a rich man is
to murder his employer and to run away to Bangalore with his money loot and
starts his own business there.
B. Approach of the Study
In this study, the writer analyzes the novel using the psychological approach.
This approach is the most suitable to answer the problem formulation. Although
literature is different from psychology, there is a close relationship between the
two which benefit one other. Literature is related to the world of fiction, drama,
poetry, and essay, which are classified into the art, while psychology refers to the
scientific study of human behaviour and mental processes. Although different,
both have a commonality, in that both discuss human and life. According to
Wellek and Warren, psychology and literature are closely related, in which some
of literary works talk about psychology cases. They say that people can learn
about the theory of psychology that may be revealed in works of literature by
analyzing the works (1956:81).
In analyzing a character in a novel, the psychological approach is related to
the human behaviour, the attitude, and also the mind of the character. The
psychological approach helps the writer to understand the personality of character.
According to Rohrberger and Woods, the psychological approach is to explain
20
human motivation, personality and behaviour patterns written in literary objects.
Both literature and psychology discuss people and human lives. Literature
discusses humans and their lives; those are expressed through language as a works
of literature. Meanwhile psychology is the study of man’s life along with their
mind and behaviour. They also state that the psychological approach brings us to
analyze the novel from the psychological point of view of human being (1971:1213).
Since the study is related to the personality disorder of the main character,
which is part of psychology, psychological approach is appropriate to apply in the
analysis of the study. The writer applies the theory of psychology to make a
deeper analysis. It is important to know the personality of the main character and
to point out the aspects that influence it.
C. Method of the Study
In this study, the writer used library research to answer the problems that
are formulated in the previous chapter. In this thesis, two kinds of sources are
used. They are primary and secondary sources. The primary source was taken
from the novel itself, The White Tiger written by Aravind Adiga. The secondary
sources are articles, essay, and criticisms, which were taken from books found in
the library and from the internet. The secondary sources are used to support this
thesis.
There were three steps that the writer has done in analyzing the study. The
first step was reading the novel in detail to get a deeper understanding about the
21
novel. In the second step, the writer collected the supporting data which describe
the novel both in books and the internet. The writer looked for books suitable for
this study; the examples of those books are Davison and Neale’s Abnormal
Psychology, Coleman’s Abnormal Psychology and Modern Life, Huffman and
Vernoy’s Psychology in Action. The final step wass to analyze the element of the
novel, since the characteristics of the main character become the first problem
formulation, the theory of character and characterization was used to acquire
detailed information about the character. To answer the second question, the
writer analyzed the social condition described in the novel. In order to answer the
third question, the writer would like to analyze how the social condition
influences his personality and leads him to become a sociopath.
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
In this chapter, the problems formulated in the earlier chapter will be
answered. Based on the problem formulation, this chapter will be divided into
three parts. The first part covers the character and characterization of Balram
Halwai, the main object of this study. The second is the part the social condition
where the main character lives will be elaborated. Last but not least, in the third
part it will be explained how the social condition gives influences toward the main
character and leads him to become a sociopath.
A. The Characteristics of Balram Halwai
A character is an essential element in the work of literature. The writer will
analyze the main character, Balram Halwai, and his characterization to make a
deeper analysis.
1. Smart
According on the Murphy’s theory, a character can be described from the
conversation of other people in the story. In the novel, the teacher and the school
inspector recognizes that Balram is a smart kid. Balram is considered as a bright
child among his peers and classmates. He attends a school in his village. When the
school inspector comes to the school to do an inspection, he gives the students a
question that no one can answer. The teacher chooses Balram for being able to
read and write when nobody else can. The school inspector tests Balram’s
22
23
cleverness by asking him to read the sentence on the blackboard, to write his own
name, and to read the time from his watch.
“Try Balram, sir,” the teacher said. He’s the smartest of the lot. He reads
well.” (2008:29)
The inspector pointed his cane straight at me. “You, young man, are an
intelligent, honest, vivacious fellow in this crowd of thugs and idiots. In any
jungle, what is the rarest of animals- the creature that comes along only once
in a generation?”
“The white tiger”
“That’s what you are the in this jungle”
“I’ll write to Patna asking them to send you a scholarship. You need to go to
a real school. You need to a real uniform and a real education.” (2008: 30).
On the dialogue above, Balram is recognized as a smart kid by his teacher
and the school inspector. After knowing Balram’s cleverness, the school inspector
gives him the nickname “the white tiger”. He also promises Balram a scholarship
to attend a proper school.
Murphy theorized that a character can be described from the past life.
Balram considers himself “half-baked”. He is not allowed to finish school like
most children of his age but he has broad general knowledge. He likes to
eavesdrop on people in the tea shop to enrich his knowledge that he can not get
due to dropping out.
I used my time at the tea shop in Laxmangarh to spy on every customer at
every table, and overhear everything they said. I decided that this was how I
would keep my education going forward-that’s thesay for one good thing
I’ll say for myself. I’ve always been a big believer in education-especially
my own (2008: 43).
Balram’s habit of listening to conversations of others to enrich his
knowledge does not disappear when he works as driver. When he is working in
Dhanbad he learns a lot from eavesdropping his employer’s conversations about
India, America and he even learns a bit about English.
24
The more they talked, the faster I massaged. They talked about politics, coal
and about your country- China. I absorbed everything-that’s the amazing
thing about entrepreneurs. We are like sponges- we absorb and grow
(2008:60).
From the dialogue above, Balram is always looking for a way to keep
learning even tough he can not learn in school. However, the ways he uses to
enrich his knowledge are not responsible because he is using his time to work. He
does it by eavesdropping his employers or his consumers.
Balram never finishes school, but he has always thought a step further than
his friends. When a fellow driver can do not anything about the prohibition of the
poor to enter the shopping mall, he feels degraded as a human being. Balram
looks for ideas to enter to the mall without being spotted by the security guard and
evicted from that place.
I went to the gateway of the mall in my new white T-shirt. But there, the
moment I saw the guard, I turned around- went back to the Honda City.
