Slumdog Millionaire vs.

The White Tiger

1 2 3

Today in class (April 28 and 30th) we are watching ​Slumdog Millionaire.

The purpose of this film is to give you context for the novel ​The White Tiger,​ which we are
studying together, and to give you an understanding of one of the greatest themes of the novel:
rising out of poverty and reaching success.

As you watch the movie, you will take notes on the scenes that you observe. Later, while you
read ​The White Tiger​, you will fill in this chart with observations you have from the book.

Make a copy of this chart, and save it in your own google drive. We will refer back to this chart
as we read ​The White Tiger​, and we will have a Harkness to compare the movie and the novel
once we have read ​The White Tiger​. During our Harkness, you will be asked to use these notes!

Areas of Comparison Slumdog Millionaire The White Tiger

Setting: - Arch: Taj Mahal - India

Record all of the imagery from - Setting: Mumbai, India - Darkness→ poor
the film that depicts the - Game Show - Light→ wealth
setting. Take note of particular - Police Station→ split the truth - born in the darkness but thrived in
aspects such as: - Poverty>Wealth the light
→ Landscape; architecture; - Bangalore
poverty; wealth
and anything else you might
notice

1
<​http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/The_White_Tiger.JPG​>
2
<​http://www.indiafolks.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/india-neighbouring-countrie.jpg​>
3
<​http://www.movie-blogger.com/sites/default/files/slumdog%20(1).jpg​>
Childhood:
Both works depict the
childhood of their protagonists.
Make note of how ​The White
Tiger d​ escribes Balram’s
experiences in childhood.
You will also take note of
Jamal’s childhood
experiences. How are they
similar? How are they
different?
Theme: Self improvement
In both of these works, we
have two characters who rely
only on themselves to improve
their position in life. Describe
how this is apparent in
Slumdog Millionaire ​and in
The White Tiger.​
Theme: Poverty vs. Wealth
Take note on how the theme
of poverty and wealth is
developed in both works.
What message are these
works trying to convey about
the theme of poverty and
wealth? What does someone
in India have to do to transition
from one world to the other?
Structure (style)​:
How do both works use
“flashbacks” to paint a picture
of the lives of their main
characters? Why do you think
that flashbacks are an
effective tool for both of these
works?
- Lived in slums
- Mother got killed by Muslims
- Protagonist → Jamal Malik
- Brother→ Salim Malik
- First Love → Latika
- Got into a person who owns
beggars→ almost got blind since
blinds singers got double $
(Salim saved them) → ran away
together
- Lived by themselves by stealing
and being fake tour guides
- Tried finding work
- Lived on their own
- Went to game show to earn
money
- Recalled his experiences
- Fueled by love
- Started his job from stealing then
moved on to do more honest
jobs
- In order to find Latika, try to play
the millionaire game and wins it
- Portrays India absolute poverty
- The rich will act arrogant
- Rich= do whatever they want
- Poor= steal and find ways to
keep themselves alive (ex. steal
food on trains, steal shoes to
sell, fake tour guides)
- Poor do anything to survive, but
still has to live under the rich’s
command
- Rich uses the poor as if they are
their belongings
- Flashbacks of experiences help
him answers the question
- Flashbacks show his childhood
and all his tragic experiences
- Got him money
- Poor
- Got forced out of school
- Father wanted him to learn, but
Kusum took him out because of
the marriage that left their family
in debt
- The only one who could read and
write in his school and family
- Corruption of India
- Doesn’t want to be stuck in the
lower caste for the rest of his life
- Took extreme measures to build
his like
- Took action
- Got successful by starting his
own business
- Poverty is something that many
people in India are experiencing,
their goal is to be successful in
order to get rid of poverty
- Both are at the extremes
- Steals from people who are as
poor as them
- Need to have money to climb, but
also the ability to make use of
that money
- Flashbacks help compare their
past and their present and how
much they have progressed
throughout the period of time
- Told the story from the
perspective after the narrator has
thrived in life
- The whole book is a flashback
- Makes it easier to understand
 - While in the flashbacks, he also
add snippets and comments to
further our understanding and
thinking

Article Comparison and “The - Breaks a single story - Indians→ poor

Single Story”
You will read the following
article, particularly paragraph
9/10:
http://www.newsclick.in/india/s
lumdog-tiger
We will consider the question
of the Single Story, and the
controversy around both ​The
White Tiger​ and ​Slumdog
Millionaire.​ How do
Chimamanda Adichi’s words
about the danger of the single
story relate to our reading and
viewing experiences with
these works?
- Presents India’s citizens in a
new light
- Jamal→ fueled by love, not
selfishness
- Salim→ chose the gangster
path, but sacrificed himself for
his brother’s happiness in the
end
- More slums than cities
- Creates but breaks a single story
- There are corruptions and the
poor/rich divide
- Shows that they can climb the
caste staircase as well
- Mocks the poor
- Show acts of murder done by the
poor to climb the caste
- Break: rose from the poor
(corrupted like Salim)

Notes:
- Fits Single Story
- Caste system in White Tiger
- born in the lower caste
- Gain money > Education (for lower caste)
- Half-baked
- forced out of school (not much education)
- Rich vs poor = When dress poorly no enter mall, When dress nicely enter mall
plz
- Religion = The first choice driver is muslim = no job for you
-

- Similarities
- Prostitutes
- Human Trafficking
- Balram=Jamal+Salim
- Killing helps gain money (motivated by $$$) → driven by ego
- Death of mother→ affected childhood+thinking
- Rich→ richer, poor tries to follow what the rich does to get rich