White Tiger Coursework
The First Night
- What happens in this chapter?
- Which three nations does Balram admire? Why?
- Using a quote, describe the chandelier in Balram’s office.
- What does Balram mean when he calls India “half-baked”?
- What is Balram reading from when he is telling Wen Jiaboa about himself?
- What is Balram talking about when he’s talking about the darkness?
- What is Balram talking about when he’s talking about the light?
- What animal is most precious to Balram’s family?
- What animal is Balram afraid of?
- How do you know that Balram has respect for his father?
- List the names of the landlords.
- Find two examples of corruption in The First Night. Describe who engages in the corruption and what impact this has on Balram.
- Why does Balram have to leave school?
- Balram is the narrator’s second name. His first was Munna. What is his third? Why is the third name he is given so significant?
- Find a quote that shows the value Balram places in poetry.
- What does Balram do at the Black Fort? Why is this significant?
The Second Night
- What happens in this chapter?
- What are the probable consequences of Balram’s actions for his family?
- How does Balram describe Mr Ashok?
- What new example of corruption do you discover when learning about Balram’s father’s death from tuberculosis?
- How do the duties of the first driver and second driver differ?
- What caste does Balram belong to?
- What happened that turned India from a “zoo” into a “jungle”? Why does Balram describe India as a jungle? Use a quote in your answer.
- Why was the Stork “dead set against” the marriage between Mr Ashok and Pinky Madam?
- Mr Ashok is a vegetarian. How does this show that when he went to American he stopped valuing his caste?
- What does Kusum want to do to tame “the wild ones” like Balram?
- What point is Balram making when he tells the story of God and the Devil and the servants?
- Why is it significant that he remembers spitting on the Black Fort while he watches the “midget fan slice the light from the chandelier again and again”?
- Who is fighting against the landlords?
The Fourth Morning
- What happens in this chapter?
- Why does the “man in government uniform” tell Balram he turns eighteen “today”?
- Who is the Great Socialist?
- What is the symbol of the Great Socialist’s party?
- What does Balram say are the “three main diseases” of India?
- What are the enemies of the Great Socialist promising?
- Find a quote that illustrates how Balram feels about Vijay (the bus conductor).
- What do the policeman and Vijay do to the man who “went mad” and decided to vote in the election?
- Where does Balram say the police will be able to find him?
- How does the Great Socialist humiliate the Mongoose?
- How does Balram become “servant number one”?
- On the drive to Delhi, Balram and Mr. Ashok change seats and in doing so Balram’s sweat “rubbed off onto” Ashok’s face and then as they switch back their “scents were exchanged” and they reassume their expected roles. What is the significance of this moment between the main characters?
- Explain the corruption that is explored within this chapter (provide at least two examples) and justify how it is reinforcing the powerlessness of the people who live in the Darkness.
The Fourth Night
- What happens in this chapter?
- What are two reasons that Balram is “happy to see a chandelier”?
- What magazine does Vitiligo-Lips recommend for Balram to read?
- Find two examples of how Balram shows his loyalty to Mr. Ashok while speaking with Vitiligo-Lips.
- What statue does Balram drive past as he leaves the President’s House with Mr. Ashok and the Mongoose?
- Why is Mr. Ashok upset when he notices the statue?
- What does Mr. Ashok say to defend Balram when the Mongoose instructs Mr. Ashok to “check up on the driver”?
- What animal name does Balram say Mr. Ashok would be given if they “were back in Laxmangarh”?
- What qualities does Mr. Ashok have that cause Balram to liken him to a lamb?
- What changes does Balram make to his appearance? Why?
- What does Pinky Madam hit in the Honda City?
- What is the Mongoose asking Balram to sign?
- Find a succinct quote that captures how frequently drivers are forced to sacrifice themselves for their master’s mistakes.
Fifth Night
- Find two quotes that succinctly describe what the rooster coop is.
- Explain in your own words what the rooster coop represents and why it’s important to Balram’s story.
- What is Balram’s explanation of why the rooster coop works?
- What type of person can break out of the coop?
- What animal does Balram recall visiting at the National Zoo? Why is this important?
- How does Pinky Madam react to the news that “no one has reported seeing the accident”? (Your response should include two actions that she takes).
