“But Fatima thought wretched years should be rounded out by a few good one, which she had yet to have” (72) Boo continues to characterize Fatima by showing the reader that she is slightly superstitious and believes in the balancing of life’s fair and unfair events. “… the rain came down like nails. ” (73) The author’s use of a simile gives the reader a sense of the rain’s sharpness by comparing it to nails. This helps to develop the setting. “… but to judge by the piles, the Muslim garbage people were less poor than had been assumed. (85) This passage gives the reader and the Husain family hope when they realize that the family isn’t as poor as they seem.
“If the bulldozers came to flatten the slum, a decent hut was seen as a kind of insurance. ” (86) Since the quality of life in the slums is improving, (measured by the quality of the huts) the airport that owns the land the squatters are on hold off on bulldozing the slums. The airport believes they will get some kind of benefit from leaving the slums to develop. “‘She’s going to die, and it will be a 302,’ and officer told Abdul, with what sounded to the boy like delight. (104) It’s appalling that the officer would be delighted at all considering that the person is going to die. An officer’s job is to help and protect the people, yet this officer seems to take delight in the suffering of the people.
“Rain banged on the metal rooftops as if slum zebras were stampeding overhead. ” (116) Boo uses a simile to help the reader visualize the setting in more detail. By comparing the rain to stampeding zebras, the reader gets a sense for the intensity of the rain’s noise. “… a moment in which the single word in Zehrunisa’s head was ‘qayamat,’ the end of the world. (120) The author’s use of a different language in this passage allows the reader to understand Zehrunisa’s feelings more closely since the word is in the character’s language. Part Three “Their village relatives inspected their faces, finding evidence of how good life was in the Mumbai slums” (135) It’s unsettling that the condition of one’s life can be understood by inspecting one’s face.
The fact that these village relatives can do that emphasizes the fact that the Mumbai slums are dirty and leave visible marks on its inhabitants. She’d been distinguished by her ability to work like a donkey even when she hadn’t eaten for days” (136) Boo uses a simile to describe the character’s hard working nature. By using a simile, Boo characterizes the person in a more meaningful way. “An urban, college-going girl was a firework in the village. ” (140) Boo’s use of a metaphor shows how out of place an urban, college girl is in a place like that village. It helps the reader compare their normal life to the poverty-stricken lives of the characters in the story. “… onstables enlisted other scavengers to load the body into a police van, so that the constables wouldn’t catch the diseases that trash pickers were known to carry. ” (153)
It’s depressing how the police in Annawadi are willing to take advantage of less fortunate people to prevent themselves from being ill. “His breath smelled worse than that of the slum’s rotten-food-eating pigs” (157) Boo uses hyperbole here to help the reader experience the stench of this person’s breath. The hyperbole also helps characterize the person in a more memorable way. It was as if the huts had fallen out of the sky and gotten smushed upon landing” (159) The author uses figurative language to describe the setting in a more imaginative and attention-getting way. This also helps the reader visualize the setting in more detail. “Being misunderstood was better than being trapped between a drug dealer and the police, however” (160) Kalu’s understanding that his former situation was the lesser of the two evils allows him to focus on how his life is, rather than what it could be.
“Which saints and gods to ollow was something about with many road boys had strong feelings” (161) The introduction of the boys’ religion helps the reader understand the personality of all the characters in the story. Due to their hardships, the boys turn to religion to help them make sense of their world and help them get through life. “Boy’s dead,’ he said with a frown, and she barely had time to grieve when he sped away, because the next thing she heard was the sound of Abdul breaking down. ” (167) The sad tone of this passage emphasizes the impact of the boy’s sudden death.
The quick transition away from the boy’s death doesn’t give the reader a chance to react to this death and helps keep the story moving. “He couldn’t remember the mechanics of breathing, and began to speak in a clipped, frantic tone. ” (167) The author uses a creative way to say Abdul is breathless and shocked by Kalu’s death. This shows how Abdul is uncertain and doesn’t know what to do, which is consistent with his character. Part Four “Her main regret was the lack of a confidante with whom to relish this fledgling triumph” (178) In her quest for power, Asha isolated herself from others.
When she finally comes into power she realizes this and regrets it, however, this isolation is consistent with her hard-working nature. “Annawadians were in need of exuberant distraction, as a recession that had begun in the West arrived in India” (181) It’s sad how even though the Annawadians work so hard to stay alive, something always comes to push them back down into poverty. However, they manage to stay positive in this passage by finding exuberant distractions. “Her friend was sitting in the doorway, looking out at the tidy maidan.
This was odd. Meena’s parents didn’t let her sit on the stoop – said it gave a girl a loose reputation” (185) This passage most likely foreshadows some sort of shocking development due to how the narrator points out that something is off with Meena’s behavior. “He was interested when the television said the terrorists might have bombs. The bombs in his second-favorite video game, Bomberman, were black and round with long sizzle-fuses. Circus music played when they exploded. (192) This passage reveals Sunil’s innocence by showing how he doesn’t understand the meaning of the terrorists’ bombs. In his mind, all he sees is part of his second-favorite video game and doesn’t realize what could happen if the speculations of bombings could be true.
“Sonu deputized Sunil to catch frogs at Naupada slum, since Naupada frogs tasted better than the sewage-lake ones. ” (193) This passage gives the reader a better understanding of the environment by saying that the environment affects the wildlife in such a way that makes the wildlife in a certain area worse for food. In February, his own trail approaching, he began to follow trials across India in the Urdu papers the way other Annawadians followed soap operas. ” (200) Boo uses an analogy to show Karam’s fervent following of trials. Watchers of soap operas and TV in general tend to follow their shows very closely, which helps the reader understand how closely Karam follows the trials.
“She wished she hadn’t said, during the fight with Fatima, that she would twist off her neighbor’s other leg; she wished her father hadn’t threatened Fatima up. (203) During fights people tend to say things they regret and this feeling of regret is magnified when misfortune falls upon one of the people in the fight. This shows how one should be careful with what they say because it might be the last thing the other person remembers of you. “… licking at us like dogs, sucking what is left of our blood… ” (213) The author uses a simile to describe how the police beg for money. The police must be very desperate to lower themselves to the point of begging like dogs to get money. “… Abdul found that he felt light.
Annawadi tragedies did not rank here. No one knew of Fatima, or of his family’s trial, or of Kalu’s death, or that Sanjay and Meena had eaten rat poison. ” (217) Since new people are moving into Annawadi, Abdul feels as though his worries are being washed away since nobody will remember the tragedies of the past. This will help Abdul cope and move on with his life. “Manju was distressed to see her mother curled up, making a cave of herself, though she knew better than to ask why. Instead she said, ‘Not like you, Mummy, sitting still. (222)
This passage seems to foreshadow a possible unfortunate event for Manju’s mother. Given the setting of the story and past deaths in the story, it’s safe to assume that Manju’s mother might die. “The Beautiful Forever wall came down, and in two days, the sewage lake had brought dengue fever and malaria to the slum was filled in, its expanse leveled in preparation for some new development. ” (232) The tearing down of the wall is symbolic and marks the end of the story. The wall also seems to have been a kind of protection considering how the dengue fever and malaria came after the wall came down.
The passage also seems to suggest the slums might be torn down to be developed. “Public outrage built, and newspaper headlines multiplied. ‘On the Dead Horse Trail: An Exclusive Investigation. ‘ ‘Minutes After Horses’ Death, Cops Knew About It; No Case Even Now! ” (235) It’s sad how the newspaper focuses on the horses rather than the people who died, since it seems as though the lives of the horses are valued more than the lives of Fatima and Kalu. This shows how little the government cares about the people in the slums.