Onomastic Study of

the Names in The

White Tiger

Prepared by
Asha Dhedhi
Department of English
(MKBU)
Objectives of My Presentation
▪ Analyse the Significance of naming in literary text
▪ Study whether the names used in text are relevant to
the storyline or not?
▪ What could be the supposed intention of the author
behind pursuing a particular name?
▪ Are these names related to the themes or structure of
the text?
 What do we mean by
Onomastic Study of Names?
“Onomastics is the study of the history, etymology
and use of proper names.” (Oxford Dictionary)

Purely Referential
Proper
Names Define relationship between
name and personality
 Hydronymy Anthroponymy Onomatology Oronymy

Chrematonymy Hodonymy Toponymy

Different Branches of Onomastics

What Literary Onomastics do?
Literary Onomastics is a more specialised
literary criticism in which scholars are
concerned with the levels of signifjcance of
names, in drama, poetry, fiction and folklore.
These include names of places, characters,
cosmic symbols, etc., as they relate to theme,
structure and other literary consideration.
(Grace Alvarez Altman) 5
Different types of Analysis for Names
▪ Etymological Analysis
▪ Encyclopedic Analysis
▪ Discourse (text) Level Analysis
▪ Functional Analysis
▪ Cognitive Analysis
▪ Pragmatic Analysis
▪ Cultural Analysis
▪ Geographical Significance 6
Metamorphosis/Transformati
on of the Protagonist

Balram The White Ashok

Munna
Halwai Tiger Sharma

Tea Shop Successful

worker Entrepreneur
 Balram Halwai
● Hindu Origin ● Sweet Maker
● Mythological reference ● Lower Caste
- Reincarnation of God ● Halwa - Sweet
● Krishna's or Rama’s
Sidekick "Halwai…" He turned to the
small dark man. "What caste
is that, top or bottom?" And
I knew that my future
depended on the answer to
this question.
(Second night Pg. 36)
Image Source: names.org 8
 Ashok
● Historical Connection
(Great ancient Emperor)
● Literal Meaning -
Absence of pain and
sorrow
Yes, Ashok! That's what I call
myself these days. Ashok Sharma,
North Indian entrepreneur, settled
in Bangalore.
(The Seventh Night Pg. 180)
Sharma
● Brahmin Hindu Surname
● Positive Connotation
● Joyfullness or
Happiness
I'll say it was all worthwhile to
know, just for a day, just for an
hour, just for a minute, what it
means not to be a servant.
(The Seventh Night Pg. 192)
9
 The White Tiger

The White Tiger

Balram's Nickname
Taxi Drivers
● Clever and Intelligent boy
● Nickname earned by Balram for being the smartest
boy in class
● Rrarest of animals— the creature that comes
along only once in a generation - The White Tiger
● Unique in Jungle
 Animal Imagery in Names

“One of the devices of portraying the landlords of the

village lies in his use of animal characters which
appears close to the art of Orwell in his novel
‘The Animal Farm’.”
(M.Q. Khan in ‘The White Tiger: A critique’)
 Four Landlords

The Stork The Wild Boar The Buffalo The Raven

Owner of the He is owner of all the The greediest Owner of the worst,
Riverside, collect tax fertile and among all landlords dry, deserted land
from fishermen and agricultural land collect taxes for
around Laxmangarh
near Lakshmangarh
boaters Roads
 Let’s sum up...
● Polyanthroponimical Technique of naming is used by Adiga
in the transformational name of Balram Halwai
● Name Symbolism technique which is introduced by George
Sommer is used here to give Animal Imagery to human
characters.
● The name of the characters have Historical, Mythological,
Cultural as well as linguistic Significance
 Citations
● Altman, Grace Alvarez. “Literary Onomastics Typology: Analytic Guidelines to
Literary Onomastics Studies.” Digitalcommons.brockport.
http://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/los/vol8/iss1/21. Accessed 24 Apr 2021.
● Adiga, Arvind. “The White Tiger”. Free Press , 2008. Academia.edu. Accessed 24 Apr
2021.
● Greaney, Phil. “Aravind Adiga's 'The White Tiger': the Story of a Name.” Keep Calm
and Curry On, 12 Apr. 2012,
keepcalmandcurryon.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/aravind-adigas-the-white-tiger-t
he-story-of-a-name/.
● Image Source: “Origin and Meaning of Balram.” Names,
www.names.org/n/balram/. Accessed 24 Apr 2021.
● Kasbekar, Sushama. “Use Of Imagery And Metaphor In Aravind Adiga’s The White
Tiger.” Lingua Cultura, vol. 5, no. 2, 2011, pp. 108–114., doi:10.21512/lc.v5i2.381.
 Citations
● Khan, M. Q. “The White Tiger: A Critique”. vol.1, no.2, 2009.
http://www.inflibnet.ac.in/ojs/index.php/JLCMS/article/viewFile/34/32.
● “ONOMASTIC: Definition of ONOMASTIC by Oxford Dictionary.” Lexico
Dictionaries English, www.lexico.com/definition/onomastic. Accessed 24 Apr.
2021
● “Onomastic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster,
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/onomastic. Accessed 24 Apr.
2021.
● Robustova, Veronica, director. Name – Symbol or Onomastic Code of Culture.
YouTube, 16 Jan. 2021, youtu.be/ayjB_Xn3_gw.
● Shanmugan, Mr. N., and Dr. L. Suresh. “METAMORPHOSIS IN ARVIND ADIGA’S
THE WHITE TIGER.” Journal of Xi'an University of Architecture &
Technology, vol. 12, no. 3, 2020, pp. 3856–3860., doi:Issn No : 1006-7930.
Accessed 25 Apr. 2021.
Thanks!
Any questions?
You can find me at
ashadhedhi1806@gmail.com