Thursday, April 3, 2014
3rd Blog Post- Carly Silva
In the last third of Sold, the tone that most stood out to me was one of urgency. Lakshmi is eager to escape from the Happiness House and from the wrath of Mumtaz. She has grown accustomed to the daily grind of being a prostitute (no pun intended), and wants badly to return to a normal life. Not even Lakshmi knows just how long she has been working in the Happiness House. "The first one is sitting in Monica's old seat, the second in Shahanna's. The third is sitting where Pushpa used to sit. It occurs to me that, except for Anita, I have been here the longest." (pg. 243). Lakshmi has obviously been there for a long time and by the end of the book, she accepts the American man's offer to free her from the Happiness House. Finally, when police raid the house, she gets the courage to go with them and puts an end to the horrible life that she endured as a prostitute.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Post #3
Like the whole book, there are many tones to the last third of Sold. However, the one that stood out for me the most was a sense of yearning and urgency. By this time in the book Lakshmi has settled into the daly life of the happiness house. She has her language lessons with Harish in the afternoons, and then puts on her makeup and goes to work in the evening with the other girls. Even she doesn't know how long it has been, on page 243 she says "The first one is sitting in Monica's old seat, the second in Shahanna's. The third is sitting where Pushpa used to sit. It occurs to me that, except for Anita, I have been here the longest." Lakshmi has seen friends come and go a long with many different kinds of men. Of course she has always wanted to get out of the Happiness house but once she discovers that Mumtaz really is evil and has no intention of letting her ever go home and is cheating her on her money, Lakshmi wants to get out more than ever. "I will do whatever it takes to get out of here." she says, (pg227). One day an American comes and offers her a way out. She is hesitant at first because of the rumors she has heard about the Americans shaming girls like herself, but after realizing this may be her only possibility at leaving this terrible place, she decides to take the chance. I thought the ending was the perfect relief to the buildup of the last third, "Something inside me breaks open, and I run down the steps. I see Mumtaz, her fat mango face purple with rage, her arms pinned behind her back by two policemen. She lunges in my direction and spits. But the policemen hold her back. I see my American..." (pg263) I feel like the reader got to know Lakshmi so well that this ending is almost too abrupt. I wish we could have at least gotten to see her leave the happiness house. That being said, this ending does work with the tone of the last third of the book and gives a sense of hope to Lakshmi's sad story.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Sold post #3: Ashley Garriott
The last third of the book Sold is filled page to page with a vast variety of emotions, this allows the reader to make assumptions for the end and be proven wrong when they actually reach the final pages. There are many mixed feelings I derived from the text due to the content of different scenes. For example one begins to feel hope again as Lakshmi packs her small amount of belongings after she meets the American man whom promises to return and bring her to safety. Conflicting that, in the pages previous to those I felt as if Lakshmi was very detached and entranced almost in the pages before "Forgetting How To Forget" (pg. 254). Here she explained that she had "learned ways to be with men... learned how to forget what was happening to me even as it was happening... I cannot remember those ways." This gives off a very foreshadowing sense of change in Lakshmi's life. That perhaps she will act out or escape in a rebellious way. This feeling progresses until the very final pages of the book. The tone of change is introduced slightly earlier than this scene when Lakshmi finds out that she will have to work at the Happy House for a VERY long time before she can pay all her money off. This results in her doing "Whatever It Takes" (pg. 228) and taking extra money from "a drunken costumer... he fell asleep afterward, I went through his wallet and helped myself to 20 rupees more." or "A deformed man came... I told him I would be with him, for 50 rupees extra." Again these scenes play on the idea of rebellious acts that could lead to change in Lakshmi's life.
This scene also is my favorite. It displays a teenage-like-act from Lakshmi and is really the true turning point of her fight to get out of the Happy House. It shows that no matter how good of a person Lakshmi may be she has been changed by the life style of the Happy House. She will literally do "Whatever It Takes" at this point to get back home to her family. After reading this one can almost be assured that things will change for Lakshmi after this point, that there is hope and a real sense of rebellion brewing in the young Lakshmi.
This scene also is my favorite. It displays a teenage-like-act from Lakshmi and is really the true turning point of her fight to get out of the Happy House. It shows that no matter how good of a person Lakshmi may be she has been changed by the life style of the Happy House. She will literally do "Whatever It Takes" at this point to get back home to her family. After reading this one can almost be assured that things will change for Lakshmi after this point, that there is hope and a real sense of rebellion brewing in the young Lakshmi.
Friday, March 21, 2014
Post # 3- Hopeless
The tone of the last third of the book is desperate and hopeless. Lakshmi's little bubbles of hope are continuously popped by Mumtaz and Shilpa, leaving her feeling distraught. The author uses very intense images to show the pain Lakshmi is going through when she thinks the American man is not coming to save her. "I clench the sheets in my hands, for fear that I will pound them to death with my fists. I grit my teeth, for fear that I will bit through their skin to their very bones. I squeeze my eyes shut, for fear that I will see what is actually happening to me"(254). These images are striking and show exactly how Lakshmi feels- That she has been lied to yet again by the American, and nothing left to hope for, though she is desperate for something good. The very language used in the above sentences (clench, grit, squeeze) all practically scream desperation to the reader. The author also uses syntax to show this. Lakshmi narrates in very short, choppy sentences, like the voice of one who has given up. "How stupid I was to believe in him and his digital magic. How stupid I am to keep believing" (253). Although the majority of the final part book is hopeless, in the end, Lakshmi's desperation for freedom pulls through, and she escapes.
