When we first meet Manju, she is presented as the perfect
daughter: beautiful and always on her best behavior. It isn’t until chapter 4
that the reader gets to know Manju on a more personal level. Towards the end of
the chapter we find out that the driving force behind her good behavior is her
own personal revenge against her mother Asha, who plays the game of political
corruption. She works hard to be a traditional Indian daughter while also
attending college. I don’t really know anyone who behaves to spite his or her
parents. There have been a few times in my life that I’ve surprised my parents
with especially good behavior, but I’ve never thought that I needed to be
virtuous to teach them a lesson. I know plenty of kids who have rebelled by
misbehaving, but not by behaving better than was expected of them. On page 57,
Boo writes that the “Annawadians agreed that Manju was nicer than she had to
be.” Perhaps this could be likened to someone who has risen above a great deal
of tragedy in his or her life and, through it all, remains optimistic. This
type of person never accepts pity or blames his or her past for any problems
that may occur. Even though people are more willing to pardon this person for
any wrongdoings, he or she always accepts the consequences. I feel that if Manju
ever did something wrong, she would accept full blame and take the punishment
she deserved.
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