In "Behind the Beautiful Forevers," Katherine Boo reminds first-world readers of how beautiful it is, particularly in contrast to those in an underground city of Mumbai. The most obvious conclusion is the poverty that cannot be overlooked in the Annawadi slum and the underlying role that economics plays in bullying less fortunate residents. The depiction of Boo's daily life is so real it hurts. Not only its tone, but the message of hopeless citizens constantly in morbid situations makes for depressing reading. Evoking that emotion in the reader is juxtaposed with descriptions of people making relentless, relentless efforts to keep working to make the best of the worst situations. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay It is difficult to see this text as an optimistic book about humanity. You might think that Abdul is one of the many children in the slum who have to grow up quickly. “For his family, Abdul's physical ability had been the most important thing. He was the workhorse, his moral judgments were irrelevant.” Not only do these children work at what appears to be a constant pace, but in some cases children are the most important workers in their families. Children who seek a successful educational path are rare, and this in turn fuels the poverty that prevents young people from finding stable employment when they grow up. With this poverty, jealousy is around the corner when others find themselves in a position to improve their life situation. . No one seems happy when someone else is successfully working to improve their home, and in some cases others are hostile. Zehrunisa forcefully highlights Annawadi's unjust lifestyle as a painful reminder. “So let them be jealous. Why shouldn't we live in a better room now that we're doing a little better?' When Sunil comes across a male street cleaner who has been hit by a car and cannot move, he ignores him and so do the others for several hours. This ruthless decision would seem more likely to be made in a war zone or a wild forest. Many other people pass by the dying street cleaner without doing anything to help him or even communicate. Nobody does anything until finally someone calls the police to report that a dead body is scaring the children. The irony is that the police asked the street cleaners to help remove their once living comrade. “The officers enlisted other scavengers to load the body into the police van, so that the officers would not catch the diseases that waste pickers are known to carry.” The role of poverty becomes a theme for most people in the slum, reluctant to show compassion towards anyone else except themselves or their close relatives. The slum is a cruel society that shows no remorse. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Even the most sheltered family members are affected by poverty in the slum. Two-year-old Lallu is constantly bitten by mice and his older brother Abdul can't do anything about it. “He could cry just looking at Lallu, who was as fearless as Abdul was unstable. All those swollen rat bites on the cheeks, on the back of the neck.” Boo points out that no one is safe, even when older children, disproportionately mature for their age, do their best. Such an effort on the part of someone like Abdul that led to a negative outcome is depressing to read in the text. When the.