My favorite part of the book was when Lakshmi hears the grinding of the chili peppers and thinks she is going to be punished. In the "Happiness House", if you really anger Mumtaz, she puts a stick of hot chili's inside you (which is an AWFUL thing to do). Lakshmi hears the sound that means this punishment will be inflicted upon someone, and thinks it is her. I love this part of the book because the author made me believe it was Lakshmi too, and the words she used made me feel like I was guilty, also. I felt the same anticipation of pain that Lakshmi did. When we find out it was Kimari, I breathed the same sigh of relief that I am sure Lakshmi did. I really enjoyed being drawn that far into the story.
My favorite part of the book was when Lakshmi hears the grinding of the chili peppers and thinks she is going to be punished. In the "Happiness House", if you really anger Mumtaz, she puts a stick of hot chili's inside you (which is an AWFUL thing to do). Lakshmi hears the sound that means this punishment will be inflicted upon someone, and thinks it is her. I love this part of the book because the author made me believe it was Lakshmi too, and the words she used made me feel like I was guilty, also. I felt the same anticipation of pain that Lakshmi did. When we find out it was Kimari, I breathed the same sigh of relief that I am sure Lakshmi did. I really enjoyed being drawn that far into the story.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Post #3 - Sofia Wildvine
Lakshmi is very persistent in the last third of Sold, creating a tone of determination. Although Lakshmi knew somewhere inside her subconscious that she would most likely never go home, she kept trying her hardest. She continues to do calculations in her books in hopes of determining when she will be released. When Lakshmi talks to Mumtaz about her calculations, Mumtaz tells her she will be there for at least five more years. She says to poor Lakshmi, "Who do you think pays for the comfort I provide? The fans? The music? The TV you girls love so much? Do you think that is free?" (226). Yet even with this horrible lie, Lakshmi is still persistent, determined, to get back home. She says, "I will be with them all. Any man, every man. I will become Monica. I will do whatever it takes to get out of here." (227). It's unbelievable that this tragic thing happens more times in real life then the world would like to admit.
There is no way I can pick my favorite part of the book, but some parts I enjoyed quite a lot was the descriptions of things that are new to Lakshmi. One example of this is when she is describing how the remote for the TV works. Shahanna explains to her, "If she pushes one button, the people inside get louder, if she pushed another, they get quiet...The most important button is the red one. This one can make the TV people appear. Or disappear." (157). I like this scene in particular because your mind instantly knows what she is talking about. We take advantage of the simple things in everyday life in America, such as the common knowledge of working a TV remote control. Reading this short scene opened my eyes to the sorrowful fact that such a simple thing, such as a TV remote, can create so much wonder and curiosity when placed in the presence of a girl like Lakshmi.
There is no way I can pick my favorite part of the book, but some parts I enjoyed quite a lot was the descriptions of things that are new to Lakshmi. One example of this is when she is describing how the remote for the TV works. Shahanna explains to her, "If she pushes one button, the people inside get louder, if she pushed another, they get quiet...The most important button is the red one. This one can make the TV people appear. Or disappear." (157). I like this scene in particular because your mind instantly knows what she is talking about. We take advantage of the simple things in everyday life in America, such as the common knowledge of working a TV remote control. Reading this short scene opened my eyes to the sorrowful fact that such a simple thing, such as a TV remote, can create so much wonder and curiosity when placed in the presence of a girl like Lakshmi.
Post #3
I loved this story. Obviously, I didn't enjoy reading it from her point of view because this incident was so awful. However, I loved how brave she was just to tell her story. I think that throughout the whole book she was a pretty naive girl. However, the quote I decided to use was one that didn't occur in the last third, but in the middle somewhere. It is just when she is meeting Mumtaz and she has her first experience with the old man. She runs away from him. "'There is a mistake,' I tell her. 'I'm here to work as a maid for a rich lady.'
'Is that what you were told?'" (51%).
Of course, without proper education, it would be hard to know what was really going on here. The grunting noises she heard earlier were sex noises that I am sure many of us Drake students could identify that noise. Naive could even be the wrong word for her because she is just uneducated. However, it does appear that she is a little naive.
My favorite part of the book was to see her transformation. In the beginning of the book, she refused to do "this disgraceful thing" but by the end, she was not the new girl anymore and was determined to pay off Mumtaz's debt.
'Is that what you were told?'" (51%).
Of course, without proper education, it would be hard to know what was really going on here. The grunting noises she heard earlier were sex noises that I am sure many of us Drake students could identify that noise. Naive could even be the wrong word for her because she is just uneducated. However, it does appear that she is a little naive.
My favorite part of the book was to see her transformation. In the beginning of the book, she refused to do "this disgraceful thing" but by the end, she was not the new girl anymore and was determined to pay off Mumtaz's debt.
Lilly Berns - Post #3
The tone of the last third of the book, gives the reader different meanings. At first, things are not so bad for Lakshmi. She has become "friends" with Monica, she is learning words from Harish, and she sometimes thinks about the "hugging man". Then, all of a sudden, things go bad. Lakshmi gets sick, Harish and Pushpa have to leave, and Monica comes back to the "Happiness House". The tone of this third of the book, switches from hopeful and "let's make the best out of it", to sad and "I am worthless". Then it goes back to hope, when the American arrives with the police. "I see my American." (263). At first, Lakshmi tries to forget about the American, thinking he is a liar. When he does show up, Lakshmi is torn between two stories, neither of which she knows is true. She decides to act quickly, and believe an American. This shows that trusting a stranger is better than trusting the person that gives you shelter in a "Happiness House" in India.
My favorite part of the book, is when Lakshmi tries to communicate with the second American. Although she doesn't understand things that he is trying to tell her , she wants to try and escape from the "Happiness House" so badly, that she says random things. "Elmo" "Ice Cream" "America" (247-248). This part of the book symbolizes a time, when Lakshmi is so broken from this house, and Mumtaz, that she would trust a stranger, and do anything it takes, to create a change in the way things are. It is a moment when Lakshmi symbolically stands up for herself, to make a change in the way she is being treated.
