Name: Wilmene S. HerculeDate: 4/24/10

During Reading Notes10th Grade English

Text: Q & AAuthor: Vikas SwarupPages: 80 - 180

Characters:

Sethji- a man who comes by the juvenile home to collect boys for Maman’s school every once in a while.Mustafa- one of two men who drives Salim and Ram to Maman’s school.Punnoose- the other man that drives Salim and Ram to Maman’s school and tells Maman that Salim will bring in great profits.Maman- an Indian gangster who makes his living off of crippled kids’ begging in the street. He tries to get Salim and Ram involved in the business as beggars as well.Masterji- the Indian singing teacher who teaches Salim to sing.Colonel Charles Taylor- the abusive Australian spy who bugs his house and spies on all those who live there. He spies on the High Commissioner and works with Jeevan Kumar to get information but is eventually caught.Rebecca Taylor- the adulterous wife of Colonel Charles TaylorMaggie Taylor- the 17 year old attractive, blond headed, blue eyed, daughter of the colonel who is caught smoking.Roy- the 15 year old son of the Colonel who is caught kissing Shanti and taking drugs

Character Analysis:

Maman is a greedy Indian gangster that makes his living off of kids he cripples himself. He calls his facilities a school and provides false hope to boys at juvenile homes having them believe that his school helps to expand on their dreams. However, Maman actually does quite the opposite, sending kids into the streets to beg for money. If they do not receive at least 100 Rupees, they do not eat. In my opinion, Maman is a sad man for building his empire off of children he must make crippled. He does not fully realize the emotional and physical damage he does to them, for he treats them as if they are merely business profits. His actions provide the basis for Salim and Ram’s escape as they find out the truth behind his intentions. This ultimately does lead them both to a better life. Although some may believe that Maman is just a man trying to make a living in a place where it is very hard to, it is very hard to sympathize with him and his actions. Maman is driven by money and power always wanting more children that will serve him well and bring in pitifully earned profits. When he talks to Punnoose about the children, he does not see beggars in them, just profits that will make him even richer. He tells Punnoose that he will ‘do them tonight’ which demonstrates his lack of compassion for them.

Bhagwati- the Taylor’s 52 year old driver and gardener who is eventually fired after stealing their carShanti- the Taylor’s 18 year old maid who is in love with Ramu but is eventually fired (with pay) after kissing RoyRamu- the 25-year-old cook, who falls in love with Maggie, steals her underwear and is eventually fired for it.Jai- the older married cook who ends up robbing the Taylor’s house Jeevan Kumar- the Indian ministry of defense who helps Colonel Taylor spy on other peopleRosie- the flirtatious daughter of Alfred D’Souza who likes RamAlfred D’Souza- the somewhat abusive and money hungry bar ownerPrakash Rao- the drunk Indian who owns the button factory and who tells Ram the story of the way he killed his brother. He speaks of being put under Julie’s spells and playing a hand in the death of his brother, Arvind.Arvind Rao- the initial head of the button factory who is eventually killed off by Julie and Prakash’s voodoo.Julie- the Haitian woman who convinces Prakash to steal money and take over his brother’s place at the button factory by the use of a voodoo dollAkshay- a middle class, jealous Indian boy who Ram meets on the train. He tells the Robber about Ram’s 50,000 Rupees.Meenakshi- a pretty Indian girl, Ashkay’s sister, who Ram believes he is in love with.Nameless Robber- the Robber that robs Ram of his 50,000 Rupees, tries to rape Meenakshi, and is shot by Ram.

Blawant Singh- a crazy Indian ex soldier, who tells false stories about his experience in the Indian-Pakistani war, is caught and hangs himself.Major themes, topics or patterns:

-Money will most often drive people to do really terrible things-War is War and is never kind.-Survival, impulsive reactions, being cheated and lied to, betrayal, murder

Important quotes and page numbers:

“‘Okay. Send them out on the trains from next week. We will do them tonight. After dinner.’” (pg. 97)

“I cannot help commiserating with Mrs. Taylor. Her husband has discovered her little affair, but she doesn’t have an inkling of his own dirty secret” (pg. 121).

“But I don’t return her glances because everything has changed. I look only at the pistol in my hand and the face of the dead dacoit, who name I don’t know” (pg. 162).