- What happens to a servant’s life when his master’s life is in chaos?
- Explain what Balram means when he says, “we are made mysteries to ourselves by the Rooster Coop we are locked in”.
- Mr Ashok’s statement that “…without a family, a man is nothing. Absolutely nothing” is juxtaposed with a letter that Balram receives from Kusum. Explain what the letter and its juxtaposition with Ashok’s discussion of family tells you about Balram as a character.
- There are many references to feet throughout the novel, including when Balram questions, “Why did I feel that I had to go close to his feet, touch them and press them and make them feel good – why?”. How does this reinforce or emphasise Balram’s position in society?
- Who does Balram say guards the rooster coop?
The Sixth Morning
- What happens in this chapter?
- What does Balram say “the rest of today’s narrative will deal mainly with”?
- What does Balram say led to “all these changes” that happened in him?
- Describe what Balram’s future will be like if he remains a driver.
- Why is Balram furious enough to drive “right through four red lights”?
- In what way is the bookseller similar to Balram?
- What does Balram do to the seats of the Honda City? Explain how the meaning of this gesture connects to what Balram did at the Black Fort early on in the novel.
- Balram is discussing Mr Ashok when he says, “They corrupted him”. Who is Balram referring to when he says ‘they’ and why does he believe they corrupted Mr Ashok?
- What does Balramask the city to speak to him about?
- What does Balram search for and find at the end of the chapter?
The Sixth Night (1)
- What happens in this chapter?
- What do the rich dream of and how does this compare to what the poor dream of?
- Where is the only place in the world that Balram feels “fully safe”?
- What does Balram want Vitiligo-lips to find for him?
- How does Balram “cheat” his employer”? What does this tell you about how Balram has changed?
- How does Balram feel when cheats Ashok? Why?
- Balram makes the statement, “I am my own master”. Why does he say this and why is it significant?
- Describe the encounter between Balram and the prostitute. Why does he shriek? How does this encounter link to Balram’s transformation from a village boy to an entrepreneur?
- What makes Balram realise that “there really was no difference” between Mukesh and Ashok?
- What happens when Balram “clicked the red bag open”?
- What secret does the city know?
- What is Balram debating as he stares “at the two puddles of red, spreading spit”?
- What does Balram say is “the final alarm bell of the Rooster Coop”?
- Find a quote that captures Balram’s explanation of the “two Indias”.
- What does Balram imagine the buffalo is saying to him?
The Sixth Night (2)
- What power does Balram say poetry has for poor people?
- Ashok mistakenly believes Balram is about to tell him that he wants to get married, but what does Balram really want to tell Ashok?
- Describe what Balram witnesses at the slum.
- Who arrives that Balram now has to look after?
- What couplet does Balram recite that helps him get to sleep?
- Balram comments that “Delhi has been invaded”. Who has invaded the city and why?
- Who does Balram find out from that Bangalore “is the future”?
- What causes Balram to faint at the zoo? Explain the significance of this scene.
- What does Balram apologise for in the letter he dictates to Granny?
- Describe in detail how Balram kills Ashok. Consider: What is the setting like? How does Balram convince Ashok to leave the car? What is Balram thinking about when he kills Ashok?
- What final decision does Balram make before he leaves Delhi?
The Seventh Night
- Balram speaks to a man about his wanted poster. How come the man does not recognise Balram or understand his crimes?
- What is Balram referring to when he says, “Everything in the city, it seemed, came down to one thing”?
- How does Balram begin his taxi service start-up company, when “every business in Bangalore already has a taxi service”?
- What does Balram call himself “these days”?
- Who does Balram say will “rule the whole world”?
- What does Balram say is “the difference between this India and that India” (referring to Laxmangarh and Bangalore)?
- How does Balram and his driver get out of being charged with the death of the boy on the bicycle?
- How does Balram justify his actions in offering money to the dead boy’s family, despite declaring that he doesn’t like “showing weakness in front of my employees”?
- What does Balram say will have happened to his family?
- What is Balram’s response to the questions, “Are you a man or a demon?”?
- What does Balram say he is going to do in the future?
- What does Balram conclude “the Rooster Coop needs”?