Even as I was walking inside the mall, I was sure someone would say, Hey!
That man is a paid driver! What’s he doing in here? There were guards in
gray uniforms on every floor- all of them seemed to be watching me. It was
my first taste of the fugitive’s life. (2008: 128).
Getting out was as tricky as getting in, but again the guards didn’t say a
word to me, and I walked back to the parking lot, got into the car, and
changed back into my usual, richly colored T-shirt in a bundle near my feet
(2008: 129).
He feels the injustice when the poor are prohibited from entering the mall.
Balram’s friends can only keep silent and accept the mistreatment of the
prohibition to enter to the mall but Balram can not simply accept it. He looks for
ideas so he can get into the mall. He is diguised as a rich man, wearing a shirt like
his master and wearing the shoes that are hidden in the car. First, he is doubtful
enters the mall; he is afraid of being driven out by the guard. He finally enters the
25
mall and feels the atmosphere inside the mall. The guards do not realize that
Balram is a driver because of his appearance.
Balram always thinks several steps ahead. When he is a fugitive for killing
his employer he does not think to hide like everyone else. He is looking for ways
to make it survive in Bangalore. He knows that the police are corrupt and can be
bought off with money easily by someone rich and powerful. When all fugitives
try to avoid the police, he actually goes to the police and gives bribes to facilitate
his plan to open his own car centre company.
I acted like an important man, and made sure the policemen saw the red bag
by swinging it a lot. Then I insisted on seeing the big man there, the
inspector.
He counted the money- ten thousand rupees- heard what I wanted, and
asked for double. I gave him bit more, and he was happy. I tell you, Mr.
Premier. My poster was right there, the one that I had seen earlier, the whole
time I was negotiating with him. THE WANTED POSTER, with the dirty
little photo of me. (2008: 257)
Balram, with his intelligence, tries to find a way so he can hide safely. The
ways that he uses is to go to the police station, acting like an innocent man, and
giving bribes to the police inspector. When other fugitives are hiding in the dark
places, Balram chooses to hide in the light.
2. Selfish
Since Balram quits school, he follows his brother, Kishan, to work in the
teashop. The owner of the shop fires him because Balram is not working properly.
No one wants to hire him in Laxmangarh. He does not think of his family when he
loses his job.
26
I did my job with near total dishonesty, lack of dedication, and insincerity.
Instead of wiping out spots from tables and crushing coals for the oven, I
used my time at the tea shop in Laxmangarh to spy on every customer at
every table, and overhear everything they said.
Eventually I got sent home. No one else in Laxmangarh would hire me after
that, even as a field hand. So it was mostly for my sake that Kishan and
Dilip had come to Dhanbad—to give me a chance to start career as a human
spider afresh (2008: 43-44)
Balram never finishes his work. He prefers to eavesdrop on the customers.
The employer is angry to see Balram being irresponsible for the job and chooses
to fire him. Balram does not think about the consequences of his actions. Balram’s
brother, Kishan, quits from his job because no one wants to hire Balram. They
move into Dhanbad and look for a new job.
Balram hears some conversations that drivers get big salaries. He gets
interested in driving lessons but does not have the money to pay, and eventually
the grandmother agrees to pay the fee to drive, with a condition that Balram must
give a receipt of his salary every month. Balram forgets his promise; he refuses to
send money home to his struggling family.
Great news! Granny had agreed to let them invest in my driving classes.
“There’s only one thing,” Kishan said.” Granny says you’re a greedy pig.
She wants you
CHARACTER OF ARAVIND ADIGA’S THE WHITE TIGER
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
EKA SHANTI BUDI ASIH
Student Number: 044214047
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2011
SOCIOPATHIC PERSONALITY AS SEEN IN THE MAIN
CHARACTER OF ARAVIND ADIGA’S THE WHITE TIGER
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
EKA SHANTI BUDI ASIH
Student Number: 044214047
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2011
i
ii
iii
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:
Nama
: Eka Shanti Budi Asih
Nomor mahasiswa
: 044214047
Demi perkembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan
Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
SOCIOPATHIC PERSONALITY AS SEEN IN THE MAIN
CHARACTER OF ARAVIND ADIGA’S THE WHITE TIGER
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan
kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan,
mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan
data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya secara terbatas,
dan mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis
tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya
selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal: 15 Oktober 2011
Yang menyatakan
(Eka Shanti Budi Asih)
iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank and express my greatest gratitude to Jesus Christ for
His blessing, love, and guidance to finish this undergraduate thesis. I would like to
give my deepest gratitude to my father Eddy Santoso, my mother Isnaningsih, my
brother Yanuar and my sister Ajeng. Their love and support gave me the strength
to finish this thesis.
I would like to thank my advisor, Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum. for her
time, guidance, help and supports in correcting my thesis. I also would like to
thank my co-advisor Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. for the advice and
correction to this work. I also thank for all the lecturers and the staff (especially
Mbak Nik) in the English Letters Department for all their guidance and help
during my study.
I would like to thank all my friends, Bernard, Irine, Troy, Deva, Echi, Deon
and Meme for the togetherness in finishing our thesis. I also thank forall my
college friends, Fian, Astrid, Toni, Diah, Dhinar, Galon for the fun time in class
and thanks to all my friends in the English Letters Department whom I have not
mentioned yet. I also thank my family, especially my cousins, Arie, Tyas, Hoho,
Ita and Adit for encouraging me all the time in working on my thesis and for the
laugh we have shared. I greatly thank Hanes for his support and all the things that
he has done along the process of writing this thesis.
Eka Shanti Budi Asih
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE............................................................................................. i
APPROVAL PAGE.............................................................................
ii
ACCEPTANCE......................................................................................... iii
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI...................iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..................................................................
v
TABLE OF CONTENT........................................................................... vi
ABSTRACT..........................................................................................
vii
ABSTRAK.................................................................................................. viii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION............................................................. 1
A. Background of the Study............................................................ 1
B. Problem Formulation................................................................... 5
C. Objectives of the Study.............................................................. 5
D. Definition of Terms.................................................................... 6
CHAPTER II: THEORITICAL REVIEW.............................................
