Behind the Beautiful Forevers Essay Questions

How does religion factor into the social dynamics of Annawadi?

Asha, the acting slumlord of Annawadi, is a liaison between the residents of Annawadi and government officials like the Corporator. The slum dwellers' enfranchisement depends upon Asha's willingness to represent them to the powers-that-be. However, Asha works for Shiv Sena, a political party with a firm stance against Muslims and northern migrants. Muslims are a small minority of people who live in Annawadi, and among them are the Husains and Fatima. Their interests are often underrepresented, and their testimonies are undervalued by officials. Boo points out that Muslim boys are vastly overrepresented in the Indian juvenile corrections system for the same discriminatory reasons.

Discuss how corruption contributes or alleviates poverty for residents of Annawadi.

Boo notes that many poor residents of Mumbai, and India in general, interpret the word corruption differently than some do in the West. Corruption is seen as an opportunity to bend the system towards one's own goals. Asha certainly believes this to be true. However, the trials of the Husain family demonstrate that, just as easily as corruption can improve one's lot in life, it can also destroy many more lives in the process. There is no cap on corruption and extortion, so as Zehrunisa tries to navigate the long list of officials and bureaucrats with their hands held out for payment, by the time Karam and Kehkashan are in front of a judge, their family business is destroyed and there is barely money left to feed the children at home. Large scale corruption schemes, like the education scheme that Asha ends up profiting from in the end of the book, prevent government initiatives from benefiting the people who need them most, the people for whom they are designed.

Katherine Boo discusses an Indian national myth that romanticizes "instability and adaptation" (219). Discuss the motivations of Indian officials and the ruling class to perpetuate such a myth.

Boo describes a national mythology in India that attributes the inventiveness of its citizens to the unpredictability of life in India, in a way excusing the shortcomings of Indian government and policy, suggesting that the unpredictability and unreliability of resources has, in fact, contributed to their national successes. The elite in India are motivated to perpetuate this myth for the same reason that capitalists in America want the poor to buy into the idea that America is a land of opportunity and a total meritocracy. If the poor can be convinced that it is entirely their fault that they are poor, or that "poverty isn't destiny," then it takes the pressure off of the government and those with whom most of the countries wealth is concentrated, to alleviate the obstacles of poverty and provide a better quality of life for all people.

Discuss gender dynamics in Annawadi. How do these dynamics compare to those in the overcity?

Boo documents the double marginalization of impoverished women while also demonstrating how some women in Annawadi hold most of the decision-making power in their households. Zehrunisa Husain is the primary authority figure in her family. Her husband Karam is rendered unable to work by his chronic respiratory illness, so she takes it upon herself to ensure her sons work hard to earn a living, her other children stay in school and her daughters are married. When her husband and daughter are put in jail, Zehrunisa navigates the complex world of red tape and cruel legal inefficiency on her own, without complaint. And it is no secret among family members that the real decision-making power lies with Zehrunisa. When Kehkashan gets into a pivotal argument with Fatima and Karam threatens to beat Fatima for calling her a prostitute, Kehkashan immediately suggests that instead of making any rash decisions, they should check on Zehrunisa because, Boo writes, "Kehkashan understood where the family authority resided in a crisis" (94).

In Annawadi, Zehrunisa is able to haggle alongside her son, use foul language, and go about without a face covering. She fears that if they move to Vasai, in the overcity, that she will lose a lot of the relative freedom she has in Annawadi, where manners and social conventions fall behind survival in their importance.

Asha is another example of a strong female figure that subverts the normal dynamic of her culture. Her husband is described as a good-for-nothing drunkard, who shares none of her ambitious spirit or work ethic. Through means of corruption and sexual relations with several prominent officials, Asha manages to chart a better course for her children's lives. The women of Annawadi defy patriarchy in a quiet, understated manner. Their reason for exercising firm authority in their homes and community is not one of determination to ensure equality of the sexes, but instead one of necessity. If they do not take up the reins of power, their children will be doomed to live the same wretched existence.

How do law enforcement officers manipulate Kalu's death in order to arrest more innocent young men?

Kalu is murdered while sleeping on Airports Authority property. Abdul suspects that his murderers are drug dealers who found out that Kalu was informing on them to Mumbai police. Mumbai police, instead of investigating the murder, file it away as a TB related death. Instead of informing the public of their decision to rule out murder in Kalu's death, they allow the residents of Annawadi to go on thinking that his death is an open investigation. However, the corruption of Mumbai police is so well-known that the garbage pickers fear that if they get in trouble with the police, they could be falsely accused of murdering Kalu. The police use Kalu's murder investigation as an excuse to arrest young men without cause. One young man named Sanjay is so fearful that he will be accused of Kalu's murder that he kills himself with rat poison.