My favorite part of the book, is when Lakshmi tries to communicate with the second American. Although she doesn't understand things that he is trying to tell her , she wants to try and escape from the "Happiness House" so badly, that she says random things. "Elmo" "Ice Cream" "America" (247-248). This part of the book symbolizes a time, when Lakshmi is so broken from this house, and Mumtaz, that she would trust a stranger, and do anything it takes, to create a change in the way things are. It is a moment when Lakshmi symbolically stands up for herself, to make a change in the way she is being treated.
Shannon Hennessey #3
The last third of the book was filled with so many different emotions and tones fr the book. It would be so hard to pick just one. But because I have to I would pick hopeless. The main reason for this is because Lakshmi had all this hope near the middle of the book, not hope for herself but hope for her family. She thought that all the money she was earning was going to her family. That is why I chose the tone of hopeless, once she found out where the money goes to, thats what she turned into. Hopeless. "She laughs. 'You think the money goes home to your family?' she says. I tell myself she is talking nonsense, the nonsense that comes when she is drunk." (89%) When Shilpa, also known as Mumtaz's slave, tells Lakshmi where the money goes, her first thought is that she is too drunk to speak any sense at all. At this poin Lakshmi has hope left, but is slowly loosing it. "It has been three days since I learned the truth from Shilpa. I ran from her; sraight to my room, where I was sick to my stomach all day and night. Fot two days more I lay in bed, too wretched to move." (90%) Lakshmi can't get over the fact that Shilpa might have been telling the truth, She feels hopeless that all of her work had gone to waste.
Review:
The book Sold was a very inspiring book. The reason why it was so inspiring was the detail of the sadness that Lakshmi had to go through yet how she pulled through in the end, she pulled through enough to stand up for herself to Mumtaz and risk her life and her humiliation with the Americans. I would suggest reading sold but only if you are ready for a heart-renching time. Although sold is on the short side for a novel it was filled with so many details and so many different perspectives that you barely even noticed the legnth. I really enjoyed reading Sold and I hope that we can read similar books to it.
Review:
The book Sold was a very inspiring book. The reason why it was so inspiring was the detail of the sadness that Lakshmi had to go through yet how she pulled through in the end, she pulled through enough to stand up for herself to Mumtaz and risk her life and her humiliation with the Americans. I would suggest reading sold but only if you are ready for a heart-renching time. Although sold is on the short side for a novel it was filled with so many details and so many different perspectives that you barely even noticed the legnth. I really enjoyed reading Sold and I hope that we can read similar books to it.
Hope- 3 Post
The last third of the book portrays hope. Lakshmi is given something which she has not felt since she has left her home, to feel cared about, one of her costumers. "But I could feel myself, my true self, give in to the simple pleasure of being held." (page 176). Lakshmi waited many days for this man to return, waiting for the warmth and comfort of being held. But he never came. Later on in the book, an american came to Lakshmi but was not a costumer, he said he could take her to a nice, clean place where children are happy and learn. Lakshmi has been waiting for the american for 5 days and finally there's a knock on the door from the police. There's a man that asks for a young girl. "I know this voice. It is my American." (page 261)Lakshmi's hope and patience finally pays off when the man comes to save her. We don't know how the story ends, but it seems as though they take Mumtaz to jail and the women get to go free.
In the book Sold, by Patricia McCormick, a thirteen year old girl named Lakshmi s taken away from whats left of a broken family. She has a other and a baby brother and a stepfather who gambles away anything that is of value, and that is how Lakshmi is sold into sex slavery. Her "aunt" takes her to her "uncle" who takes her across the border and pretends to be her husband. Then she is given to Mumtaz, and after refusing to have sex with a costumer she is locked in a room and drugged. She meets a boy she calls David Beckham boy and he teaches her how to read his books and she gives him a ball made of her old clothes when he leaves. There is also a boy with a tea cart that goes around and after a while just gave Lakshmi free tea because she wouldn't buy any. Then he left and Lakshmi asked him to call the American man that would help her. He finally came and saved her.
In the book Sold, by Patricia McCormick, a thirteen year old girl named Lakshmi s taken away from whats left of a broken family. She has a other and a baby brother and a stepfather who gambles away anything that is of value, and that is how Lakshmi is sold into sex slavery. Her "aunt" takes her to her "uncle" who takes her across the border and pretends to be her husband. Then she is given to Mumtaz, and after refusing to have sex with a costumer she is locked in a room and drugged. She meets a boy she calls David Beckham boy and he teaches her how to read his books and she gives him a ball made of her old clothes when he leaves. There is also a boy with a tea cart that goes around and after a while just gave Lakshmi free tea because she wouldn't buy any. Then he left and Lakshmi asked him to call the American man that would help her. He finally came and saved her.
Sold Post #3
Sold is a book that showcases people in the most bare, simple, and real ways possible. The underlying tone in Sold is the depressing state of reality. No matter all the hope and dreams we have, people will be people. Hearts will be broken, and dreams crushed. No person in this world can handle the emotional capacity that Lakshimi was asked to have, we all become numb and turn to hope and empty promises. For example, the moment Lakshimi finds out that everything she has been working for is just a lie, that she has been cheated on, lied to, and led on. "'You will never pay off what you owe.' she says. 'Mumtaz will work you until you are too sick to make money for her. And then she will throw you out on the street.' I shut my eyes and shake my head from side to side. She is wrong. Because if she is right, everything I've done here, everything that's been done to me, was for nothing." (p.239) This quote showcases the tone of the book as a whole, it sets the tone of how a person is, and how they will be, in the lowest place possible. It exemplifies greed, grief, and hopelessness. Lakshimi, an innocent girl from a small village wanting to make money to send to her family, was put in the trap of our greedy society and this messed up market. But this is reality, this is the way it is, and she can't change it as much as she wants to.
