Author: Vikas Swarup

First published: Great Britain 2005

I have now read a book called Slumdog Millionaire, it’s about a how a poor Slumdog could win 1 Billion rupies. Is he a fraud? Is he a pure genius? I am now trying to analysis this book.

Setting

The story take place in Mumbai India. The story is told in a period between 1992 to 2006. The main person tells the story as his life goes on from he was a little boy to a grown up. The book is about how a poor Slumdog could be the first to win the TV show “Who wants to be a millionaire”.  The setting is created in the slum of Mumbai and how the life of a poor kid in India is like. The weather and conditions does not take that big of a focus in this book, but it makes it more exiting whit small details about Indian conditions. The setting is very important in the plot because people looks at Ram’s background from the slum and judge him by that. The story is written in the early 2000’s. The story takes place in the presents and the past because the TV show is now, and he tells stories from earlier in his life.

Plot

Ram Mohammed Thomas is at the police station, being questioned because he won a billion rupees in a quiz show. Not very ordinary for a Slumdog. The police suspects him for cheating in the show. After a lot of tortures, a friendly police-assistant called Smita, asks him to tell her how he knew the answers. Ram tells her his whole life-story. The special thing about this movie is that Ram is not especially smart, but he now all the answers because he has experienced events in his life where the questions is a key part. I think the plot is believable.

Characterization

The main character is Ram Mohammed Thomas. The characters are described by actions, we can understand how they are because of what they are doing. Almost every single character evolves in the book, from where they all started as playing friends in the slum, to when they took different ways in life and become totally different persons. The quality’s that is similar for every character is that they are all very independent. They are just to take care of themselves. The characters are believable.  

Point of view

The narrator and the main character is the same. The narrator in this story is Ram Mohammed Thomas. The author speaks through Ram. The story is written in 1. Person. 

Theme

The main theme in this book is that whoever you are and wherever you come from, now one can stop you from reaching your dreams, even when at the hardest times there is always light in the end of the tunnel. 

There is no place in the book where they mention this, but by reading the book you can feel it when Ram tells his life-story from a little poor kid, to all India’s favourite boy.

I liked this book very much, it was something different compared to all the other books I have read. I had a good feeling when I completed this book.