In-depth Essay: Exploring Themes in 'Behind the Beautiful Forevers'

This essay provides an analysis of Katherine Boo's "Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai City," focusing on the interconnected lives of slum dwellers in Mumbai. The essay highlights the realistic portrayal of daily challenges faced by the residents, such as poverty, illiteracy, and disease. It emphasizes the character of Abdul, whose integrity and dedication serve as a moral compass in the story, inspiring readers with his principled approach to life despite financial hardships. The essay concludes by noting the author's effective capture of slum life and the genuine emotions portrayed by the characters, making the story both baffling and interesting. Desklib offers a variety of resources, including past papers and solved assignments, to support students in their academic endeavors.

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English
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Introduction
The novel “Behind the beautiful forever: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai City” by
Katherine Boo captures the life of various slum dwellers in the Mumbai city (Boo, 2014). She
has tried to showcase the daily life and dreams of the people who live below the poverty line
in the Indian city. It is a non-fictional book that portrays the real-life challenges of many
people in the developing country. The thesis statement is the interconnected lives of various
characters have been described in the story by Katherine. The story takes place in
“Annawadi”. The story is unique since the author believes that every character represents a
part of her.
Living conditions and other aspects of life in the slum
The non-fictional theme has been used by Katherine while writing the story so that the actual
living conditions of the slum people can be portrayed in the most realistic manner. The daily
issues and challenges that are faced by the residents such as poverty, illiteracy, hunger, dirt,
disease, lack of hygiene, etc are highlighted in the book.
Various characters have been introduced like Abdul, a person who sorts garbage in the
specific slum, Karam and Zehrunisa, his parents, and Mirchi, his younger brother. Sunil is
another young resident of Annawadi who looks for trash so that he can sell them to Abdul
(Boo, 2014, pp 25). The different characters have been highlighted so that the living
conditions of the people can be portrayed in an accurate manner. Different things like
violence, crime, theft, malnutrition, etc that are faced by the inhabitants on a daily basis form
the structure of the story. The story is an attempt to paint the life of people living in the slum
setting.
Key characteristic of the book which made the strongest impression

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The major characteristic of the book that makes the strongest impression on me as a reader is
the integrity of Abdul (Boo, 2014, pp 53). Even though the young boy has gone through
various challenges at a very young age due to the poverty setting, he believes in his hard
work and dedication. He tries to support his entire family of eleven members by working as a
hard working garbage sorter in the locality. He makes a genuine attempt to instill positive
characteristics in another fellow slum dweller named Sunil. He advises Sunil and other boys
to stop stealing. After he goes to the Dongri jail he himself stops purchasing any kind of
recycled products that have been stolen.
The main reason that makes it the key characteristic of the book is that integrity, dedication
and hard work can be portrayed by any individual irrespective of their financial condition. In
spite of having no financial stability, Abdul serves as the story’s moral compass. His honest
principles to lead life inspire the reader to act as a responsible individual.
Describing the person
Abdul is surely the key character in the story. He is the oldest son of the Husain family who
knows his duties and responsibilities. He believes that by adopting an honest and
hardworking approach he can go ahead in his life. He also tries to make positive changes
around himself. He gives valuable advice to the fellow slum boys so that they would prohibit
from stealing. His strong moral integrity shows that he is a dedicated individual who believes
in following a principled path in spite of having various challenges in his life (Boo, 2014,
pp ).
Abdul has a big family which makes his financial condition even more challenging for him.
Since he is a Muslim it adds on to his challenges in life. Various challenges in his life have
been showcased in the book where it shows the ups and downs that he has gone through in
his entire life. But the most influencing part is the dedication that is seen in the young boy at

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such an early age. He is seen taking good decisions which made him achieve a better place in
his life. His sense of responsibility makes him unique and inspiring.
Conclusion
In the story, Katherine has very effectively captured the attention of the readers by
showcasing the slum life of people in a realistic manner. The various living conditions and
challenges that have been highlighted in the story are something that almost every individual
can relate to at some point in time. The characters that have been featured in the book show
genuine emotions and undergo real challenges. These aspects make the story very baffling
and interesting.
References
Boo, K. (2014). Behind the beautiful forevers: Life, death, and hope in a Mumbai undercity.
Random House Trade Paperbacks. pp 10-190