A. Review of Related Studies.........................................................
B. Review of Related Theories.......................................................
1. Theories of Character and Characterization...................
2. Theories of Setting.........................................................
3. Theories of Social Psychology.......................................
4. Theories of Antisocial Personality Disorder..................
C. Theoritical Framework...............................................................
7
7
9
9
10
11
12
17
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY.........................................................
A. Object of the Study....................................................................
B. Approach of the Study...............................................................
C. Method of the Study..................................................................
18
18
19
20
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS......................................................................
A. The Characteristics of Balram Halwai........................................
B. The Social Condition in India in The White Tiger......................
C. The Social Condition Influences Balram’s Sociopathy..............
22
22
34
39
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION.................................................................
BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................................
APPENDIX.................................................................................................
Summary of The White Tiger...........................................................
52
57
59
59
vi
ABSTRACT
EKA SHANTI BUDI ASIH. Sociopathic Personality as Seen in the Main
Character of Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger. Yogyakarta: Department of
English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2011
The novel The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga depicts the portrait of social
disparity between the rich and the poor in India. The gap that occurs causes the
poor to be marginalized. They never get the chance to escape from poverty. The
main character, Balram Halwai, tells how he comes from the lower caste and he
can become a successful person in India. Balram tells all the way what he does to
achieve his goal and escape from poverty.
There are three problems in this thesis. The first problem is aimed at finding
out the description of Balram Halwai as the main character. The second problem
is aimed to depict at depicting social condition in India that is described in the
novel. The third problem is aimed to find at finding the influence of the social
condition that causes Balram become a sociopath.
The writer applied the library research method to analyze the novel of The
White Tiger. The additional sources are taken from books and other sources
related to the study. This study uses the psychological approach because it
discusses the psychological aspects of the main character. The theories applied are
concerned with the theory of character, the theory of antisocial personality
disorder, the theory of social psychology.
Balram Halwai is portrayed as an intelligent person, selfish, cunning,
irresponsible, dishonest, and lack of remorse. Social condition in India is
influenced by caste which causes some problems. Those problems are poverty and
unemployment, corrupt system of education, poor health service, as well as the
dowry system and master-servant relationship. The social condition influences
Balram’s psychological condition, in which he becomes a sociopath. It can be
seen from the characteristics of Balram who is selfish, dishonest, lacks of remorse,
always tries to show a good impression, and displays little affection or feelings.
He has no real appreciation and affective response to other people. He also has a
deviant sexual behaviour. All of his characteristics are shaped or influenced by the
social condition in which he lives.
vii
ABSTRAK
EKA SHANTI BUDI ASIH. Sociopathic Personality as Seen in the Main
Character of Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra
Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2011
Novel Aravind Adiga yang berjudul The White Tiger menggambarkan potret
kesenjangan sosial antara orang kaya dan orang miskin di India. Kesenjangan
yang terjadi menyebabkan orang miskin tersingkir, mereka tidak pernah
mendapatkan kesempatan untuk lepas dari kemiskinan. Tokoh utama, Balram
Halwai menceritakan bagaimana dirinya yang berasal dari kasta rendah dapat
menjadi salah satu orang yang sukses di India. Balram menceritakan segala cara
yang dia tempuh untuk meraih cita-citanya, lepas dari jerat kemiskinan.
Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk membahas lebih jauh tentang Balram
Halwai. Terdapat tiga permasalahan yang dibahas dalam skripsi ini. Permasalahan
pertama adalah bertujuan mencari gambaran Balram sebagai tokoh utama.
Permasalahan kedua adalah bertujuan untuk menggambarkan kondisi sosial di
India yang dideskripsikan dalam novel. Permasalahan ketiga bertujuan untuk
menemukan pengaruh kondisi sosial yang menyebabkan Balram menjadi sosiopat.
Penulis menggunakan studi pustaka untuk menganalisis novel The White
Tiger. Sumber tambahan lainnya diambil dari buku-buku dan yang berhubungan
dengan penelitian. Studi ini mengunakan pendekatan psikologis karena membahas
aspek psikologis tokoh utamanya. Teori-teori yang diterapkan adalah teori
karakter, teori gangguan kepribadian yang anti sosial dan teori psikologi sosial.
Balram Halwai digambarkan sebagai sosok yang pintar, egois, licik, tidak
bertanggung jawab, tidak jujur, dan tidak menyesali tindakannya. Kondisi sosial
di India sangat dipengaruhi oleh kasta dan menyebabkan masalah. Masalah yang
disebabkan oleh sistem kasta adalah kemiskinan dan pengangguran, sistem
pendidikan yang korup, pelayanan kesehatan yang buruk, sistem mahar dan
hubungan antara majikan dan pembantunya. Semua masalah tersebut berdampak
pada Balram Halwai. Kondisi sosial berpengaruh terhadap kondisi psikologis
Balram, dia menjadi seorang sosiopat. Hal itu dapat terlihat dari karakteristik
Balram yang sangat egois, selalu berusaha memperlihatkan sisi yang baik, tidak
jujur, tidak pernah menyesali tindakannya, tidak bisa menunjukkan perasaannya
dengan baik, tidak bisa menujukkan respon terhadap orang- orang di sekitarnya,
dan memiliki kelainan seks yang menyimpang.
viii
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
The White Tiger is the debut novel by Aravind Adiga. The novel became the
winner of the Man Booker Prize 2008, after defeating another candidate like
Sebastian Barry and Amitav Gosh. It was first published in 2008 and in the same
year won the Man Booker Prize. His debut novel The White Tiger received
attention from thousands of Indian readers because of the realistic picture of some
facts about India. It presents the crude, dark and naked facts of India. Adiga
portrayed different images of India, India of Light and India of Darkness. The
inspiration comes from the fact about India that struck into the author forcefully:
there is a gulf between the poor and the rich and there is a voice from the middle
class that is never recorded. This novel got into a debate about whether or not it
would become the winner of the biggest literary prize in the world. Although the
winner was announced by the judging panel, not everyone can accept the decision.
