In this extract from Aravind Adiga"s 2008 novel, The White Tiger, the narrator, Balram Halwai, introduces an analogy that becomes a central motif in the book"s exploration of the caste/class system in India, and the way in which this system, in concert with the central importance of family in Indian society, traps the poor majority into an existence of "perpetual servitude." Characteristic of the narrator"s style throughout...