Inside Looking Out
In general, it is natural to want to assume the best of human behaviour. Even when faced with devastating extremes, would not we all like to believe that humanity is still capable of good? The book Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo is a testament to the resilience of the human race, although perhaps not to its integrity. The book speaks volumes about the complexities of human life and the lengths it will go to in order to continue. It offers a glimpse into the ugliness one would expect from desperation, but also the surprising moments of beauty born from it.
When reading this book, I was initially struck by the awfulness with which the characters treated each other. Surely these people, who have been the victims of class discrimination and power abuse all their lives, should be banded together in support? Rather, it seems almost as though Annawadi is a miniaturized version of the inequalities suffered outside of it, a pocket wherein the same dynamics are played out. As Boo puts it: an “exploitation of the weak by the less weak” (28), where someone can be the victim in an instance outside of Annawadi but a perpetrator within it. I find this idea unsettling, though justified. In a place such as Annawadi survival of oneself and one’s …show more content…
In the face of extreme injustice, only the most necessary portions can remain. Self-preservation, the protection of those that contribute to your survival, ambition and the kinship of the poor (even as one tries to pull the other down) are all that can afford to stay. Boo’s book provides an unaltered snapshot into undercity life, and all the wonderful and terrible happenings within it. For once, we can be on the inside looking out. We can step into this pocket of humanity, trying our hardest all the while to understand the motivations behind its
In general, it is natural to want to assume the best of human behaviour. Even when faced with devastating extremes, would not we all like to believe that humanity is still capable of good? The book Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo is a testament to the resilience of the human race, although perhaps not to its integrity. The book speaks volumes about the complexities of human life and the lengths it will go to in order to continue. It offers a glimpse into the ugliness one would expect from desperation, but also the surprising moments of beauty born from it.
When reading this book, I was initially struck by the awfulness with which the characters treated each other. Surely these people, who have been the victims of class discrimination and power abuse all their lives, should be banded together in support? Rather, it seems almost as though Annawadi is a miniaturized version of the inequalities suffered outside of it, a pocket wherein the same dynamics are played out. As Boo puts it: an “exploitation of the weak by the less weak” (28), where someone can be the victim in an instance outside of Annawadi but a perpetrator within it. I find this idea unsettling, though justified. In a place such as Annawadi survival of oneself and one’s …show more content…
In the face of extreme injustice, only the most necessary portions can remain. Self-preservation, the protection of those that contribute to your survival, ambition and the kinship of the poor (even as one tries to pull the other down) are all that can afford to stay. Boo’s book provides an unaltered snapshot into undercity life, and all the wonderful and terrible happenings within it. For once, we can be on the inside looking out. We can step into this pocket of humanity, trying our hardest all the while to understand the motivations behind its