Inside this Issue - Jefferson County Public Schools

Luck?
By: Quentin Childers
Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup, New York, 2005. 318 Pages
Swarup created a new age fairytale that rivals the classics. The main character, Ram, is a strong believer
of destiny. “Look Salim’ I tell him. ‘You believe in destiny don’t you? So let this coin decide our future. Heads
we leave, tails we stay?’ Salim nods. I flip the coin. It is heads.” Ram is also a generous giver, even though he is
very poor and managed to get a little money by sheer “luck”. “Here, take this.’ I handed over the bag. It has 4 lakh
(400,000) rupees. ‘Go and save your son’s life.”’
Ram is suspected of cheating in a game show contest. The contest was about knowledge, and since Ram
is a “slumdog,” he couldn’t possibly know the answers to any of the questions. “By dabbling in that quiz show,
they will wag a finger at me and remind me of what the elders in Dharavi say about never crossing the dividing
line that separates the rich and the poor. After all, what business did a penniless waiter have participating in a
brain quiz? The brain is not an organ we are authorized to use. We are supposed to only use our hands and legs.”
To prove his innocence Ram has to recount the events in his life that led him to the correct answers. “Smita nods
her head. ‘I think that is the key. After all, a quiz is not much a test of knowledge as a test of memory.’ ‘I want to
listen to your memories. Can you begin at the beginning?”’
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The story is full of twists and turns that capture and hold the reader’s attention. “Her sudden brusqueness
upsets me. Five minutes ago I was her lover, but now I’m just a customer whose time has expired. I realized then
that the moment has indeed passed. The magic has gone, and now that I am no longer blinded by my desire, I see the room in its true colors.
I see an antiquated cassette player on a side table, connected to the outlet by an ugly black chord. I see the moldy walls with peeling paint. I
see the torn and faded red curtain at the window. I see the stains n the sheet and the tears on the mattress. I feel a slight itching sensation,
probably from the mites infesting the bed. I shift the decaying musty smell of the room. Everything now seems sordid and sleazy. Lying in
the soiled bed, I feel polluted and unclean. I, too, get up and hastily gather my clothes.”
Slumdog Millionaire is similar to Three Cups of Tea, written by Greg Mortenson, in terms of raising awareness. In Mortenson’s
novel, awareness is being raised about poor countries in the Middle East. Swarup raises awareness about the untouchables in India. They
both show the social and economic problems of the country/region. Swarup’s novel is a fictional tale, while Mortenson’s novel is nonfiction.
Slumdog Millionaire can also be compared to most fairytales. The main character starts out in humble beginnings, then goes
through a climatic struggle, and with impossible luck, the character gets through the struggle and has a happy ending.
Swarup does a good job making you laugh while giving an important message. He clearly states the political, social, economical,
and religious unrest in India. He really wants the readers to be aware of the plights of the Slumdog people. The book isn’t just about India’s
problems, but also about never giving up on your hopes and dreams, even when things are bad. Throughout the novel, Ram never gave up
when things were grim. This strong perseverance, along with India’s internal issues, will keep the reader’s attention from start to finish.
Love Warriors
Douglas Johnson
Kenshin by Nobuhiro Watsuki. Miko Junei, Tokyo Japan, 1997 192 pps
Kenshin remains a wanderer of the countryside with no destination to which to go. “Will I ever find a
way to redeem myself?” he wonders as he roams far and wide. He is on his own, and living off the land has
made him very receptive and better rounded. “These barriers are just ripe.” He travels the land bound neither to
law nor citizenship to any village nor city. “Thanks but I didn’t need rescuing” I am Hitori the legendary
battosai. He knows all and sees all in town.
Kenshin is an ex-assassin from the revolutionary army who was known to have killed 10,000 people.
They called him the legendary man slayer. After the war was over Kenshin retreated to a life of solitude and
looked to redeem himself of his past. Over his many journeys through the land he ended up staying and
marrying a young girl named Miss Kaoru who he had rescued from robbers one night. However peace doesn’t
last for long. Soon murders start being committed in the name of the famous man slayer, Battosai. Kaoru and
Kenshin investigate into the situation. They find out that the one behind the killings is the crime boss, Hitori,
who has been trying to strike fear into the hearts of many. Upon hearing of this news, Kenshin mysteriously
leaves for an unknown location. Before leaving he tells Kaoru to stay at home, but she leaves to confront the pic
boss head on. When confronted by the crime lord, she holds her own against all his thuggish goons except for
one, the crime lord’s brother, Goki. When confronting him, she is soon disarmed and over powered easily. Not
long after she is seized, Kenshin shows up on the scene and ask for her release. Hitori denies his request and calls for his back up guards.
However Kenshin had made short work of them already. For his wife to be released, he will have to fight the massive Goki. “Are you ready
little man?” “My steel shall speak for me.” Although Kenshin is towered by the giant Goki, Kenshin stands tall. “This was already over
when you challenged my love.”
This is story is like a car on the Indi 500; it takes you through so many changes! Up hill, then down hill and around every corner. It
never really gets complex, but it not a predictable story either. Like for instance when Kenshin was about to leave town, he ran into Kaoru
and ended up staying the night. He was looking to prove himself worthy, not settle down in a small village. Kenshin’s speech patterns are
unique: “Yes that I do love” “One who loves another has a caring heart, which he does.” He speaks in proper grammar, as opposed to Goki
who has a more Barbarian like pattern. “You are going down!”
Nobuhiro Watsuki is well known for his shadow stares right before a fight is to break out. In his graphic novels he heavily contrasts
the shades underneath the eyes to give the character a ‘dark side’ effect. Another thing Watsuki is known for is his comedic love blood
drops. Giving these characters nose drops of blood is like a way of showing there affection. Watsuki is a bestseller in Japan for his love
swordsman novels. He has a wide array of tales and plot twists that keep your face glued to every page and your Achilles on their heels!
Watsuki manipulates their reader into laughing at heartbreaks and curving plot twists that make any wise guy who thinks they can
judge a book by its cover think twice! He shows that love can go through any situation and become stronger through every trial or
temptation, that love can soften even the hardest of hearts, and that every person has a past that must be put behind them.