C8

Chapter 8: Murder on a train

1. "Fifty thousand dreams had suddenly been taken from me". What did Ram mean?

He had 50,000 rupees in his pocket which could help him to reach his dreams: visit his brother, see Gudiya, eat good food, buy some clothes, including shoes... After the robbery he was left with nothing, so his dreams disappeared. 

2. Thomas is thinking about the Police and asks himself: "Would the police tell me that I was a hero for killing a robber? Or would they call me a killer who had shot a man dead without even knowing his name?". Why does he think this? What do you think the Police would tell him?

Because the Police is not reliable enough in that country, so a poor little boy would just be the center of laughs. In fact, in another chapter Ram said to his friend: "Whatever you do, wherever you go, never go to the Police". The Police would probably have done that, and maybe they had beat him to "teach" him what he should not do.