Sold is a book I'll never forget. I have wept, loved, and been crushed on Lakshimi's journey and will never forget her story. Sold was an amazing book, that opened my eyes to the world around me, it made me open my mind past my petty issues and realized all the bad and real things happening. Sex trafficking is a sick business. Sex should be a mutual connection, it is a special thing shared, but to objectify these beautiful women to the point where they are paid for their bodies is disgusting. This book has changed my life, and I will never forget it.
Sold is a book I'll never forget. I have wept, loved, and been crushed on Lakshimi's journey and will never forget her story. Sold was an amazing book, that opened my eyes to the world around me, it made me open my mind past my petty issues and realized all the bad and real things happening. Sex trafficking is a sick business. Sex should be a mutual connection, it is a special thing shared, but to objectify these beautiful women to the point where they are paid for their bodies is disgusting. This book has changed my life, and I will never forget it.
post 3- Paloma Prudhomme
Throughout the last part of Sold the reader feels a wave of hope, and loss of hope for Lakshmi. Over time Harish teaches Lakshmi lots of english and things start to look up for her. But as quickly as things start to look up, they die back down again. The tone of this third is just utter heart breaking. Lakshmi doesn't even seem to recognize herself anymore. "Her eyes are empty. She is old and tired. Old and angry. Old and sad. Old, old, a hundred years old"(p.192). The darkness and the gloom is starting to take a grand effect on poor Lakshmi and she almost can't take it anymore. Harish is a good friend to Lakshmi, yet he quickly gets taken away as well. There are moments when you feel hopeful for her but then right away you loose that hope. Lakshmi has the determination of a tiger seeking it's prey. She knows she will get out of this dark place. She needs to. Even when Monica says, "You stupid hill girl, you actually believe what she's told you?"(p.230), Lakshmi still has hope inside of her. She had power and determination so big that it swept off the pages and came into us, and for that I admire her. "I do. I have to believe"(p.230)
One of my favorite parts of the book was when they talked about their culture and their ways that are so different from ours. Especially their traditions when a young girl gets their first blood. With word of the news Ama says "You must stay out of sight for seven days, even the sun cannot see you until you've been purified"(p.14). I love learning about different cultures ways and traditions. This one in particular was very interesting. In America we see periods as something to whisper about with friends but according to Wikipedia in India they spread the news like wild fire. Every needs to know about it and their is always some sort of huge festivity. For Lakshmi this couldn't happen because of their money issue. Ama said that once you have gotten your first blood you are a completely different woman. "Never look a man in the eye. Never allow yourself to be alone with a man who is not family. And never look at growing pumpkins or cucumbers when you are bleeding. Otherwise they will rot. Once you are married you must eat your meal only after your husband has had his fill. Then you may have what remains"(p.15). She goes on to say how you must give yourself to your husband whenever he wishes and how long to breast feed your child. This is all so completely different from anything i've ever heard, I was shocked when I read this. When you get your first blood you basically become a different person overnight in their eyes. You don't have a choice but to hold yourself more maturally and not act like a kid. You must give your fun child hood days up and start being a woman.
One of my favorite parts of the book was when they talked about their culture and their ways that are so different from ours. Especially their traditions when a young girl gets their first blood. With word of the news Ama says "You must stay out of sight for seven days, even the sun cannot see you until you've been purified"(p.14). I love learning about different cultures ways and traditions. This one in particular was very interesting. In America we see periods as something to whisper about with friends but according to Wikipedia in India they spread the news like wild fire. Every needs to know about it and their is always some sort of huge festivity. For Lakshmi this couldn't happen because of their money issue. Ama said that once you have gotten your first blood you are a completely different woman. "Never look a man in the eye. Never allow yourself to be alone with a man who is not family. And never look at growing pumpkins or cucumbers when you are bleeding. Otherwise they will rot. Once you are married you must eat your meal only after your husband has had his fill. Then you may have what remains"(p.15). She goes on to say how you must give yourself to your husband whenever he wishes and how long to breast feed your child. This is all so completely different from anything i've ever heard, I was shocked when I read this. When you get your first blood you basically become a different person overnight in their eyes. You don't have a choice but to hold yourself more maturally and not act like a kid. You must give your fun child hood days up and start being a woman.
Third Post for SOLD
Skyler Pemberton
Joy Roll
March 20, 2014
Third Post for Sold
The tone of the last third of the book was most definetly hope and hopelessness. The way Lakshmi spoke of the brothel was in a way of regularity, like she had given up on escape or that she had simply gotten used to the way men handled her, the abuse she endured and the sheer pain and misery she suffered through everyday. She seemed as though she didn't think she was going anywhere anytime soon. But toward the end, she seemed more hopeful that the American who offered her the business card would come to take her to the clean, safe place. This made me happier when she seemed like she really wanted to escape the brothel rather than when she just seemed set on paying off her ever rising debt. At one point she speaks of her regular customer who she doesn't seem to like but he pays her extra so she does everything she can to please him: "I have a regular customer now. He makes me do a nasty thing, but he gives me 10 rupees extra"(p 228). She describes all the men she sleeps with in order to pay off the debt. She tells about the old men, the fat man, the deformed men that sleeps with for extra, but what she does not realize, is that Mumtaz is not actually taking away from her debt, she is simply using her until she isn't of use anymore. "A deformed man came to the door yesterday. I told him I would be with him, for 50 rupees extra"( p 228). On page 229 she disrespects Shilpa, who she was formerly afraid of because she wants as many customers as possible. What lifted my spirits was the way she believed in herself. Most of the other prostitutes had given up, lost track of their old lives and excepted the fact that this was their past, present and future. This is a tragic story throughout the book with a confusing ending so its hard to judge whether you can classify it as "happy" or "sad" in the end.It really is a sad book. Even though the book has a "happy" ending, Im not sure I was totally satisfied with it. It left me hanging and that is the most cruel way to end a book. Technically she is saved, but we don't know what happens to her after she is saved. I would have liked to see her reunited with her family and her married to the boy she was promised to.
