Behind the Beautiful Forevers

by

Katherine Boo

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Behind the Beautiful Forevers makes teaching easy.

Karam Character Analysis

Abdul’s father, Karam is a sickly man who suffers too much from tuberculosis to work in the garbage business that would sustain his family. Karam wants to give off the image of being the hard-working father who controls his household, but he often must defer to his son Abdul and his wife Zehrunisa who actually run the family recycling business. Karam has grand dreams of moving his family to a richer suburb called Vasai where he believes that his children will grow up healthy and obedient to the old family values, but these dreams are cut short by the accusation that he and his family caused Fatima’s death. The court case eats up all Karam’s money and ruins his health, showing that no aspirations are safe for the poor of Mumbai.

Karam Quotes in Behind the Beautiful Forevers

The Behind the Beautiful Forevers quotes below are all either spoken by Karam or refer to Karam. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Society, Competition, and Social Division Theme Icon
).
Chapter 5 Quotes

She was less and less sure she wanted to go to Vasai, less and less sure her husband would live to get there. She wanted a more hygienic home here, in the name of her children's vitality… On the floor she wanted ceramic tiles like the ones advertised on the Beautiful Forever wall - tiles that could be scrubbed clean, instead of broken concrete that harbored filth in each striation. With these small improvements, she thought her children might stay as healthy as children in Annawadi could be.

Related Characters: Zehrunisa Husain, Karam
Related Symbols: The Beautiful Forever Wall
Page Number: 83
Explanation and Analysis:
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Behind the Beautiful Forevers PDF

Karam Quotes in Behind the Beautiful Forevers

The Behind the Beautiful Forevers quotes below are all either spoken by Karam or refer to Karam. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Society, Competition, and Social Division Theme Icon
).
Chapter 5 Quotes

She was less and less sure she wanted to go to Vasai, less and less sure her husband would live to get there. She wanted a more hygienic home here, in the name of her children's vitality… On the floor she wanted ceramic tiles like the ones advertised on the Beautiful Forever wall - tiles that could be scrubbed clean, instead of broken concrete that harbored filth in each striation. With these small improvements, she thought her children might stay as healthy as children in Annawadi could be.

Related Characters: Zehrunisa Husain, Karam
Related Symbols: The Beautiful Forever Wall
Page Number: 83
Explanation and Analysis: