Sunil

In the book Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo, Sunil is a captivating character who’s vivid description brings the realities of his story alive to the reader. Sunil is a small twelve your old boy with the hunger stricken body of a nine year old. He lives with his alcoholic father and his sister. His family’s six by ten foot shanty is located in the particularly impoverished portion of Annawandi named Gautam Nagar. He works as a scavenger to provide money for himself and his sister. Long days of rummaging through garbage looking for decent recyclable items often only brought him as little as 15 rupees or the equivalent of thirty-three U.S. cents.            Sunil is a very intelligent boy; he is very perceptive for his age and maturely understands many of the unfair and unjustified deeds that happen daily in the slums. His maturity and understanding personality is evident when the book discusses the orphanage which he spent parts of his childhood in. The orphanage often received donations of money and clothes from foreign patrons. However much of the money was embezzled and the donated clothes were sold. In the book, Sunil was described as “rarely [being] angry when he discovered the secret reasons behind the ways people behaved.” Sunil’s perception and awareness is truly incredible for such a young child in a place where many people do not get a basic education. He is extremely understanding of the nuns who, like himself, are just trying to fund their lives. Even though they are essentially taking away from the resources given to Sunil, his sister and the other children he remains sympathetic of the nuns. Sunil is really an incredible character. The fact that such a young and impecunious boy with very few resources is able to have the understanding and maturity that he has is remarkable. Sunil, although trapped economically to the confines of his slum, has a broad and nonpartisan view of his community and the surrounding peoples.

--Dale