My favorite part of the book was the relationships she develops with the other girls. The way her, Anita and Shahanna bond is simply incredible, given the circumstances. It is amazing how they found good in each other in such a rotten and terrible place. They found the positivity and awareness of those around them to build friendships and love with the girls. The way they care for each other made their journey together a lot easier. When Anita tells Lakshmi about the cupboard she saves for when there are raids, (p 221), I realized that Anita really cared for Lakshmi, not only herself. In their situation, Im sure it is really easy to become bitter about life and people in general, and through the darkness, Anita saw light in Lakshmi. Its really a beautiful thing I admired in the book.
Third post Rick Miles
The final portion of the book portrays the numbness and emptiness that accompanies what happened to Lakshmi. After an amount of time that is too long for Lakshmi to keep track of she begins to recognize the change around her and how different the "Happiness House" is from when she arrived. "The first one is sitting in Monica's old seat, the second in Shahanna's. The third is sitting where Pushpa used to sit. It occurs to me that, except for Anita, I have been here the longest,"(243). Lakshmi learned well how to suppress the feelings of sorrow and loneliness and shame. "I learned ways to be with men. I learned how to forget what was happening to me even as it was happening,"(254). What Lakshmi is being forced to do is degrading and humiliating and that is why she is having these deep feelings of neglect and emptiness. What is happening to her is making her feel like she is less than human because she is being treated like an object for the man's gratification and that is not what she was meant for.
On the day when Harish makes a rag doll for someone, he takes time out of his day and uses his own money to give Lakshmi a new pencil. "I have been beaten here, locked away, violated a hundred times and a hundred times more. I have been starved and cheated, tricked and disgraced. How odd it is that I am undone by the simple kindness of a small boy will a yellow pencil,"(182). That section showed me how much Lakshmi and girls like her desire and yearn for acceptance and love and meaning. There is a void in all of them that love and fulfillment should go and that is how Lakshmi is so easily undone by a simple act of kindness.
On the day when Harish makes a rag doll for someone, he takes time out of his day and uses his own money to give Lakshmi a new pencil. "I have been beaten here, locked away, violated a hundred times and a hundred times more. I have been starved and cheated, tricked and disgraced. How odd it is that I am undone by the simple kindness of a small boy will a yellow pencil,"(182). That section showed me how much Lakshmi and girls like her desire and yearn for acceptance and love and meaning. There is a void in all of them that love and fulfillment should go and that is how Lakshmi is so easily undone by a simple act of kindness.
3rd Post - Sam Martin
TONE CCQC
As Lakshmi's time at the Happiness House grows, the fourteen year old's desperation grows with it. The tone for the final third of the novel is desperate; frenzied yet determined. I can tell that the tone is desperate beacause of the diction and images that McCormick displays. Lakshmi gets several sparks of hope throughout, with the American man showing her a cleaner place, with Harish, filling her life with the possibility of someting better. With a cleaner, younger, better man coming to her room and holding her, Lakshmi wishes for something better, and that wish turns into desperation. But after every spark of hope comes the disapointment of a blank outcome. When the hugging man does not return, Lakshmi thinks, "It has been thirty days since the hugging man came. I have decided that he is not coming back" (pg.185). She desperately gives up hope for the future. Once again Lakshmi abandons herself and thinks, "I cannot smile. Even if there is a reason"(pg. 201). Here, the sentence structure, the syntax, hints on despair, when the author uses short simple sentences, as if representing the fact that Lakshmi can hardly put effort into anything now. Then Lakshmi completely shuts down from the world, thinking, "And so Mumtaz sends the men up to me. They come, a parade of them, and I simply lie here unmoving" (pg. 219). When she uses a word like "unmoving," the diction itself sounds desperate. Towards the end, the author's tone changes to a determined tenacity for Lakshmi's escape. Lakshmi thinks, "I will become Monica. I will do whatever it takes to get out of here" (pg. 227). Evidently, Lakshmi's determination pulls through, because she does get out.
MY FAVORITE PART
The author of Sold, Patricia McCormick, expresses a unique and poetic style of writing throughout the novel. She uses short simple sentences, indents often, and usually writes chapters that are less than a page long. However, McCormick practices extremely poetic syntax, filled with details that leave vivid imagery behind. When Lakshmi describes her jouney to the city, I was able to completely capture the image McCormick left for the reader. Lakshmi describes,
"As our cart shoulders its way along the road,
I crane my neck this way,
then that,
looking at
a man scooping popcorn into a paper cone, next to…"(pg. 65). (This passage was way to long to type out the whole thing, but it finishes at the end of the chapter.)
This was my favorite part because when I read, I like to be able to see what is happening. I always create some kind of picture in my head, and this makes it easy. I also enjoyed how at the end of the passage, the author created a fufilling ending by closing her description with the same line about the man selling popcorn. I thouroghly enjoyed the autor's creative writing style.
As Lakshmi's time at the Happiness House grows, the fourteen year old's desperation grows with it. The tone for the final third of the novel is desperate; frenzied yet determined. I can tell that the tone is desperate beacause of the diction and images that McCormick displays. Lakshmi gets several sparks of hope throughout, with the American man showing her a cleaner place, with Harish, filling her life with the possibility of someting better. With a cleaner, younger, better man coming to her room and holding her, Lakshmi wishes for something better, and that wish turns into desperation. But after every spark of hope comes the disapointment of a blank outcome. When the hugging man does not return, Lakshmi thinks, "It has been thirty days since the hugging man came. I have decided that he is not coming back" (pg.185). She desperately gives up hope for the future. Once again Lakshmi abandons herself and thinks, "I cannot smile. Even if there is a reason"(pg. 201). Here, the sentence structure, the syntax, hints on despair, when the author uses short simple sentences, as if representing the fact that Lakshmi can hardly put effort into anything now. Then Lakshmi completely shuts down from the world, thinking, "And so Mumtaz sends the men up to me. They come, a parade of them, and I simply lie here unmoving" (pg. 219). When she uses a word like "unmoving," the diction itself sounds desperate. Towards the end, the author's tone changes to a determined tenacity for Lakshmi's escape. Lakshmi thinks, "I will become Monica. I will do whatever it takes to get out of here" (pg. 227). Evidently, Lakshmi's determination pulls through, because she does get out.
