One of the noticeable difference was the books treatment of the possibility for upward mobility. Both “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Q&A” are ultimately a rags to riches story however the novel focuses on “what the elders in Dharavi say about never crossing the dividing line that separates the rich from the poor” (2). Jamal never muses on his right to social ascendance. While the police and the game show host might call him a slumdog, the whole of India seems to be rooting for him.
In contrast the novel complicates and dwells on the views around upward mobility. The false consciousness of staying put in ones class is ingrained on Ram yet he rebels against and even plays with. There is almost a superstition around the mandate to stay in your place. His initial fear or mystification of Colonel Taylor as “The Man Who Knows” show how ingrained the sense of social place can be. However Ram is able to find away around his master/servant relationship and trick Taylor. Many of the ways he gets by involve playing with class from crashing wedding parties to scrounging food at the McDonalds in his Levi’s. The real irony of this conflict is summed up by Ram on page 278-9 when discussing (a maid) Lajwanti’s theft of a necklace from her mistress he says:
“Lajawanti made the cardinal mistake of trying to cross the dividing line that separates the existence of the rich from that of the poor. She made the fatal error of dreaming beyond her means. The bigger the dream, the bigger the disappointment. That is why I have small manageable dreams. Like marrying a prostitute after paying off her crooked pimp brother the minor sum of four hundred thousand rupees. Only.”
I agree wholeheartedly with all that was said here. It's really interesting how the novel puts, or really, Ram himself, places A LOT of emphasis on "the need to know one's place." Ironically enough, I feel that Ram turns on his own idea of "small manageable dreams" when he goes on the Who Will Win a Billion show. While it is true that his initial reason for going on there is to kill Prem Kumar, he DOES start thinking at one point that he might actually win the game and have the money to buy everything he's always wanted. In fact, once he does win the money, he plays into that whole "class and power" thing, by using some of the money to get the police department to work for him (and free the abused children in Maman's old slum).
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