This novel got many criticisms. One of the criticisms comes from Sam Jordison in
his article How did The White Tiger Capture the Booker?
“I'm annoyed and embarrassed to admit that I hadn't really considered the
White Tiger as a contender. Although I enjoyed the book, I had discounted it
as too rough and too much of an over-enthusiastic debut to really make the
running.”
(http://www.guardian.co.uk, 2008)
Many Indian critics have expressed disagreement with the judge’s decision,
many feels that The White Tiger presents their country in a poor illustration. One
1
2
of the criticisms comes from Amardeep Singh in his article Why I Didn’t like the
White Tiger.
“I haven’t been able to shake the sense that The White Tiger, despite its
topicality and its readability, is somehow fundamentally fake. I almost
hesitate to bother saying it, because it's quite common for Indian authors to
be accused of composing narratives about India's poor primarily for nonpoor, non-Indian reader.” (http://www.lehigh.edu/~amsp/2008/09/why-ididnt-like-white-tiger.html)
Michael Portillo, a member of the judging panel of the Man Booker Prize
2008, provides a reason why The White Tiger became the winner. Portillo in Out
of the Darkness Adiga's White Tiger Rides to Booker Victory Against the Odds,
states:
The White Tiger takes a sharp and unblinking look at the reality of India's
economic miracle and the work's attention to "important social issues: the
division between rich and poor, and issues on a global scale. And it is
extremely readable”. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/oct/14/bookerprize-adiga-white-tiger)
Another comment comes from Michael Portillo in another article:
“The novel undertakes the extraordinarily difficult task of gaining and
holding the reader's sympathy for a thoroughgoing villain. The book gains
from dealing with pressing social issues and significant global developments
with
astonishing
humour.”
(http://www.themanbookerprize.com/news/stories/1146)
Although this novel has received many criticisms about the winning the
Man Booker Prize 2008, the writer thinks that it is still worth studying, it still
offers more complex issues that can be debated. Having read the novel The White
Tiger, the writer found many interesting aspects. It tells about poverty, poor health
services, corrupt education system, and the huge disparity between the rich and
the poor in the country. The White Tiger is a satire novel about the inequality of
the poor and the rich in India as a consequence of the economic growth. This
3
novel is a fiction but based on Indian’s reality. A literary work is the
representation of life as Graham Little states in Approach of Literature, that the
literature functions “as a representation of the situation and the thoughts
happening in a certain setting time and place” (1963: 1).
The White Tiger is written in the form of letter by Balram Halwai, a young
man from Bihar, to the Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, who visits Bangalore on an
official assignment. The letters are written in seven nights. His letters to the
Chinese Premier are a confession of Balram’s life story. He tells about the poverty
of rural Bihar and the evil of the feudal landlords. In the letters, Balram describes
his rise from his origins to his current position as an entrepreneur in Bangalore.
After he becomes a driver in Delhi, he becomes aware of the wealth and
opportunity all around him, while knowing that he will never be able to gain
access to that world. He realizes that there is only one way he can become part of
this glamorous new India. The only way to become a rich man is by murdering his
employer.
One topic that is interesting for the writer is the main character, Balram
Halwai. Balram describes his rise from a son of rickshaw puller into an
entrepreneur in Bangalore. It is interesting that a poor man from the low caste
becomes a wealthy entrepreneur, and it becomes a question to the writer, how he
overcomes the poverty in the countryside to be a success person in the new India.
Another reason why the writer is interested with the main character is the
characteristic of Balram. His characteristics are truly unique and interesting. The
way in which the story is told is so refreshing and real. He explains his past of
4
becoming an entrepreneur through manipulation, murder, and theft, but as a reader
the writer have a question: can we blame him? It is very interesting to the writer
how the author can create a unique character; he can make the reader angry,
cringe, smile, worry and sympathize at the same time.
The study focuses on the protagonist, Balram Halwai. The writer will
analyze the character of Balram Halwai, and in this case his process of his
personality disorder. Personality disorders are sometimes considered less serious
than other mental disorders, however these disorders can ruin lives as any mental
disorders can. According to Millon, as cited in Baron (1987: 532), people are
diagnosed of having a personality disorder if they have inflexible and maladaptive
traits that cause significant social or occupational problems. The problems are
usually more disturbing to the society than to the individual. There are several
types of personality disorders. Antisocial personality disorder is one of the types;
the popular term for this type of individual is sociopath or psychopath. Sociopathy
in males has more serious implications than in females, and this disorder is found
three times more often in men than in women.
A person with antisocial personality disorder shows a lack of concern
toward the expectations and rules of the society. They fail to adapt to the social
norms and disrespect the law. Sociopaths seem typically intelligent and charming
in the first meeting. They are characterized by a deficit of the social emotions like
love, shame, guilt, empathy, and remorse. Though they understand the wishes and
concerns of others, but they simply do not care. They believe that they have the
5
right to do what they want and to take what they can. They manipulate others by
deception or intimidation for their personal gain.
In this thesis, the writer wants to analyze the influence of social condition to
the main character’s personality. This study will point out how social condition
gives influences to his personality and how he becomes an individual with
antisocial personality disorder.
B. Problems Formulation
1. How is the main character characterized in Aravind Adiga’s The White
Tiger?
2. How is the social condition in India described in Aravind Adiga’s The
White Tiger?
3. How does the social condition influence the main character to be a
sociopath?
C. Objectives of the Study
Based on the problem formulation, the first objective is to know the
characterization of the main character in the story. The second objective is to
identify the social condition in India that is described in the novel and to analyze
how the social condition influences Balram’s personality and leads him to become
a sociopath.
6
D. Definition of Terms
In order to help understand the thesis and provide clearer explanation to
answer the problem formulation, it is necessary to give the definition of the term
used in this study.
