Is violence really a form of power?
Have you ever noticed when you are watching a movie that the people with guns are always
in control? They have the power because of the weapons they have and what they can do
with those guns. violence is not only with weapons as some of you might know it can also be
in a form of abuse or even with a small touch .But like Vikas Swarup said : “Never judge a
man's actions until you know his motives” so u never know why someone did what he did so
without knowing we cant judge. After finishing the book Q&A the topic that I thought was the
most interesting for me was :violence.Many people in the book like the brothers Salim and
Jamal grew up in violence when they were young and lived in the slums of India so they are
used to it and because of the poverty there was no way out. So I started thinking to myself
how exactly is violence and power in this book and how? So my essay is about violence and
how violence is a form of power in the book. i am going to discuss 3 types of violence :
physical violence , sexual abuse and gun violence.
The book Q&A shows us that India is a society full violence and abuse and exposes the
fierce effects of poverty in india. The first kind of violence I want to discuss is physical
violence . The book is about a Mumbai boy, named Ram Mohammed Thomas ,who grew up
in poverty in the slums of India and became a contestant on “ Who wants to be a
millionaire?”. The first example of physical violence is when they enterogated ram and
because they coudn’t get anything out of him they tortured him. Commissioner Sahib asked:
“Godbole ,what have you got out of him so far?” “Nothing commissioner Sahib. The bastard
keeps on repeating the same story that he just “knew” the answers. Says he got lucky” they
decided to torture him harder. When he didn't see any results, Godbole came with a new
instrument every half hour. The second physical violence is when while the boys were living
in the chawl in Mumbai they got new neighbours : Mr Shantaram(a failed scientist), his wife
and daughter. Ram often listens with a cup to the wall because he suspected something but
he said : to look at all sides of an issue before thinking. He also heard and learned about the
stars when Mr Shantaram was teaching his daughter. Because the walls are very thin, Ram
hears Mr Shantaram abuse his daughter and wife when he gets drunk every night. Ram
discovered a hole in the wall where he can put his hand through, so he did and made a
promise that he will protect her and keep her safe because she sees him as a brother.
Eventually Ram takes action and pushes Mr Shantaram down the stairs and runs away
because he is from a lower class. So also this is a form of physical violence because Ram
had the power to change Gundy's life and keep his promise. The third and last physical
violence i will discuss is in chapter 3 when Ram and Salim (a muslim boy whos parents had
been killed in a hindu attack) where living in the juvenile home. Until one day a man named
Maman takes them to Mumbai where they were told they would be staying at a school for
disabled children. One of maman’s men lost some money when Salim and Ram wanted to
give it back, they overheard the truth from the office.So basically Maman made the children
crippled so they could beg for money for him. So the physical violence here is that Maman
makes the children crippled/disabled to get money out of them.
In chapter 1 Voilence is also in a form of sexual abuse for example when Ram lived with
Salim in a chawl in Mumbai ram worked in a foundry and looked after Salim. They went to a
Have you ever noticed when you are watching a movie that the people with guns are always
in control? They have the power because of the weapons they have and what they can do
with those guns. violence is not only with weapons as some of you might know it can also be
in a form of abuse or even with a small touch .But like Vikas Swarup said : “Never judge a
man's actions until you know his motives” so u never know why someone did what he did so
without knowing we cant judge. After finishing the book Q&A the topic that I thought was the
most interesting for me was :violence.Many people in the book like the brothers Salim and
Jamal grew up in violence when they were young and lived in the slums of India so they are
used to it and because of the poverty there was no way out. So I started thinking to myself
how exactly is violence and power in this book and how? So my essay is about violence and
how violence is a form of power in the book. i am going to discuss 3 types of violence :
physical violence , sexual abuse and gun violence.
The book Q&A shows us that India is a society full violence and abuse and exposes the
fierce effects of poverty in india. The first kind of violence I want to discuss is physical
violence . The book is about a Mumbai boy, named Ram Mohammed Thomas ,who grew up
in poverty in the slums of India and became a contestant on “ Who wants to be a
millionaire?”. The first example of physical violence is when they enterogated ram and
because they coudn’t get anything out of him they tortured him. Commissioner Sahib asked:
“Godbole ,what have you got out of him so far?” “Nothing commissioner Sahib. The bastard
keeps on repeating the same story that he just “knew” the answers. Says he got lucky” they
decided to torture him harder. When he didn't see any results, Godbole came with a new
instrument every half hour. The second physical violence is when while the boys were living
in the chawl in Mumbai they got new neighbours : Mr Shantaram(a failed scientist), his wife
and daughter. Ram often listens with a cup to the wall because he suspected something but
he said : to look at all sides of an issue before thinking. He also heard and learned about the
stars when Mr Shantaram was teaching his daughter. Because the walls are very thin, Ram
hears Mr Shantaram abuse his daughter and wife when he gets drunk every night. Ram
discovered a hole in the wall where he can put his hand through, so he did and made a
promise that he will protect her and keep her safe because she sees him as a brother.
Eventually Ram takes action and pushes Mr Shantaram down the stairs and runs away
because he is from a lower class. So also this is a form of physical violence because Ram
had the power to change Gundy's life and keep his promise. The third and last physical
violence i will discuss is in chapter 3 when Ram and Salim (a muslim boy whos parents had
been killed in a hindu attack) where living in the juvenile home. Until one day a man named
Maman takes them to Mumbai where they were told they would be staying at a school for
disabled children. One of maman’s men lost some money when Salim and Ram wanted to
give it back, they overheard the truth from the office.So basically Maman made the children
crippled so they could beg for money for him. So the physical violence here is that Maman
makes the children crippled/disabled to get money out of them.
In chapter 1 Voilence is also in a form of sexual abuse for example when Ram lived with
Salim in a chawl in Mumbai ram worked in a foundry and looked after Salim. They went to a
