Strife
When life is on the line with every interaction, charity quickly leaves the equation. The people living in Annawadi are not cruel, but they are desperate, which leads them to make their choices selfishly. They are trying to survive, so they do all they can to ensure their own and their children's survivals. Often this leads to conflict and open violence among neighbors. Although situated in nearly identical positions, they must view others as enemies instead of friends. Every person that is not you is a threat to your survival, a rival. Boo focuses on this topic from the perspective of influence. No matter how much violence erupts in Annawadi, the rest of the city of Mumbai will generally never hear about it nor care to hear about it.
Community
The community of Annawadi is a tense one. These people are fighting for their own survival, so they cannot be called upon to worry about their neighbor's survival. While community exists, it serves a function other than charity. When people get together, they accomplish specific things which mutually benefit all parties involved. Other than that, your neighbor is your rival. If they eat, it may mean you starve. This necessarily tense mentality causes the community to be based upon the principles of commerce and trickery. More often than not, to work a deal with a neighbor means to put yourself at risk of being swindled out of something vital.
Poverty
The people of Annawadi are poor, truly poor. Boo's book examines the all-encompassing implications of such an existence. How do these people eat? How do they heal? How do they let off steam? The truth of the matter is that the kind of poverty found in the slums of Mumbai is consuming. In the midst of their struggle to survive, these people possess a unique perspective on the world. They don't ask for things, neither do they give them. They focus on autonomy and strategy. All the while, they're living under the constant, impending threat of the losing their homes if the airport chooses to demolish the land and report them all for living illegally on private property.
Social Class Distinctions
Slums like Annawadi exist because of vast financial disparities in a given culture. In India, much of the population lives in absolute poverty because the number of opportunities for so many people to succeed are extremely limited. During her time in Annwadi, Boo concerned herself with the distinction between the different classes in Indian society. The people of Annawadi are untouchables; they are considered the lowest of humans. Boo writes about how the middle and upper classes treat these underprivileged people and overtly oppress them in order to accomplish their own success. If the Mumbai Airport demolished Annawadi tomorrow, nobody would be shocked but hundreds of people would lose everything they own in the whole world.