Book Comparison:Slumdog Millionaire and Behind the Beautiful Forever
Slumdog Millionaire and Behind the Beautiful Forever are novels set on the slums of Mumbai. Slumdog Millionaire is a novel by an Indian author; Vikas Swarup who tells a story of a boy brought up in the slum of Mumbai and is contesting in the Who wants to be a millionaire challenge and rises against all the odds and has just one question to answer with a potential to win the grand prize. Jamal is an 18-year old orphaned boy who has grown up in the Juhu slums of Mumbai and is the main character in the novel. On the other hand, “Behind the Beautiful Forever” is novel set on the same slums of Mumbai by an American writer explaining the interconnected lifestyles of the residents of the present day Mumbai. The two novels share several differences and similarities as well, especially in the way characters are built. The novels share similar and different character traits in several characters; for example, the difference between Jamal and Abdul, Asha is similar to Salim and Manju has similar traits as Latika. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
The building of the story around main characters is different for the two novels. The Slumdog Millionaire revolves a single character for the whole story. Eighteen-year-old Jamal Malik is the main character, and the novel explains Jamal’s life from childhood to the later years when he is selected to participate in the Who wants to be a millionaire competition where the participants compete in answering questions. Jamal does not attend school but instead spends most of his time playing cricket. After the murder of Jamal’s mother, Jamal and his brother Salim travel for years throughout India on train tops to try and find something to eat. Jamal is a determined boy and spends most of his time planning for the future. Jamal is understated but polite. The police officer, for example, does not believe that Jamal could have won the competition’s prize: “Doctors, lawyers never get beyond 60k rupees…” Swarup (p. 20). Jamal also loves and is committed as he falls in love with Latika, his childhood friend whom he allowed to move into his boxcar to save her from the pouring rain. On the other hand, Behind the Beautiful Forever has no selected character for a protagonist. However, Abdul appears to be surrounded by a series of events that happen throughout the novel. Unlike Jamal, Abdul is attached to the traditions of India and is not interested in building a future for himself: “There the fact that one had to wait for too long to become successful, Abdul did not see the need to wait…” Boo (p.56). Abdul does not see the need for being ambitious since the ambition of most slum boys has brought disappointment instead of success.
Manju from the Behind the Beautiful Forever and Latika in the Slumdog Millionaire have similar character traits. Manju is entirely different from her mother Asha and seems perfect in every aspect that could be expected of a girl from Annawadi. Manju is a caring lady and decides to join college to become a teacher. Manju dreams of becoming a virtuous woman who is motivated by good deeds and defies her mother’s corrupt nature and desire to become a slumlord.” As every slum-dweller the only three ways out of poverty included, being an entrepreneur who sees opportunities, as the Husain’s saw opportunity in the garbage; using political advantage and corruption, just like Asha; and education,” Boo, (p. 45). Similarly, Latika is a good-hearted woman full of kindness and does not let people suffer while in a position to help. As a young girl, Latika was a symbol of innocence and kindness. However, life passes Latika through untold atrocities, and her innocence is replaced by bravery while her kindness remains.
The characters, Asha and Salim, are similar in that they engage in somewhat dangerous activities for the benefit of the people around them. Although the society is quick in judging the two characters, Asha and Salim do not seem distracted by the high expectations of the society concerning what is defined as good deeds. In the Slumdog Millionaire, Salim is more hard-working than his brother, Jamal. However, Salim always has Jamal’s hand, and each decision made by Salim appears to be for the benefit of Jamal. Up to his death, Salim is fighting for Jamal’s right of participation in the competition and is shot dead after killing Jamal’s enemy, Javed. In the Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Asha is hard-working and appears to be driven by the urge to become Mumbai’s slumlord. Although Asha is not presented as a morally upright lady, she understands the importance of employing some crooked ways to survive in India’s economic climate.
In sum, the two novels, Slumdog Millionaire and Behind the Beautiful Forever share several differences and similarities as well in the way characters are built. The novels share similar and different character traits in several characters; for example, Jamal and Abdul who are entirely different, Asha has the same traits with Salim and Manju has similar traits as Latika.