Summary of major plot points:

This section of the book begins with Salim and Ram getting selected by Sethji at the juvenile home. At first Sethji selects only Salim, but is convinced that Salim and Ram are two peas in a pod and therefore must take the other if he is to take one. Salim and Ram then take a train and then are driven to Maman’s school for disabled kids in Mumbai where both Salim and Ram are given vocal lessons by Masterji. Salim performs exceptionally well while Ram is considered hopeless. Masterji, however, continues teaching both of them how to sing all the while teaching them about the great god, Krishna, which in turn, helps Ram with a W3B question. When vocal lessons are officially over, Masterji and Punnoose consult with Maman and tell him that Salim will fetch a handsome price with his voice, an estimated more than 300 rupees. Maman then tells them that he will ‘do them tonight’. Ram and Salim, however, over hear this and escape, with some difficulty, out of the “school” very close to being caught. Next, Ram speaks to Smita about his time spent working as a bartender and “maid” at Colonel Taylor’s, an Australian spy, house. He describes how well he was treated but how he could not make even one transgression because if he did, Colonel Taylor would know about it. He dubbed him, “The Man Who Knows”. Colonel Taylor, his wife and his children all treat Ram pretty well and he is pretty much living the life, earning a very large wage for his work. Ram tells Smita that he fell in love with Roy’s collection of National Geographic Magazine and that he used to play Scrabble with Maggie and Roy at times. The Taylor’s get a new puppy,

however, and when he accompanies Colonel Taylor to walking the puppy, in order to scoop up the poop, he discovers that Colonel Taylor is working with India’s very own ministry of defense, Jeeven Kumar on something top secret. Ram also speaks about Ramu, the 25-year-old cook who is fired after falling in love with the Colonel’s 17 year old daughter, Maggie and stealing a red bra from her draw. Although the bra is found under Ram’s bed, the Colonel knows that is was actually Ramu who tried to frame Ram and Ramu is fired. A new cook is hired by the name of Jai and Jai, although seemingly trustworthy to the Taylors actually tells Ram of his scheme to steal the Taylor’s money. Jai does this the very minute the Taylor’s go away for Colonel Taylor’s mother’s funeral. The robbery is a disaster as Jai does not find any money but manages to mess up the Taylor’s house. It is after the robbery that Ram discovers the tapes and cameras that Colonel Taylor contains and realizes he knows everything because he has bugged the house and the house of the High Commissioner of India and figures out that he is actually a spy. Ram is actually the one who tells on Colonel Taylor and Colonel Taylor is arrested and forced out of the country with his family leaving Ram with all the money he was owed. After the experience at the Taylor’s, Ram tells Smita about his experience working at a bar. This story centers on a drunk by the name of Prakash Rao who comes in one night sobbing nonsense about his dead brother. When Ram goes to “comfort” him, an act that he does only to earn more money for the bar, he is told the story of Julie, the Haitian voodoo woman he convinces him to steal money from his brother’s buttons franchise. When his brother, Arvind, catches him he is punished. Julie, however, greedy for money, makes a voodoo doll of Arvind that consists of a button of his as well as some of his hair and gives it to Prakash. Prakash uses the doll to his own free will and is able to harm Arvind enough so that he ended up in an asylum where they eventually kill him with tests to figure out what was wrong with him. Prakash then tells Ram that he has seen Julie for who she truly is and has actually fallen in love with another woman. He tells Ram he plans to kill Julie, however, he in the next minute or so, he dies, ironically, feeling the same pain in his chest that he had caused his own brother. The next story Ram tells Smita is about the train ride that had cost him all he had earned. On the train he meets another middle class Indian family. He begins talking to the son, Ashkay, however, feeling the need to show off, he mistakenly tells Ashkay that he is hiding 50,000 rupees in his underwear. (This section takes place just after the Colonel is caught as a spy.) The train is robbed that night and just as the robber is about to leave after taking everything valuable that was visible to him, Ashkay informs the robber of Ram’s 50,000 rupees in his underwear and Ram must give it up. The robber leaves to rob the other cars but returns and takes an interest in Meenakshi, Ashkay’s sister. Ram, however, kills the robber just as he is about to rape her and realizing what he had done, runs away from the train. The last story of the section takes place during a war between India and Pakistan and is about an ex-soldier, Balwant Singh, who tells of his experience during India’s first war with Pakistan. He tells of his bravery and the way he had charged the Pakistanis after promising one of his comrades that he would cremate him and not bury him. He tells of the way

he encountered a Pakistani soldier and killed him although he didn’t do it because he wanted to, but because it was his duty. He recounts every detail in order to show the kids that war is not a kind and happy thing. Every story he tells Smita helps his to win more money in the game show W3B.

Discussion Questions:

What would you have done if you were in Ram’s position when he found out the Colonel was a spy?

Do you think Ram would’ve gotten in trouble with the police had he stayed on the train?

What would you have done to Ashkay if you had been Ram and had just been stripped of 50,000 rupees because of him?

Confusions:N/A

Predictions: I have this hunch that Balwant may actually be lying about what had happened in the war the way he gets emotional after he tells his story. Some may say that it is because he is so emotional about the war and how the people are giving him praise, but the fact that he didn’t receive any awards for his bravery and the fact that he stalks off to be by himself makes me believe that what he tells them isn’t all truth after all.