MY FAVORITE PART
The author of Sold, Patricia McCormick, expresses a unique and poetic style of writing throughout the novel. She uses short simple sentences, indents often, and usually writes chapters that are less than a page long. However, McCormick practices extremely poetic syntax, filled with details that leave vivid imagery behind. When Lakshmi describes her jouney to the city, I was able to completely capture the image McCormick left for the reader. Lakshmi describes,
"As our cart shoulders its way along the road,
I crane my neck this way,
then that,
looking at
a man scooping popcorn into a paper cone, next to…"(pg. 65). (This passage was way to long to type out the whole thing, but it finishes at the end of the chapter.)
This was my favorite part because when I read, I like to be able to see what is happening. I always create some kind of picture in my head, and this makes it easy. I also enjoyed how at the end of the passage, the author created a fufilling ending by closing her description with the same line about the man selling popcorn. I thouroghly enjoyed the autor's creative writing style.
3rd post aidan stitt
this week i finished the book sold and the ending was very surprising to me i knew Lakshmi would eventually get out of the happiness house but the author left it so vague about some key details in my opinion
1. she didn't really specify where Lakshmi was going with the american there was some details like the shiny place and the place to go to get clean water and food or the place in the shiny box
2. she didn't tell us the readers what happened to the other girls like if the men found the or if they just stayed there alone
3. and she didn't tell us if Lakshmi ever found her family again or if they were okay
this was my opinion about the ending it could of been better with those details but overall the book was great and i enjoyed reading it i really like the author and i am looking forward to reading more of her books
my favorite passage of the book is when Lakshmi is going into the city to become a "maid" the way she describes it it so different then the way she was told how it looked the tone of the entire passage is grey the way she says thing like the city was not what she expected and shes almost disappointed and the whole city is on some kind of giant loop one example the roofs of the houses were not coated in gold they are just plain old stone roofs and the way she sees things when shes in the back of the truck is amazing to me just all she sees is repetition "in this hurry up swarming city".
1. she didn't really specify where Lakshmi was going with the american there was some details like the shiny place and the place to go to get clean water and food or the place in the shiny box
2. she didn't tell us the readers what happened to the other girls like if the men found the or if they just stayed there alone
3. and she didn't tell us if Lakshmi ever found her family again or if they were okay
this was my opinion about the ending it could of been better with those details but overall the book was great and i enjoyed reading it i really like the author and i am looking forward to reading more of her books
my favorite passage of the book is when Lakshmi is going into the city to become a "maid" the way she describes it it so different then the way she was told how it looked the tone of the entire passage is grey the way she says thing like the city was not what she expected and shes almost disappointed and the whole city is on some kind of giant loop one example the roofs of the houses were not coated in gold they are just plain old stone roofs and the way she sees things when shes in the back of the truck is amazing to me just all she sees is repetition "in this hurry up swarming city".
3rd Posting- Amara Kilen
As the book, Sold, by Patricia McCormick, comes to an end, the reader gets a feeling of hope for a better future, but at the same time fear that one will not come for Lakshima. Once Lakshima gets taken to the brothel, the tone of the book becomes increasingly hopeless, as she endures more horrendous tragedies. Only does her future start to look brighter after she becomes close to Harish and starts to learn english. It seems that this event planted a seed of hope inside of her, or if nothing else it simply helped her have a cause to live for. The entire third of the book goes back and forth between expressing a feeling of hopefulness and hopelessness, the doubt arising after Lakshima's many setbacks. "without Harish, I am like Anita. I cannot smile, even if there is a reason"(201). Once Harish must leave, it is evident that Lakshima feels a huge loss. Besides missing her friend, she also cannot continue to english studies- something she was relying on to survive. In addition, after Shahanna-Lakshima's best friend- gets taken away, the latter feels an even bigger loss, as well as confusion. This sends Lakshima into a deep depression, that seems like she has given up and will be sent to another brothel to continue this torture- this time on her own. The third and final devastation which comes to Lakshima, is the realization that Mumtaz has never been sending her family money, and Lakshima will be stuck there forever until she is too sick or old or tired to work and she will be left for dead on the streets. After hearing this Lakshima thinks, "everything i've done here, everything that's been done to me, was for nothing"(239). Somehow, however, with this let down comes a rage and bravery from inside Lakshima that she didn't know she had before. She decides at that moment, despite her friends warning her to stay away from the bad American men, that she must leave. At the arrival of the second American man, she is still wary of him in the beginning, " 'Do you want to leave here?' he says. I cannot answer. I am too scared to believe him. I am going to believe that when I open my eyes, he will be gone. I count to 100 again and open my eyes. He is still there...'The clean place,' I say. 'I want to go there'"(247-248). The courage that Lakshima must have had to say those words is unbelievable. And when the Americans arrive and every external being is pleading for her not to show herself, she still does, because her hope and will to survive is too strong to resist. As she stated earlier is the book, "I will do whatever it takes to get out of here" (227). And she does.
