The White Tiger by Zoë Plöger https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks Made with a stroke of good luck en-us 2022-01-21 07:36:52 UTC 2022-02-09 14:00:06 UTC hello@padlet.com Emilia https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks/wish/2031747903 "The White Tiger", by Aravind Adiga

The main character Balram develops some kind of humour when writing to the Prime Minister of China. He makes fun about himself when describing that the new kind of entrepreneur can be a professional in seven days. His advice is that one does not read American books, "they are so yesterday", or when someone has only little education. 
Balram only knows the work of 4 poets but he thinks that is enough education to become a successful businessman. In a way he is making fun about himself and is playing things down. Balram further relates to the many gods in all religions and asks the Prime Minister which arse to kiss, as religious people baisically "kiss arse" to their gods. Balram makes fun about religion and the devoted behavior of the people.  He calls his life's story a "autobiography of a Half-Baked Indian", again using self-deprecating humour. The half baked Indian is a man of a lower caste who has only little education but believes he can be a master in life. Balram refers to Buddha who might have walked through Balram's village. But he rather believes that Buddha "ran through it- as fast as he could- and got to the other side-and never looked back". Balram's village is one of the poorest and dirtiest with dishonest and greedy people. 
He jokes that way, that Buddha would not have wanted to be there, just as Balram. He describes to the Prime Minister how wonderful India and his village is, referring to the "running water, working telephones" and the nutritious diet of meat, eggs, vegetables ,and lentils". None of that is true, it is the opposite. "HA", he writes, "electricity defunct, water tap-broken". Here he is using sarcasm in his humour describing the bad life circumstances. Balram is quite smart and listens to the conversations of business people, while serving tea in the tea shops he works in. 
"I gave myself a better education at the tea shop than I could have got at any school". Again he is humorous about himself, not having a school education. Physical humour is found during the scene when Balram is in the tea shop and the owner runs after him, blaming him for spying and chases him around with a ladle, whacking him on his head. The syrup on the ladle gets to his ears and down his shirt. He compares the stains to people with vitiligo. In describing that, his humour is very dark and macabre, comparing him to sick people. He also likes to make jokes about Americans. For example he describes American girls, "carriyng pink handbags with names in English written on them in sequins. ...for men who like the Western kind". Balram makes fun of the Western world here, but being a bit naive, not understanding what the English names on the handbags stand for. He compares them the the "traditionals - fat, chunky types in saris for those who like value for their money". Balram also humours his own people with sarcasm. ]]> 2022-02-06 19:15:41 UTC https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks/wish/2031747903 Stefan https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks/wish/2032460973 The story revolves around messages that are being sent by the protagonist, Balram, to a chinese entrepreneur. He speaks about some of his experiences and his childhood, it is funny because of how ironic it is. For example, the fact that he didn’t have a name, and his teacher said he is going to pick his name out for him.]]> 2022-02-07 07:28:50 UTC https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks/wish/2032460973 Martin https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks/wish/2032471191 Initially, the events of the novel seem to be part of letters, which Balram sends to a businessman from China whom he is going to meet. Because Balram is writing it, the entire story is told through a very subjective lense, which allows for the possibility of humour. 
Balram touches on many different serious topics and adds funny comments about them, making his type of humour particularly sarcastic and potentially dark. Some of the most notable examples are: his description of his home town's infrastructure, his thoughts on religion, his assessment of his education, his bad manners, especially in regard to rascism. 
In his description of his hometown for example, he first sums up what would be told in a propaganda newspaper, everything needed exists, but then he quickly breaks that illusion, by revealing that the infrastructure is heavily damaged and unoperational. When he talks about religion, he compares praying to "kissing arse" and asks how quickly one can kiss over 36 million of them, which is a funny rhetorical question.
What's also funny is his self-absorbtion and ego. Right from the start he claims to be a true entrepreneur and a man of greatness, as he starts boasting with the story of his past. This particular type of humour, which is attributed to Balram by the author allows for the author to practically make fun of the character, while the character is making jokes himself. Meaning, that the humour in the novel is on multiple levels. 
