“I cannot be better, because of how the world is”: the origin of corruption
As a citizen in the first world, I was consistently exposed to the idea that third world countries are not just economically impoverished but also less humane and civilized. In my grade 5 environment unit, I was taught that China and India were “evil” for only using non-renewable resources and cutting funding to clean energy. It makes sense, given India’s history of colonialization, limited resources, and large population that people would resort to corruption and underhanded dealings. However, I am more astonished that many people do try to be good. Katherine Boo presents within Behind the Beautiful Forevers a microcosm of society in the slums of Annawadi. Some individuals in the novel try to preserve their dignity despite the systematic oppression against them, and some submit wholly into corruption and exploitation. Hence, what can this book reveal about the origin of corruption in individuals? In a society of extreme poverty and injustice, is it possible to remain virtuous?
Corruption is defined as the dishonest conduct one performs for illegitimate private gain (Paskal). To determine where corruption
…show more content…
Can we really hold the poor to the same moral code we possess while we comfortably sit in our homes? It amazes me that hope can be such a powerful thing. Throughout Behind the Beautiful Forevers, it is hope and idealism that led Abdul to try and preserve his dignity in face of injustice, and yet it is the desperation of everyone around him that led to corruption in the first place. Abdul berates himself, knowing that “I cannot be better, because of how the world is” (Boo 241). I am fortunate that I can afford to hold myself to high moral standards. It is enough, I would say, that Abdul and Sunil and Manju and Asha try to do better for themselves until they could do the
In Annawadi, the slum setting of the book “Behind the Beautiful Forevers,” nearly everything falls under the law of the free market. Things that most countries deem “basic rights,” the Indian people of Annawadi have to pay for. Clean water, education, and medical attention from hospitals are just a few things that are exploited by police officers, gangs and slumlords. The liberalization of India caused the country to begin a process of economic reform. People from the countryside flocked to the cities to find work in the new booming economy that no longer depended on its agriculture. With the increase in population around the bustling cities, came competiveness for opportunity. This competiveness made poverty rates skyrocket, making corruption (and corrupt activities) in Annawadi the only clear way of making it out of the slums. “In the West, and among some in the Indian elite, this word, corruption, had purely negative connotations; it was seen as blocking India’s modern, global ambitions. But for the poor of the country where corruption thieved a great deal of opportunity, corrupti...
No matter the walk you take in life at the end of the day are you rich with love, respect and honor. Or, are you poverty stricken simply because you choose not to allow love, respect and honor to shine through. Not only on yourself but, also on those around you. In life a hard lesson needs to be learned and we can only learn this for ourselves, be rich because of who you are and not what you have because in the end people will not remember the house you had, the material possessions you bought or gifts that you gave, what they will remember is if you held your head high, even through the rough times, the respect you gave and most importantly, the love you
When dealing with corruption, first question to ask or to clarify is what corruption is. NSW Research (2002) describes corruption anything from gaining materialistically by virtue of position (for eg. getting a special discount at stores) to engaging in ‘direct criminal activities’ (eg. selling drugs). Newburn (1999) believes that there is a thin line between the definition of ‘corrupt’ and ‘non-corrupt’ activities as at the end, it is an ethical problem. For common people, however, bribery generalises corruption.
...oes not show emotion to either side, which truly makes a difference. I am astounded that the slum dwellers of Annawadi are doing what they can to make it through the day, attempting to fulfill Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs of the Western world. This development into a Western country was short-cut ridden, the result of corruption and social structural factors that cause widespread poverty. The other side of greed is apparent within this non-fiction text, a moving text published by Katherine Boo.
Afterwards, they should start to help themselves and try to improve their lives independently. There is a difference between someone trying to help themselves and someone who lives at the expense of a higher class. This demonstrates that a person who has not done their part cannot be compared to a person who has done their part in this world. We should help one another by giving each other chances so that we can all reach a higher class. In Barbara Ehrenreich’s, “Nickel and Dimed On (Not) Getting By in America,” she emphasizes how difficult it is for the lower class to earn a living.
...amily members may cling to the idea that people experiencing poverty deserve to because admitting that individuals affected by poverty may not be responsible for their own challenges would cause too much discomfort. Questioning the concept of the undeserving poor, would affect those who adhere to it by causing them to question other cultural ideals. For instance, if my friend were to admit that poverty is not linked to deservingness, then my friend’s success is not linked to deservingness; this in turn, may challenge my friend’s own feelings of being exceptional and may make him question the reasons behind his own success. In addition, people may choose to believe the poverty myths about deservingness because it is safer for their self-perceptions than admitting that they are okay with and prospering in a social, political, and economic systems that harm others.