My favorite part of the book is Lakshima's relationship with Harish. At the beginning of their friendship, he buys her a pencil with the little money that he has. "A tear is running down my cheek. It quivers for a moment on the tip of my nose, then splashes onto my skirt, leaving a small, dark circe. I have been beaten here, locked away, violated a hundred times and a hundred times more. I have been starved and cheated, tricked and disgraced. How odd it is that I am undone by the simple kindness of a small boy with a yellow pencil" (182-183). While reading this portion of the book, I was overcome with emotion. The happy events which follow sad ones in life are always the best in my eyes because they show the true kindness of human nature. The immense amount of beauty that comes from, as Lakshima stated, the simplest act of kindness in a tough time, is something that I will never take for granted. And, although this was only one small portion of a wonderful book, the author described it so beautifully, that the reader could really feel the compassion that the innocence of children bring.
My favorite part of the book is Lakshima's relationship with Harish. At the beginning of their friendship, he buys her a pencil with the little money that he has. "A tear is running down my cheek. It quivers for a moment on the tip of my nose, then splashes onto my skirt, leaving a small, dark circe. I have been beaten here, locked away, violated a hundred times and a hundred times more. I have been starved and cheated, tricked and disgraced. How odd it is that I am undone by the simple kindness of a small boy with a yellow pencil" (182-183). While reading this portion of the book, I was overcome with emotion. The happy events which follow sad ones in life are always the best in my eyes because they show the true kindness of human nature. The immense amount of beauty that comes from, as Lakshima stated, the simplest act of kindness in a tough time, is something that I will never take for granted. And, although this was only one small portion of a wonderful book, the author described it so beautifully, that the reader could really feel the compassion that the innocence of children bring.
Blog post #2 SOLD
Many people in the world think that there is now equality between men and women, but that statement could not be farther from the truth. As stated in this article, human trafficking is still a current issue in Nepal, along with many other countries.
Human trafficking in Nepal is a serious concern. Nepal is mainly a source country for women and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking.[1] The Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) compiled by the US State Department rates Nepal as Tier 2, the explanation of which is “the government does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so.” Women and children are forced to do unimaginable things just to help their families and to get by. So when Lakshmi is introduced to this new world of discrimination and unfair treatment, she starts realizing there is a lot more problems where she lives other than fixing the roof or her stepfather gambling away all his money. "But in the evening, it is harder to pretend. As soon as dark falls, the bigger ones go up on the roof. They fly homemade paper kites until they are to tired to stand, daring to come down to sleep only late at night after the men have finally gone. The younger ones, like Jeena, are given special medicine so they can sleep under the bed while their mothers are with their customers."(pg. 145) It's amazing what women have put up with and still put up with, I can't believe we still do.
Human trafficking in Nepal is a serious concern. Nepal is mainly a source country for women and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking.[1] The Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) compiled by the US State Department rates Nepal as Tier 2, the explanation of which is “the government does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so.” Women and children are forced to do unimaginable things just to help their families and to get by. So when Lakshmi is introduced to this new world of discrimination and unfair treatment, she starts realizing there is a lot more problems where she lives other than fixing the roof or her stepfather gambling away all his money. "But in the evening, it is harder to pretend. As soon as dark falls, the bigger ones go up on the roof. They fly homemade paper kites until they are to tired to stand, daring to come down to sleep only late at night after the men have finally gone. The younger ones, like Jeena, are given special medicine so they can sleep under the bed while their mothers are with their customers."(pg. 145) It's amazing what women have put up with and still put up with, I can't believe we still do.
Blog Post #3 SOLD
In my opinion, the theme of this last part of Sold revolved around both Lakshmi's physical and mental drive. Ever since she was given the impression that she had a chance of leaving the Happiness House, she used every last bit of her mental and physical drive to push through the situation she was in. "Whatever It Takes I have a regular customer now. He makes me do a nasty thing, but he gives me 10 rupees extra. I had a drunken customer yesterday. When he fell asleep afterward, I went through his wallet and helped myself to 20 rupees more. A deformed man came to the door yesterday. I told him I would be with him, for 20 rupees extra." (pg.228)
Imagine every single day, being touched and violated in ways that you could never imagine were possible. Personally, I don't understand how Lakshmi could go through the days and months without a thought of killing herself. I couldn't do it. She evidently showed that she would go to great lengths just to smell the mountain air and hear the sweet voice of Ama. "I know that I would endure a hundred punishments to be free of this place."
Although she was enduring physical and mental torture, she tried to find ways to convince/distract herself from the situation she was in such as doing math in her notebook, every day, subtracting from the amount that she owed Mumtaz and trying to learn languages.
For most of the third part, L lost most of her hope when Mumtaz's spy, Shilpa explained to her that the Happiness House was a trap, it is almost impossible to pay off your debt. By then, Lakshmi's heart had been torn apart into little pieces and then played with, she didn't know who to believe or who to trust. She had lost all hope until the third American came, and even then, she had her doubts. She was taking a chance because she was doing exactly what Mumtaz has told the girls not to do when they first come out of the locked room. "The Americans will try to trick you into running away. Don't be fooled. They will shame you and make you walk naked through the streets." By taking a chance with subtle rebellion, in the end, Lakshmi was able to get out and accomplish something she never would, getting out.
Review: This book was so interesting to read, I read it in one day, I just couldn't put it down. Maybe because Sold isn't written like any other book I have read, its hard to explain. It was so easy to read, and overall it was a really good book. One thing I wasn't satisfied with was the ending. It ended so abruptly with her seeing the American, it never answered any of the questions I was asking throughout the book like "was she ever going to make it back home to her family?","how would her family treat her after she got back?", etc. So not knowing those answers was kind of upsetting.
Imagine every single day, being touched and violated in ways that you could never imagine were possible. Personally, I don't understand how Lakshmi could go through the days and months without a thought of killing herself. I couldn't do it. She evidently showed that she would go to great lengths just to smell the mountain air and hear the sweet voice of Ama. "I know that I would endure a hundred punishments to be free of this place."
