Behind the Beautiful Forever Entries

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DEJ 1 Entry #1: While reading the prologue of Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo I noticed that the author used descriptive language. For example in the quote, “A modest, missable presence was a useful thing in Annawadi, the sumpy plug of slum in which he lived. Here, in the thriving western suburbs of the Indian financial capital, three thousand people had packed into, or on top of, 335 huts. It was a continual coming-and-going of migrants from all over India - Hindus mainly, from all manner of castes and subcastes” (Boo, xi) the author mentions the location of the suburbs. She also mentions exactly how many people packed into 335 huts in Annawadi and what people specifically. What I noticed about contrast is the way three thousand people lived in such a small space. This is different to me personally because I’ve always lived in a place where my family and I have enough space. The cover of the book helps me understand how poor Mumbai is. The way the houses are built and all the garbage in the ground show this symbol of “poverty”. The quote, “One year, there was enough to eat. Another year, there was more of a home to live in. The sheet was replaced by a divider made of scraps of aluminum and, later, a well of reject bricks, which established his home as the sturdiest dwelling in the row. The feelings that washed over him when he considered the bricks diver were several: pride; fear that the quality of the bricks was so poor the wall would crumble; sensory relief. There was now a three-inch barrier between him and the One Leg…”(xvi) also helps me understand what the houses were built of and how life in Mumbai is rough since some years there was enough food and in others there wasn’t. The author’s purpose for including the prologue is to help the reader understand what the book is going to be about. It gives the reader a chance to question what the
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