Further explained by Boo, “the poor of a country where corruption thieved a great deal of opportunity, corruption was one of the genuine opportunities that remained” ( 566). Boos uses a female resident at Annawadi to allow readers to sympathize those who use corruption to advance. When readers encounter Annawadi inhabitants, one of the first citizens, Asha, is described as the slumlord’s wife who yearns to be in a position of power. In her pursuit to establish money and power, Asha creates false schools and nonprofit organizations for government funding. However, Boo turns a normally despicable situation into one of piteous pursuit. Asha yearns to become better than her previous life in a farming village, where laborious work brought death upon the population and gave fruitless results, and will do anything to improve herself. Similar to how others “prospered”, many impoverished residents in India turn to nefarious acts for money, power and a higher status, at the expense of others in similar circumstances. Boo describes this as “...Powerless individuals blamed other powerless individuals for what they lacked…[and] tr[y] to destroy each other” (3302). Boo allowed readers to identify with individuals who use fraud, bribery, and other elements of corruption to be liberated from the cycle of poverty. (226
For all Annawadians except Asha, corruption ingrained in society prevents the impoverished citizens of a Mumbai slum from being able to become successful in life. Despite working hard, saving money, and only wanting to better the life of their family, the Husains’s story is demonstrative of the fact that an unintentional entanglement in the “great web of corruption” “in which the most wretched tried to punish the slightly less wretched” could easily lead to near ruin (Boo 115). Over the course of her narrative, Boo shows that Annawadians recognize the issues of corruption present in their society, and the fact that they lack the power to change the system. For Annawadians, the courage and aspiration to become more successful in life meant taking a gamble, and Boo shows that their gamble could only be made in a system where the odds were forced against their
The hopes and dreams of Annawadi’s citizens breed corruption. In hopes of leaving Annawadi, Asha resorts to scams and cheating to make them come true. For her, it is the only effective method to make those dreams happen. However, in reality, the people living in Annawadi were doomed from the start. Either having a dream come true or even a jump in social class is a rarity that does not favor the people. Hope is what makes them delusional and blind from reality. This is what’s holding back most of the people of Annawadi. They sit around and hope that other people will make a change, that the Corporator will stop the raze, and that they won’t be forgotten. After Kalu died,no one realised that his death was already set in stone. Boo wrote “ To Annawadi boys, Kalu had been a star. To the authorities of the over city, he was a nuisance to be dispensed with” (168). Kalu’s mistake was giving police intel on criminals, and therefore died a brutal death. His punishment for being naive was paid by a quick case, false cause of death, and no autopsy. In addition, Sanjay was also treated like Kalu. Boo wrote, “So Sanjay’s mother learned only what another mother, who slept on the pavement, dared to whisper: ‘Your boy died with fear in his heart.’” (174). The people who live in Annawadi who had dreams are forced to face the truth. When Abdul was in jail, Mirchi had to sort garbage to earn money for the family. The boy who dreamed of working in a fancy hotel and declared to never sort garbage was forced to eat his words. Once Mirchi started working his mother would complain about how terrible he was. Mirchi had to take up any job he could, even multiple ones. After realizing his dreams were for a boy he told his sister that they were “down to earn-and-eat.” (238). Unlike Mirchi, people like Abdul doesn’t waste their time on false hope, instead, they
When lots of people walk down the street and a homeless person is sitting there what do they do? They walk on and mumble something like get a job or try harder. Most poor people can’t do much more to fix their social class. It’s like they are stuck there. In Tammy Crabtree’s story, her family suggests this idea, “I growed up poor, my dad worked hard. He worked 27 years..........and it ain’t easy.” (People Like Us: Social Class in America) Tammy and her family have nothing else to do. They have worked all their life and been smart with their money. They do not have anything else to do to make their life better. People that are poor and don’t look the best can not get a good job either. They are stuck in that one job because no other place wants to hire them.
This is because it has no bearing on what you ought to do, and the moral point of view requires us to look beyond the interests of our own society. This socio-political scepticism can be worse as some believe that charity is merely a band aid fix to the deeper underlying problem that is continuously causing the poverty, and it only becomes the basis for local communities to be dependent on them. Conclusion According to Singer, we need to drastically revise our ways of thinking. It is a powerful call, and challenges people’s attitudes towards extreme poverty.
“Drive the corruption from the land, don’t harbor it any longer, past all cure, don’t nurse it in your soil – root it out!” (164).
Now, it would be hard to think of any good coming out of living in such conditions. But just like a many things in this so-called existence, a person would have to look very hard to find the good things. There are, in fact, good things about living in the pits of poverty. For instance, children that are poor tend to appreciate things much more than a child with a more “privileged” life. When they get new things, they treat those things like intricately wrought gold, or a fine work of art. To them, a brand-new pair of ‘Jordan’ gym shoes or a ’PS2’ seems like pure treasure. Over time, this quality of appreciation will develop continually over the years. They will make responsible choices on things that they will always appreciate. With hope and a prayer, they will be able to pass down this quality to their future generations.
Montesh, M. (n.d.). Conceptualizing Corruption: Forms, Causes, Types and Consequences. Retrieved May 4, 2014, from
This essay will attempt to explore the relationship between the two from the definitions, causes, consequences and the solutions. Corruption can be defined as the abuse of public power for private gain. (World Bank, 2004) Corruption is attracting a lot of attention around the world, and is a growing international and regional concern. According to Corruption Around the world (Tanzi, 1998), in its end-of-year editorial on December 31, 1995, The Financial Times characterized 1995 as the year of corruption.