Loathing In The White Tiger

In Aravind Adiga’s novel, The White Tiger, the protagonist Balram Halwai struggles with the question of “Do we love our masters behind a façade of loving or a façade of loathing?” (160). Yet in reality, it is nearly impossible to define loving or loathing due to there being many different (and occasionally, contradicting) definitions for every person. That being said, in my experience, love is the feeling of extreme affection one person has for another. The tenderness that the person carries may be platonic or romantic, but signifies preference in being near the other person for a relatively long time. However, loathing is the feeling of utter hatred one person carries for another. Loathing carries the implications that the other person has either committed a personal offense against the other or carries within themselves some sort of flawed belief system that conflicts with another person’s beliefs. …show more content…
People are so much more than that, and it is so much more complicated understanding their experiences, the circumstances behind their beliefs, and how their character has developed and changed through the years. However, one must also actively question why each emotion is tied to a certain connotation of either negative or positive-- why is it that each person is required to feel happy and grateful to their family for having raised them, when the person certainly was not given the choice of being born? It is true that family raises the children with high expectations, but when there are choices made not thinking about the child, these can sometimes prove to be toxic and hurtful to their development. Balram’s struggle to find an answer to his question is shown throughout the novel in his actions as he himself attempts to discover an answer to his