In general I can define 3 levels of humour within the story: situational humour, which is the inherent humour of the stories descriped by Balram, commentary humour, which is Balram's voice in the letter making jokes as the story goes on, and the author's reflection, which engulfs all the previous ones and adds a layer of cunning criticism. ]]> 2022-02-07 07:35:28 UTC https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks/wish/2032471191 Vivica https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks/wish/2032472090 The author uses observational humour and sarcasm when he describes his childhood, but the way he uses humour is a bit dry since at the end of the day, it is still him describing a reality he once lived in which comes close to the satirical image he painted. ]]> 2022-02-07 07:36:09 UTC https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks/wish/2032472090 Anfizika https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks/wish/2032472603 - black humour (the author describes how his mother's corpse was burnt; "As the fire ate away the silk, a pale foot jerked out like a living thing [...] Kusum shoved the food into the fire, but it would not burn. My mother wasn't going to let them destroy her"; he describes the bitter moment of burning his mother with humour, he wants the readers to laugh at with him at this moment; the leg of the corpse jerking out of the fire is disgusting, but the author says that it is the sign that his mother is still fighting, i think it was meant to be funny; )]]> 2022-02-07 07:36:30 UTC https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks/wish/2032472603 Letter to Wen Jiabao – situationally humorous because it’s just such an unlikely thing to do, for a businessman to bear his heart and history in a letter to the Chinese premier – particularly as he’s so forthright zoeploeger1 https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks/wish/2032474867 2022-02-07 07:38:11 UTC https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks/wish/2032474867 Amirreza https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks/wish/2032475107 From what I have read so far from the book "the white tiger"
he talks about his unfortunate past as a comedic aspect of his personality
The main character uses self deprecating  as a comedic aspect, by making fun of himself he relates to people that are like him and makes fun of them as-well but not obviously sarcastic or humorous, he does it more "poetically"
in a way he is using dry humor, because not much emotional expressions cant be interpreted from his writings, making it seem like he wouldn't make much expressions talking in person  
he also makes fun of religious beliefs in a way that if not read twice may look more like an offense towards people who religiously believe in them]]> 2022-02-07 07:38:22 UTC https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks/wish/2032475107 Elina https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks/wish/2032475148 "The White Tiger" is simple and informal in its language, which many readers might find comforting and appealing. By incorporating humor Adiga accommodate his readers to his own story, he intentionally implements ironic sentiment, uses mediocre, well-known inappropriate language which helps advocate a wider audience, and exactly by the use of language, self-irony (for himself and surrounding he has been living in), by his simple for understanding dark, satiric humor he compensates this twist around the more narrow spread cultural theme, in order to keep the audience's attention. ]]> 2022-02-07 07:38:24 UTC https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks/wish/2032475148 Use of the unexpected, e.g. in his lists (buggery, mobile phone usage, and drug abuse) zoeploeger1 https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks/wish/2032475423 2022-02-07 07:38:34 UTC https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks/wish/2032475423 Shock humour / engagement of taboo - in his disrespect towards religion: (I guess that I too, your Excellency, should start off by kissing some god’s arse.) zoeploeger1 https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks/wish/2032476117 2022-02-07 07:39:01 UTC https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks/wish/2032476117 Alhussein Alfattah https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks/wish/2032479463 The white tiger, it seems like a letter that is humores and sarcastic but also shows us how the writer, Aravind Aviga using his,caracter's arrogance as a dark humor. He also uses and shows how people find the taboo and crossing boundries humor people find funny most of the time.]]> 2022-02-07 07:41:30 UTC https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks/wish/2032479463 shaan and anfisa g https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks/wish/2032479962 The book is essentially a letter written by Balram and directed towards Wen Jiabao. Throughout the first pages, it is clear that Balram utilizes humor through statements such as "All India Radio is usually reliable in these matters. / That was a joke / Ha!", where he utilizes satire to make fun of the radio station and possibly the government.]]> 2022-02-07 07:41:52 UTC https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks/wish/2032479962 melanie https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks/wish/2037936826 In the story, the protagonist sends a letter to the premier of China. From what I have read, I already found some things humorous. One is the use of modern, informal language, like "They’re so yesterday", and using swearwords that may make someone laugh. Another type of humour he uses is the satire, making fun of things that happen in his own country, or it's traditions and culture,  like for example: "I guess, Your Excellency, that I too should start off by kissing some god’s 
arse. Which god’s arse, though? There are so many choices." 
The fact that he is talking to a Prime minister, who he doesn't know, and he is telling him about his personal life and using informal language and inappropriate jokes, is also humorous.
]]> 2022-02-09 14:00:05 UTC https://padlet.com/zoeploeger1/Bookmarks/wish/2037936826