Sociopath is a popular term of antisocial personality disorder. According to
Greene, Nevid and Rathus (2005: 277), individuals with this disorder break the
law frequently, fail to act responsibly with interpersonal relationship and work,
violate others’ rights. They often use their charm and have above-average
intelligence. Hare, as cited in Huffman (2000: 533), describes individuals with
this disorder as completely lacking in conscience and empathy, they selfishly take
and do what they want, violating social norms without a sense of guilt or regret.
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Reviewed of Related Studies
The White Tiger is known as a provocative novel about the social condition
in India, the social disparity between the poor and the rich. Some view The White
Tiger as a criticism about social injustice in India. Sebastian A. J, Ph.D in PoorRich Divide in Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger states that social injustice
between the poor and the rich will have a dangerous effect if the problem is
unresolved. Adiga wants to expose the economic disparity that happens in India.
He shows different images of India, india of Light and Darkness. The poor has no
representative and gets a marginal place in the society. Balram is the
representative of the poor in India who want to break out of the rules because they
do not have the chance to get a better life. Balram realizes that it is difficult for
him to get the chance to get out of poverty until he decides to kill his master and
take
the
money
to
start
a
new
life
(http://
www.japss.org/upload/6poorrichdivide.pdf).
Sebastian A. J, Ph.D and Nigamananda Das, Ph.D in Drawbacks of Indian
Democracy in Homen Borgohain’s Pita Putra And Aravind Adiga’s The White
Tiger and between the Assassinations: A Comparative Study states that they tried
to analyze the Indian democracy in earlier years and the recent years. They want
to compare the development of democracy over the years. They think that liberty
and equality are two important aspects in democracy but corruption has destroyed
7
8
them.
That is why it is important to look into the drawbacks of Indian democracy.
In the article they seek to reflect on the drawback of India in the forms of
maladministration, deprivation of liberty or equality, prevalence of injustice, and
widespread corruption. The comparative analysis would like to focus on how over
the years the state of governance in democracy has deteriorated. Pita Putra by
Homen Borgohain and The White Tiger and Between the Assasinations by Aravind
Adiga have been chosen to compare the analysis.
Pita Putra is a novel that depicts the Indian democracy during the earlier
years. This novel notifies that from the beginning Indian democracy didn’t work
properly. The story tells us that the character in the novel who should be the
guardian of liberty and equality has given into corruption. The White Tiger and
Between the Assassinations give a portrayal about the bad practices in the Indian
democracy in the recent years. Through the novel Adiga wants to show the gap
between the poor and the rich. Both of the authors portray the drawbacks of
Indian democracy.
(http:// www.japss.org/upload/5.SebastianandNigamanandaarticle.pdf )
Other studies mentioned above focus on the social criticism. This study will
try to develop something quite new and different from the studies above. This
study will focus on the psychological subject. The writer will relate the influence
of social condition to the main character’s personality that leads him to become a
sociopath.
9
B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theory on Character and Characterization
Characters in the novel are presented through characterization. A character
in literary works is usually defined as the creation of imaginary person that seem
life-like and the characterization is all things that are related to the character.
Rohrberger and Woods state that characters have particular personalities and
physical attributes that can make them different from one other. The personality
can be analyzed as the part of psychological aspects that considers people entirely
as an individual and complex human being. Their consistency with their nature
makes the characters behave in particular way (1971: 20-21).
Characterization is important to create the character in a story. The way the
author creates the characters is defined as characterization. According to M.J.
Murphy in Understanding Unseen (1972: 160-173), there are some ways that the
authors use to make the characters understandable to the readers.
a. Personal Description
The author described the personal appearances of the characters such as the
face, body and even clothes. It will help the readers understand the characters.
b. Character as Seen by Another
The author describes the characters using the eyes and opinions of other
characters.
c. Speech
The author gives the readers an insight into the characters through what they
say.
10
d. Past Lives
The author can give out clues to the events that help shape a character
through his or her past life in order to get some ideas about the his or her thoughts,
behaviour, and action.
e. Conversation of Others
The author can give the readers some clues to a character through the
conversation between other people and what they say about him or her.
f. Reaction
The author can give out clues to a character by letting the readers know how
that person reacts to various situations and events.
g. Direct comment
The author can directly describe or comment on a character.
h. Thought
The author can give the readers direct knowledge of what a character is
thinking about and what he or she feels.
i. Mannerism
The author can describe a person’s ways of behaving, which may also tell
the readers about specific characteristics of different people. The habits or
behaviour are the clues in examining the character closely.
2. Theory of Setting
Yelland, Jones, and Easton in A Handbook of Literary Terms state that
setting is the element that gives the readers an abstract impression of the
11
environment in which the characters move. The setting is usually provided by the
prevailing conditions (1953: 84).
According to Abrams in his book A Glossary of Literary Terms, the setting
in the literary works is the setting of narrative or dramatic work that is the general
locale, historical time, and social circumstance in which its action occurs; the
setting of an episode or scene within a work is the particular physical location in
which it takes place (1981: 175). The background of the story that involves place,
time, or social condition is definitely the setting of the story where and when the
story takes place.
3. Theory on Social Psychology
According to Psychology in Action, social psychology is a branch of
psychology that studies how an individual’s thought, feelings and action are
influenced by other people. The society and culture directly influence us from the
moment of our birth to our death. Our culture teaches us to believe certain things,
feels certain ways, and act in accordance with these beliefs and feelings. These
influences are so strong and become a part of who we are, that we find it difficult
to recognize them (Huffman, 2000: 601). To social psychologists, social influence
refers to “any actions performed by one or more persons to change the attitudes,
behaviour, or feelings of one or more to others” (Baron and Byrne, 1987: 224).
12
4.Theory on Antisocial Personality Disorder
People are diagnosed as having a personality disorder if they have inflexible
and maladaptive personality traits that cause significant social or occupational
problems. There are several types of personality disorder. One of the best known
types is antisocial personality disorder. The term antisocial personality disorder is
used interchangeably with the terms “sociopath” and “psychopath. The differences
between sociopath and psychopath have been revealed. According to Lykken,
sociopaths have normal temperaments, and their personality disorder tends to
affect their lives regarding parenting, peers, and their intelligence. They often
believe they are doing something good for society or at least nothing that bad.
