The book is set in a slum called Annawadi in Mumbai, which is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. The slum is near the airport and within sight of several luxury hotels.
One of the main themes is that of the permanent versus the ephemeral. Most of the residents of the slum dream of moving somewhere safe and warm, instead of their current habitats of cardboard walls and plastic sheeting. They want to make some kind of mark in the world, yet they are too consumed with the day-to-day tasks of simply staying alive to think about such lofty ideas.
Another theme is that of the very rich living side by side with the very poor. The very poor actually live off the very rich peoples' garbage, selling the scraps to make a few rupees. The dehumanizing effect of poverty is another underlying theme in the story, as is the way in which the poor are treated in the greater community; the police falsely accuse residents of crimes and then demand bribes from them. They also frequently threaten to chase the slum-dwellers off the property and raze Annawadi. Food that is donated to the church for the sake of the poor is sold by nuns for a profit. The author does not judge these people for their actions, however— everyone is simply doing what they need to survive. The very poor are not saintly people; they are just trying to get by.
These slum-dwellers are not totally without hope, however. We meet a girl who is about to graduate from college, as well as a woman who wants to become a political bigwig within the slum system itself, and a boy thief who believes, in time, he will make enough money to move out of the slum and live "the full enjoy."
https://www.chicagotribune.com/ct-prj-0506-liz-column-20120504-story.html
The first important theme of Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo is the contrast between wealth and poverty in India. It is set in a slum in Mumbai which is in sight of Mumbai's international airport and many luxury hotels. Thus, we get a sharp sense of how the "new India" of successful technology companies benefiting from globalization contrasts with the "old India" living in poverty without basic modern conveniences. An important and ironic element of this contrast is the way that the slum dwellers of Annawadi make their living is by sorting through the garbage thrown out by their richer neighbors.
The second theme dominating the book is "garbage." Annawadi is a garbage dump, both in terms of the objects tossed out in the literal garbage dump and the way in which its inhabitants are viewed as human refuse by wealthier and more fortunate Indians. Just as the residents of Annawadi survive and sometimes even succeed by sorting through and finding value in other people's garbage, Boo and her readers find value and interest in the lives of the people marginalized in Annawadi.
The final important theme of the book is justice. On top of the fundamental injustice of people living in filth and poverty in the sight of luxury hotels, we also see miscarriages of justice and corruption in the Indian legal system contributing to systematic oppression and inequality.
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