Can we really hold the poor to the same moral code that we possess while we sit comfortably in our homes? It amazes me that hope can be such a powerful thing. Throughout Behind the Beautiful Forevers, it is hope and idealism that drive Abdul to attempt to preserve his dignity in the face of injustice, and yet it is the despair of everyone around him that led to corruption in the first place. Abdul berates himself, knowing that "I can't be better, because of the way the world is" (Boo 241). I am fortunate to be able to afford to hold myself to high moral standards. It is enough, I would say, for Abdul, Sunil, Manju and Asha to try to do better for themselves until they can do what is necessary.