Psychopaths were born with temperamental differences, their emotionlessness and
fearlessness that lead them to being risk seekers, impulsive, and not being able to
socialize normally.
(http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1013712/sociopath_vs_sociopath_there
_is_a_pg3.html?cat=72)
An individual with antisocial personality disorder is characterized by a lack
of regard for the moral or legal standard in society. There is inability to get along
with others. An individual with this disorder is called a sociopath or psychopath.
Davison and Neale in Abnormal Psychology describe that an individual with
antisocial personality disorder shows an almost total disregard for the rights of
others. Rules and regulation are not for them. They are often irritable and
aggressive, highly impulsive, seeming fearless in the face of danger and highly
deceitful, they will lie for their personal gain. They typically show no remorse
13
after performing actions that harm others (1996: 271-272).
Huffman states that the causes of antisocial disorder are not completely
understood, research supports both nature and nurture explanations. Evidence also
exists from environmental or psychological causes (2000: 533). The causes of
antisocial personality disorder could be the environment a person is brought up in
or the current circumstances he or she is going through. This includes the family,
neighborhood members and friends that a person grew up with and events that had
occurred. Good or bad treatments that he or she had received from others could
also affect. People with antisocial personality often come from homes
characterized by emotional deprivation, absence of parental discipline, low
socioeconomic status and antisocial behaviour on the part of the parents. The
behaviour pattern that indicates antisocial personality disorder begins in childhood
or adolescence and continues into adulthood. However, antisocial and criminal
behaviour related to this disorder tends to decline with age, and may disappear
when the individual reaches the age of 40. Nevertheless, this is not the case with
personality traits that underlie antisocial disorder—traits such as egocentricity,
manipulative, lack of empathy, lack of guilt or remorse, and cruelty towards
others. Those traits are relatively stable with age (2005: 277).
People with antisocial personality disorder persistently violate the rights of
others and, often, the laws. They ignore social norms, are impulsive, and fail to
develop interpersonal and work commitments. They often show their charisma in
outer appearance and have above average intelligence.
Harvey Cleckley provides a more detailed explanation about the
14
characteristics of the people with antisocial personality disorder in his book The
Mask of Sanity. He formulated a set of criteria to recognize the antisocial
personality disorder (1976: 339-364):
1.
Superficial charm and good “intelligence”
Sociopaths exude charm that gives a positive impression during the first
encounter. They do not seem peculiar or fake; people will tend to regard them as
normal and agreeable, intelligent people. Psychometric tests also very frequently
attest to their superior intelligence. (ibid. 338)
2.
Absence of delusions and other signs of irrational thinking
Sociopaths do not have delusions, and also react they way normal people
do. They have excellent logical reasoning, and when exposed to direct psychiatric
examination do not show anything pathologic. Observers may view them as
people of compassion and firm assurance. (ibid. 339)
3.
Absence of “nervousness” and psychoneurotic manifestation
Sociopaths are devoid of reactions stemming from nervousness. They are
always extraordinarily calm even under extreme circumstances. During captive or
in psychiatric facility, they may indeed become tense but only from external
influences, not from penitence or insecurity from within themselves. (ibid. 339)
4.
Unreliability
Sociopaths are likely to perform an excellent amount of reliability, maybe
even in a long period to achieve gain, before finally showing their true colour and
disregarding obligations and responsibility. (ibid. 340)
5.
Untruthfulness and insincerity
15
Sociopaths are not capable of truthfulness. They easily promise anything to
declare their innocence. They will lie about anything in any condition but show no
marked signs typical of liars in their speech. However, when confronted with their
lies, they can admit them straightforwardly without flinching. (ibid. 341)
6. Lack of remorse or shame
Sociopaths will declare themselves innocent of any blame and
responsibility, never showing major shame or remorse. (ibid. 343)
7.
Inadequately motivated antisocial behaviour.
Sociopaths are unreliable and willing to commit any criminal behaviour,
even that which holds a great risk. In addition, they do it seemingly without
scruple or even purpose. (ibid. 343)
8.
Poor judgment and failure to learn from experience
Despite their brilliance, sociopaths may go after their objectives while
throwing away great chances for gaining. In addition, no amount of punishment is
likely to bring them to change their tune. (ibid. 345)
9.
Pathologic egocentricity and incapacity for love
Sociopaths are always self-centred and detached from others. They have no
capacity for sincere compassion, but are sometimes impressively adept in
pretending to demonstrate such emotion. (ibid. 346)
10. General poverty in major affective reactions
Sociopaths display little affection or feelings. While normal people would
show despair when locked up, they do not show the same tragic quality of
16
reaction. Moreover, despite often being humorous, they never have a true sense of
humour. (ibid. 348)
11. Specific loss of insight
Sociopaths cannot view themselves from the perspective of others. They
cannot imagine other people’s feelings when they put themselves in others’ shoes.
Instead of facing the situation and coming up with a realization of it, they put
blame on others but with excellent reasoning despite maybe with a lame excuse.
(ibid. 350)
12. Unresponsiveness in general interpersonal relations
Sociopaths have no real appreciation and affective response to other people.
They may perform it only when gaining something from doing so. (ibid. 354)
13. Fantastic and uninviting behaviour with drink and sometimes without
Sociopaths are likely to indulge in alcohol at some point. However, alcohol
does not bring out impulses that are not characteristics of them. It only serves as a
catalyst that lowers their inhibition. What sets them apart from neurotic drinkers is
that they realize what they have done when drinking but will likely to drink again
knowing that. Neurotic drinkers, on the other hand, when sober, will regret what
they have done during drinking. (ibid. 355)
14. Suicide rarely carried out
Sociopaths may pass up opportunities but will never commit suicide. They
may show suicidal threats which are almost always empty. (ibid. 358)
15. Sex life impersonal, trivial and poorly integrated
17
Deviant sexual behaviours are common in sociopaths but they do not crave
sex or are moved by it as much as normal people do. They also regard sex more
casually than most people do. (ibid. 359)
16. Failure to follow any life plan
Sociopaths do not set a consistent life plan. Conversely, they may even
sabotage their own life and attribute failures to foolishness. (ibid. 364)
C. Theoretical Framework
The writer tries to apply the theories above to answer the problems
formulated in the problem formulation. First, the writer wants to understand the
main character more closely so that the writer can see his personality by using the
theories of characterization. By analyzing it, the writer hopes to find the position
of the main character in the society.
