Slumdog Millionaire (Pages 81-165)

Summary
As he grew up he had seen and learned many new things when he was taken away to a home where they prepared orphans for success. This experience helped him answer the fourth question. In the end they decide that they would runaway from Maman's den. Salim and Ram runoff to the Taylor's in order to work as servants where no one would be able to learn about their whereabouts. He had been there a long time and the family had a lot of trust in him. Mr.Taylor had a den in which no one was allowed to enter, spy tapes/papers and had secret meetings with Jeevan Kumar and was declared persona non Grata and was to leave immediately. He then worked at a bar and restaurant as a bartender , one night he met a man who told him a story about his life which helped him answer the sixth question. He then takes the money he had earned to go to Mumbai to visit Salim. On the train ride there is a family there and he believes he could be possibly falling in love with the daughter. A decoit had robbed all of them after disturbing their sleep on the train. Before leaving he attempted in making the girl show her breasts so Ram acted on it and killed the man. With the pistol in his hand he got the answer for the next question of who had invented a revolver.


Quote
"Train journeys are about possibilities. They denote a change in state. When you arrive, you are no longer the same person who departed. (Swarup 153)"

Reaction
When I read this quote it summed up my impressions of train rides because he gets to see different things in cities he does not usually visit on a daily basis. Also, the things he is exposed to helps him develop his way of thinking and helps him recognize/aspire to better things. I did not think it was making reference to what he was to do, to kill a man in self defense during a train robbery.