University of Western Australia The White Tiger Analysis

  

Adiga,

T

he White Tiger

– First Night (pp. 1-36)

Write 200 words on the following texts.

Don’t
forget to write in the first person, express an opinion, give examples,
and explore the meanings evoked by the actions / events / images in the
literary work for you personally. You can use the

templates

to help you with this.

Introduction to Literature
Skills of independent readers
These templates apply specifically to higher level, transferable skills related to reading
literature. You should be demonstrating these skills in your reading journals.
1. “Provocations” (Establishing productive/provocative connections between literary works
and current issues or historical events)
Recently, __________________________. This has raised questions about ______________. The
story/poem/novel/play ____ responds to a similar question, namely ________________. In turn, this
could help us find answers to the broader issues of ____________________.
In the year 19xx, [the following event occurred]. Since then, [describe the consequences of this event].
Although some, like the commentator ______, have argued that ______________, the
play/novel/story ______ gives us reason to rethink this understanding of events. As I will show here,
___________.
Although little discussed since [event], the truth is that [description of real situation]. As ______ has
shown, [description of data, example]. Although it is easy to feel powerless in the face of such
data/stories/injustice/cruelty, [author’s name]’s novel/poem/story/play _______ shows us a way of
coming to terms with the situation by ___________________.
2. “Evocative” meanings (issues, events or experiences suggested to you or “evoked” by a
literary work)
The scene in the play where _______________, reminded me of current discussions of
______________. What is different in this play, though, is the way that_________.
When reading these lines, I could not help thinking of ______________. Despite the difference in
place/time/context/other specific details, the lines help show the broader relevance of this work as
too little attention is currently paid to the issue of ___________. We can see something similar at the
beginning of the play when _______________.
These words are strongly reminiscent of the situation in the year 20xx, when ______________. The
story of _____________ parallels the way in which ______ [e.g. a business leader was disgraced, a
politician rose to power]. Although there are important differences, such as ____________, the story
serves as a reminder that ______________.
When I read the passage in which _______________, I was taken back to a situation I experienced in
__________ when I _________________. However, unlike in my situation, the characters in the
novel _________________________.
Introduction to Literature
3. Empathy (demonstrating the ability to take another person’s perspective, perspectivetaking, acknowledging feelings, feeling the same things as others, establishing connection
with others)
The story/play shows us [situation, experience] from the perspective of character1 when it came to
dealing with _______________. Although I thought I had a good understanding of [issue, problem,
situation], when I read [description of events from story], I began to realize that ________________.
Although I cannot speak for [more general group of people], my reaction to the lines
“_______________” was _____________. I think I reacted in this way because of my experience of
_____________. The situation of character1 in the novel/play/story allows us to see the problem of
_________ from the perspective of someone who ________________.
While I have never personally experienced ___________________, like character1 in the novel
_______, what I noticed about their response to [issue, problem, experience] was ____________. We
as readers can only acknowledge/recognize/listen to this narrative, as described by character1 in the
line “_____________________”, and not seek to downplay it.
Reading the description of ________, especially the words of character2, “__________”, I began to
think about what she/he must have been feeling in this moment. It would be easy to judge this as
________, but I believe these words should be allowed to speak for themselves. In turn, this part of
the story has helped me think differently about [issue, problem, event].
Nobody would doubt that being [type of person] in [given context] is difficult, not least because
[exacerbating factor]. However, the lines “________” gave me greater insight into the challenges of
that situation. What really resonated with me was the way the author/character/playwright/poet
described _____________. In my own experience of ___________, this rings true because
___________________.
Because I have personal experience of ______________, and have already read a lot about
___________, I recognized the feeling described in the lines “______________”. To me, these words
seem adequate/inadequate/consistent/surprising/all the more powerful because they [do not]
convey the feeling of _______________.
4. Meaningful themes (always focus on the most specific message)
The play/poem/story/novel does not say that _____________, but instead uses the
metaphor/story/image/character of _________ to suggest that __________________.
One of the main messages of this story in relation to _________________ seems to be that we
should stop thinking about ___________ in terms of ____________, and start considering
_________________.
Introduction to Literature
The way that [e.g. family relationships] are shown in this novel through the relationship between
character1 and character2 highlights the way in which _____________________. More specifically,
the author seems to suggest that ________________.
This story/play/novel does not talk about [e.g. racism, poverty, injustice, love] in simple terms
(paraphrase of the simple idea), but demonstrates how _________________. This is seen in
particular in the story/character/metaphor of _______________.
5. Negotiating ambiguity (dealing with open-endedness in literary works)
The moment in the story/poem/play when ____________ seems to have been left deliberately
unclear by [author’s name]. On the one hand, the words “___________” might imply that
_______________. On the other hand, they could also mean that____________. We cannot be sure
because __________________.
The lines “_________________” have an openness that the reader cannot resolve. I first read these
words as implying that ________. Later, when re-reading the story/poem/novel/play, I saw that this
could also mean ___________. As the author gives us no clarification regarding _________, I believe
that both interpretations are possible.
The character ________’s words, “_____________”, hints at the idea that ______________. But the
fact that the same character _____________ earlier/later in the narrative, prevents us from taking
this idea at face value. We are left with the suspicion that ___________ could also mean _________.
6. Allowing for fallibility (acknowledging own limitations when interpreting literature)
I believe that the lines “___________” imply that _____. Nevertheless, I may be wrong because you
could also understand this as suggesting that ______________.
I would like to think that the author’s message is _____________. However, depending on your
interpretation of _________________, you could also argue that _________________.
In my reading of this novel/story/play/poem, the character of _______ is designed to show
_________. However, this reading has certain limitations because the same character also
______________.

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