The theory of setting is the main theory to answer the second. The writer
uses the theory to show the social condition of India described in the novel.
The theories of antisocial personality disorder are the theories to answer the
third question in problem formulation. In analyzing the third problem to show
how the social condition gives influences toward the main character and leads him
to be a sociopath, the writer uses the theory of antisocial personality. In the
writer’s opinions, those theories are reliable to answer the third problem. By using
this theory, the writer will be able to show certain symptoms of a sociopath.
The writer also uses the statements and sentences in the novel to convey the
description of the main character in the novel, to know about the social condition
in India described in the novel and to find out the influences toward the main
character’s personality.
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The object of the study in this thesis is The White Tiger, a debut novel by an
Indian author, Aravind Adiga. It was first published in the United States of
America in 2008 by Simon and Schuster Inc and consists of 288 pages and seven
chapters. The version used in this thesis was published by Free Press, a division of
Simon & Schuster, Inc. It is a paperback edition published in 2008. The novel
became the winner of the Man Booker Prize 2008. This novel got into a debate
about whether or not it would become the winner of the biggest literary in the
world.
Adiga’s The White Tiger is a novel which presents a dark view of modern
day life in India. The story in the novel is presented by a first person narrator. The
narrator is telling the story from his point of view.
The novel describes the contrast between India’s rise as a modern global
economy and the working class people who live in rural poverty. The novel takes
the form of a series of letters written late at night by Balram Halwai, the main
character, to Wen Jiabao, the Premier of China, who is scheduled to visit India
soon. For seven nights Balram tells the story of his life. He tells his journey from
darkness of village life to the light of entrepreneurial success. Balram describes
his rise from a son of rickshaw puller become an enterpreneur in Bangalore. He is
constantly looking for the opportunities that can release him from poverty. He
18
19
becomes aware of the wealth and opportunity all around him, while knowing that
he will never be able to gain the access to that world. Balram realizes that a little
dishonesty can bring him enough money for a secure future. He realizes that there
is only one way he can achieve his dream, the only way to become a rich man is
to murder his employer and to run away to Bangalore with his money loot and
starts his own business there.
B. Approach of the Study
In this study, the writer analyzes the novel using the psychological approach.
This approach is the most suitable to answer the problem formulation. Although
literature is different from psychology, there is a close relationship between the
two which benefit one other. Literature is related to the world of fiction, drama,
poetry, and essay, which are classified into the art, while psychology refers to the
scientific study of human behaviour and mental processes. Although different,
both have a commonality, in that both discuss human and life. According to
Wellek and Warren, psychology and literature are closely related, in which some
of literary works talk about psychology cases. They say that people can learn
about the theory of psychology that may be revealed in works of literature by
analyzing the works (1956:81).
In analyzing a character in a novel, the psychological approach is related to
the human behaviour, the attitude, and also the mind of the character. The
psychological approach helps the writer to understand the personality of character.
According to Rohrberger and Woods, the psychological approach is to explain
20
human motivation, personality and behaviour patterns written in literary objects.
Both literature and psychology discuss people and human lives. Literature
discusses humans and their lives; those are expressed through language as a works
of literature. Meanwhile psychology is the study of man’s life along with their
mind and behaviour. They also state that the psychological approach brings us to
analyze the novel from the psychological point of view of human being (1971:1213).
Since the study is related to the personality disorder of the main character,
which is part of psychology, psychological approach is appropriate to apply in the
analysis of the study. The writer applies the theory of psychology to make a
deeper analysis. It is important to know the personality of the main character and
to point out the aspects that influence it.
C. Method of the Study
In this study, the writer used library research to answer the problems that
are formulated in the previous chapter. In this thesis, two kinds of sources are
used. They are primary and secondary sources. The primary source was taken
from the novel itself, The White Tiger written by Aravind Adiga. The secondary
sources are articles, essay, and criticisms, which were taken from books found in
the library and from the internet. The secondary sources are used to support this
thesis.
There were three steps that the writer has done in analyzing the study. The
first step was reading the novel in detail to get a deeper understanding about the
21
novel. In the second step, the writer collected the supporting data which describe
the novel both in books and the internet. The writer looked for books suitable for
this study; the examples of those books are Davison and Neale’s Abnormal
Psychology, Coleman’s Abnormal Psychology and Modern Life, Huffman and
Vernoy’s Psychology in Action. The final step wass to analyze the element of the
novel, since the characteristics of the main character become the first problem
formulation, the theory of character and characterization was used to acquire
detailed information about the character. To answer the second question, the
writer analyzed the social condition described in the novel. In order to answer the
third question, the writer would like to analyze how the social condition
influences his personality and leads him to become a sociopath.
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
In this chapter, the problems formulated in the earlier chapter will be
answered. Based on the problem formulation, this chapter will be divided into
three parts. The first part covers the character and characterization of Balram
Halwai, the main object of this study. The second is the part the social condition
where the main character lives will be elaborated. Last but not least, in the third
part it will be explained how the social condition gives influences toward the main
character and leads him to become a sociopath.
A. The Characteristics of Balram Halwai
A character is an essential element in the work of literature. The writer will
analyze the main character, Balram Halwai, and his characterization to make a
deeper analysis.
1. Smart
According on the Murphy’s theory, a character can be described from the
conversation of other people in the story. In the novel, the teacher and the school
inspector recognizes that Balram is a smart kid. Balram is considered as a bright
child among his peers and classmates. He attends a school in his village. When the
school inspector comes to the school to do an inspection, he gives the students a
question that no one can answer. The teacher chooses Balram for being able to
read and write when nobody else can. The school inspector tests Balram’s
22
23
cleverness by asking him to read the sentence on the blackboard, to write his own
name, and to read the time from his watch.
