Pragmatics Perspectives On Language Use In Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger
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Abstract
Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger is taken up in this review as a contribution to social critique through the use of language as a pragmatic tool used in the tale. Using the lens of pragmatics, this study examines through the pragmatist lens basic concepts like speech act, implicature, politeness strategies and code switching in the context of the protagonist, Balram Halwai. This analysis shows how Balram’s language use reflects his changing self-perception and his way of dealing with class dynamics and power relations in modern India. Using many pragmatic strategies, Adiga manages to present a nuanced skight of the caste system and also the struggles of the 'servant class.' The research makes Balram’s journey from subjugation to empowerment the study’s focus, and highlights language’s contribution towards propagating or subverting social norms. Finally, this paper showcases how pragmatics is essential to literary analysis and adds to this broader understanding of how language affects identity and mocks socio economic discrepancies in modern Indian society.
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References
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