Ram Perad Character Analysis

You’re either born into success, or you work hard and dedicate time, effort, and resources to get successful. The lower you are on the stairway to the light, the more you have to sacrifice. Sacrifice could come in the form of physical sacrifice, having to sacrifice wealth, property or cows. Or, it could come in the form of emotional sacrifice, the sacrifice of morals, community, religion. There are three distinct characters in the White Tiger by Aravind Adiga who had to make emotional sacrifices to move out of the darkness and into the light.

Ram Persad may not have been the main character in the book, but he was far from being the least important. Ram Persad was the number one driver to the Stork, a powerful landlord from the town of Laxmangarh.

Balram kept his morales through most of the book even though it held him back at times. He had to send money every month to his family, which made him feel tied down to them. He ended up with very little money at the end of each month, and was eventually blackmailed by Kusum to get married (113 OB). He stopped sending money back to the family which ultimately gave him more freedom to do what he wanted with the money. He then started to transform into the ruthless killer he was soon to be. It would have been difficult for Balram to say ‘I am Munna, killer of Mr. Ashok’. Balram throughout the book had adopted several different names, from Munna (informally given by his parents (9 OB)) to Balram (given by his teacher (9 OB)), to the White Tiger (given by the inspector (22 OB)) and finally to Ashok Sharma. Only his final name was his own decision. Ashok was the name of Balram’s master in the book and it shows how he respected and cared for him despite slitting his throat with a ‘good, strong bottle, Johnnie Walker Black’ (173 OB). Balram adopted all these names, as if he were still called ‘Munna’ he would have never been able to move up the social stairway. Balram had to give up his identity he was born with in addition to succumbing to cold blooded murder to move up. But what about the stealing? Balram stole a red bag filled with ‘Seven hundred thousand rupees. It was enough for a house. A motorbike. And a small shop. A new life.’ (171 OB). Balram felt it necessary to steal the money from a man who he really cared for, as he sensed that to be the only sensible way to reach the top of the social stairway. Balram had to suppress his morals to commit a heinous act just to move into the light. To him doing all of this is worth it as at the end of the book he proclaims ‘I'll say it was all