Slumdog Millionaire: A Broken Mirror

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Recommended: Symbolism to enhance the theme of the kite runner

“The eyes are the mirror of the soul” is an old proverb that possesses a mystifying truth. Often times one can look into another person’s eyes and determine if a person is content or angry, inquisitive or confused, or even reputable or malevolent. A few people, however, can look into a mirror, or even at others, and see someone other than the true person standing in front of him. Salim, a character from the movie Slumdog Millionaire is portrayed as one of the “bad guys,” and rightfully so because of his actions towards his brother, Jamal, and others. Similarly to Salim, Amir, a character from the book The Kite Runner, also betrays his brother multiple times when he is in need of guidance. Most could conclude that both Salim and Amir’s compassion towards others is nonexistent, but if one were to truly evaluate both of their standpoints he might discover a surprising glimpse of redemption. At first glance into Salim’s eyes, it may appear that he is all-together a morally corrupt character because he betrays brotherhood, but upon further analysis, he validates his morality by performing the ultimate sacrifice for redemption.

In order to remove one’s façade and become the person he truly sees himself as, one must sacrifice his own desires and aim for salvation. While the road to accomplish this may be rocky, and hasty decisions may cause ruckus, the end product will be worth the troubles. Salim suffers from many of his decisions, but the only person to blame is himself. His rash decisions are the decoration of his façade, and behind all the decorations reveal the main component of his cover-up, his hunger for power. Beyond the first glance, and into the journey to his soul, one can be torn away from his deceitful desires, and into...

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...“The eyes are the mirror of the soul” is mystifying because sometimes it may not be true. At some point, one may be unable to determine a person’s fate because the mirror is broken; sometimes, the mirror is incapable of reflecting a person’s soul, but instead reveals a person’s façade. However, at the end of the movie, Salim is able to gain who he truly is because he receives salvation. Even though his past earns him a title as a “bad guy,” he is able to eradicate his title as a “bad guy” and become a man commendable of being called a brother. Just as Jamal is destined to receive Latika, it is written for Salim to gain full redemption.

Works Cited

Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead Books, 2005. Print.

Slumdog Millionaire. Dir. Danny Boyle. Perf. Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Sanurabh Shukla, and Madhur Mittal. Twentieth Century Fox, 2009. DVD.

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