Slumdog Millionaire (pgs 61-80)

Summary: With advancing forward in the book, I start to realize how the structure of the book is set up. Each chapter relates to one question on the 12 question quiz show "W3B". I realized that because at the end of every chapter, it refers back to the beginning of the book where the video tape of the "W3B" episode with Ram featured in it. Well what happens in these pages is basically Mr. Shantaram (a drunkard) harming his wife and daughter and Ram is next door listening in on all of this.


Quote: " One night he exceeds all limits and throws a piping hot cup of tea at his wife. Gudiya tries to shield her mother, and the burning liquid falls on her instead, scalding her face. She shrieks in agony. Shantaram is so drunk he doesn't even realize what he has done" (Swarup 62).


Reaction: I didn't really have a surprising reaction because usually people who are drunk are going to act out and end up doing something such as this. I would say that the only thing that may have threw me off was that this man was never found out about (yet). The only reason why he isn't found out yet is because Ram keeps his mouth shut and is really letting Mr. Shantaram get away with things here. Let's see what happens later on in the book...

Slumdog millionaire (pgs 1-60)

Summary: The book I chose for Term 3 ROAR is Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup. So far I have been able to understand the gist of the book. I also have been able to see that this book will have an interesting resolution if what happens in these first 60 pages continues to go on throughout the book. The main point of this book is that a character named Ram Mohammad Thomas is accused of answering all 12 questions correctly on W3B (Who Will Win a Billion). The reason he is being accused of this is because the show has not aired on TV in a large number of places and therefore, people are suspicious. Ram lives in a town called Dharavi and Dharavi is a place where the police are always lurking. Ram is also an orphan who lives with two priests. So basically what happens in these 60 pages is that Ram got accused, arrested, and interrogated for winning the 1 billion dollar prize on W3B. He ends up not getting the 1 billion dollars but now the book has him living with two priests and so far, it seems pretty interesting.


Quote: "The Brain is not an organ we are authorized to use. We are supposed to use only our hands and legs" (Swarup 2).


Reaction: My interpretation of this quote is that Ram believes that we should not be allowed to use our brains. I disagree with that because knowing how to do things require using our brains. You literally can not do anything if you don't use your brain. Your brain is arguably the most important organ in your body so therefore, we should indeed be authorized to use our brain, and we can use our hands and legs too.