“Try Balram, sir,” the teacher said. He’s the smartest of the lot. He reads
well.” (2008:29)
The inspector pointed his cane straight at me. “You, young man, are an
intelligent, honest, vivacious fellow in this crowd of thugs and idiots. In any
jungle, what is the rarest of animals- the creature that comes along only once
in a generation?”
“The white tiger”
“That’s what you are the in this jungle”
“I’ll write to Patna asking them to send you a scholarship. You need to go to
a real school. You need to a real uniform and a real education.” (2008: 30).
On the dialogue above, Balram is recognized as a smart kid by his teacher
and the school inspector. After knowing Balram’s cleverness, the school inspector
gives him the nickname “the white tiger”. He also promises Balram a scholarship
to attend a proper school.
Murphy theorized that a character can be described from the past life.
Balram considers himself “half-baked”. He is not allowed to finish school like
most children of his age but he has broad general knowledge. He likes to
eavesdrop on people in the tea shop to enrich his knowledge that he can not get
due to dropping out.
I used my time at the tea shop in Laxmangarh to spy on every customer at
every table, and overhear everything they said. I decided that this was how I
would keep my education going forward-that’s thesay for one good thing
I’ll say for myself. I’ve always been a big believer in education-especially
my own (2008: 43).
Balram’s habit of listening to conversations of others to enrich his
knowledge does not disappear when he works as driver. When he is working in
Dhanbad he learns a lot from eavesdropping his employer’s conversations about
India, America and he even learns a bit about English.
24
The more they talked, the faster I massaged. They talked about politics, coal
and about your country- China. I absorbed everything-that’s the amazing
thing about entrepreneurs. We are like sponges- we absorb and grow
(2008:60).
From the dialogue above, Balram is always looking for a way to keep
learning even tough he can not learn in school. However, the ways he uses to
enrich his knowledge are not responsible because he is using his time to work. He
does it by eavesdropping his employers or his consumers.
Balram never finishes school, but he has always thought a step further than
his friends. When a fellow driver can do not anything about the prohibition of the
poor to enter the shopping mall, he feels degraded as a human being. Balram
looks for ideas to enter to the mall without being spotted by the security guard and
evicted from that place.
I went to the gateway of the mall in my new white T-shirt. But there, the
moment I saw the guard, I turned around- went back to the Honda City.
Even as I was walking inside the mall, I was sure someone would say, Hey!
That man is a paid driver! What’s he doing in here? There were guards in
gray uniforms on every floor- all of them seemed to be watching me. It was
my first taste of the fugitive’s life. (2008: 128).
Getting out was as tricky as getting in, but again the guards didn’t say a
word to me, and I walked back to the parking lot, got into the car, and
changed back into my usual, richly colored T-shirt in a bundle near my feet
(2008: 129).
He feels the injustice when the poor are prohibited from entering the mall.
Balram’s friends can only keep silent and accept the mistreatment of the
prohibition to enter to the mall but Balram can not simply accept it. He looks for
ideas so he can get into the mall. He is diguised as a rich man, wearing a shirt like
his master and wearing the shoes that are hidden in the car. First, he is doubtful
enters the mall; he is afraid of being driven out by the guard. He finally enters the
25
mall and feels the atmosphere inside the mall. The guards do not realize that
Balram is a driver because of his appearance.
Balram always thinks several steps ahead. When he is a fugitive for killing
his employer he does not think to hide like everyone else. He is looking for ways
to make it survive in Bangalore. He knows that the police are corrupt and can be
bought off with money easily by someone rich and powerful. When all fugitives
try to avoid the police, he actually goes to the police and gives bribes to facilitate
his plan to open his own car centre company.
I acted like an important man, and made sure the policemen saw the red bag
by swinging it a lot. Then I insisted on seeing the big man there, the
inspector.
He counted the money- ten thousand rupees- heard what I wanted, and
asked for double. I gave him bit more, and he was happy. I tell you, Mr.
Premier. My poster was right there, the one that I had seen earlier, the whole
time I was negotiating with him. THE WANTED POSTER, with the dirty
little photo of me. (2008: 257)
Balram, with his intelligence, tries to find a way so he can hide safely. The
ways that he uses is to go to the police station, acting like an innocent man, and
giving bribes to the police inspector. When other fugitives are hiding in the dark
places, Balram chooses to hide in the light.
2. Selfish
Since Balram quits school, he follows his brother, Kishan, to work in the
teashop. The owner of the shop fires him because Balram is not working properly.
No one wants to hire him in Laxmangarh. He does not think of his family when he
loses his job.
26
I did my job with near total dishonesty, lack of dedication, and insincerity.
Instead of wiping out spots from tables and crushing coals for the oven, I
used my time at the tea shop in Laxmangarh to spy on every customer at
every table, and overhear everything they said.
Eventually I got sent home. No one else in Laxmangarh would hire me after
that, even as a field hand. So it was mostly for my sake that Kishan and
Dilip had come to Dhanbad—to give me a chance to start career as a human
spider afresh (2008: 43-44)
Balram never finishes his work. He prefers to eavesdrop on the customers.
The employer is angry to see Balram being irresponsible for the job and chooses
to fire him. Balram does not think about the consequences of his actions. Balram’s
brother, Kishan, quits from his job because no one wants to hire Balram. They
move into Dhanbad and look for a new job.
Balram hears some conversations that drivers get big salaries. He gets
interested in driving lessons but does not have the money to pay, and eventually
the grandmother agrees to pay the fee to drive, with a condition that Balram must
give a receipt of his salary every month. Balram forgets his promise; he refuses to
send money home to his struggling family.
Great news! Granny had agreed to let them invest in my driving classes.
“There’s only one thing,” Kishan said.” Granny says you’re a greedy pig.
She wants you