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The Teenager
The homeless man twice saves Saroo from drowning in the Hooghly River. Saroo learns absolutely nothing about this man, why he was watching Saroo, and why he chose to save him. He does wonder if the man is Hindu and therefore will be rewarded karmically for helping Saroo. Saroo “thanks” the homeless man from the Howrah Bridge when he returns to Kolkata as an adult.
The Homeless Man Quotes in A Long Way Home
The A Long Way Home quotes below are all either spoken by The Homeless Man or refer to The Homeless Man. 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:
).
13. Returning Quotes
But like the teenager who later took me to the police station, he had given me another chance to live. He hadn't profited from his act in any way...and I had never thanked him.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Homeless Man Character Timeline in A Long Way Home
The timeline below shows where the character The Homeless Man appears in A Long Way Home. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
3. Survival
...fills his lungs. Suddenly, someone pulls Saroo out. Saroo sees that it was an old homeless man .
(full context)
Saroo again finds himself surprised by the river the next day, and the same homeless man saves him. A crowd gathers, insisting that the gods spared Saroo. Embarrassed, Saroo runs away...
(full context)
13. Returning
...see them, and also observes the place where he almost drowned. He thinks of the homeless man who saved him, as well as the teenager who took him to the police. Saroo...
(full context)