Although she was enduring physical and mental torture, she tried to find ways to convince/distract herself from the situation she was in such as doing math in her notebook, every day, subtracting from the amount that she owed Mumtaz and trying to learn languages.
For most of the third part, L lost most of her hope when Mumtaz's spy, Shilpa explained to her that the Happiness House was a trap, it is almost impossible to pay off your debt. By then, Lakshmi's heart had been torn apart into little pieces and then played with, she didn't know who to believe or who to trust. She had lost all hope until the third American came, and even then, she had her doubts. She was taking a chance because she was doing exactly what Mumtaz has told the girls not to do when they first come out of the locked room. "The Americans will try to trick you into running away. Don't be fooled. They will shame you and make you walk naked through the streets." By taking a chance with subtle rebellion, in the end, Lakshmi was able to get out and accomplish something she never would, getting out.
Review: This book was so interesting to read, I read it in one day, I just couldn't put it down. Maybe because Sold isn't written like any other book I have read, its hard to explain. It was so easy to read, and overall it was a really good book. One thing I wasn't satisfied with was the ending. It ended so abruptly with her seeing the American, it never answered any of the questions I was asking throughout the book like "was she ever going to make it back home to her family?","how would her family treat her after she got back?", etc. So not knowing those answers was kind of upsetting.
3rd Post
The last third of the book is determined. Lakshmi continuously puts forth her best to leave this place, even though in the back of her mind and from what Shilpa tells she will never leave . But she still has hope and is determined to leave or get help from an American man. Even though all the girls in the house said that the American men were bad she still took a chance risking being stripped and thrown outside in the street. A fire in Lakshmi breaks and she makes a decision that could change her life. "I run down the steps. I see Mumtaz, her fat mango face purple with rage, her arms pinned behind her back be two police men. She lunges in my direction and spits. But the policemen hold her back" Lakshmi risk everything to reclaim her life back with the determination she had, not only did she survive the happiness house but she gained triumphs .
Lakshmi overcomes the helplessness and pain she endured while being their, but i wish the book would continue so i had some type of closure and my thoughts aren't just up in the air.
The thing that is intriguing about this book to me is that my own personal feelings got involved, and me having deep empathy for Lakshmi. This book is so capturing to me because this is a relevant problem in the world, but for most country's its just a life style that they are forced to live. Young girls my age being violated and tormented. That image in my head is chilling and upsetting but makes me feel for these poor girls. The author used context that made you feel in your heart and this just made me appreciate the things i have a little more.
Lakshmi overcomes the helplessness and pain she endured while being their, but i wish the book would continue so i had some type of closure and my thoughts aren't just up in the air.
The thing that is intriguing about this book to me is that my own personal feelings got involved, and me having deep empathy for Lakshmi. This book is so capturing to me because this is a relevant problem in the world, but for most country's its just a life style that they are forced to live. Young girls my age being violated and tormented. That image in my head is chilling and upsetting but makes me feel for these poor girls. The author used context that made you feel in your heart and this just made me appreciate the things i have a little more.
Third Post- Annabelle Schofield
The final third of the book is devastating but also hopeful. Devastating because of all the horrible things Lakshmi has has to endure, but hopeful because of the second chance at life she is given by the American man. Towards the end of the book, Lakshmi is visited by an American man who has the intention of taking her away from Happiness House and bringing her back home. Lakshmi tells herself to pretend it never happened and try to forget about him, as she does not want to get her hopes up just to watch him never return for her. Before the proposition of the American, Lakshmi was just coming to terms with the fact that she would only leave the Happiness House if she was too sick to work, meaning she would probably not leave alive. She would spend the remainder of her life working as a sex slave to Mumtaz, with no hope of escaping and living a normal life ever again. When the American comes to her and tells her he will take her away from the brothel, she is shocked and worried that he is lying, but because it is her only chance, she chooses to trust him, "The American man says he will come back. He will return, he says, as soon as he can, with the other men and the good police officers who will force Mumtaz to let me go (251)." Even though Lakshmi has been lied to many other times by people that were supposed to help her, (like Uncle Husband, Auntie, etc.), she is still willing to trust the American man. She realizes this is her one and only chance at getting out of the brothel, and if she doesn't take it, the oppurtunity will be lost forever. Even after all the horrible things that have happened to Lakshmi throughout the story, it is promising and hopeful that it ends on the great note of her survival and redemption.
My favorite part of this book is when it occurs to Lakshmi that she is no longer the new girl at the brothel, and that there is only one other girl who has been there longer than she has. This part of the book was devastating, and plays with the thought that time is lost inside the Happiness House. At one point towards the end of the book, Lakshmi thinks about herself, and realizes that she does not know exactly how old she is, and that her fourteenth birthday must have passed because of all the time that had gone by. This shows how the concept of time is warped inside the brothel, when the girls have nothing to look forward to in their life.
My favorite part of this book is when it occurs to Lakshmi that she is no longer the new girl at the brothel, and that there is only one other girl who has been there longer than she has. This part of the book was devastating, and plays with the thought that time is lost inside the Happiness House. At one point towards the end of the book, Lakshmi thinks about herself, and realizes that she does not know exactly how old she is, and that her fourteenth birthday must have passed because of all the time that had gone by. This shows how the concept of time is warped inside the brothel, when the girls have nothing to look forward to in their life.
3rd Blog Post
The final third of the book is hopeful. Although Lakshmi is told that she will never go home, she still takes that chance of talking to the American about getting out of the Happiness House even though everyone tells her that she should never trust or listen to the American men because they will strip you and throw you out on the streets. Lakshmi also decides that she will do whatever it takes to get home to her family. This is a drastic and heroic change that happens in Lakshmi. In the beginning of the book she would get beaten and starved and still not sleep with men. Then she says, "Here at happiness house, there are dirty men, old men, rough men, fat men, drunken men, sick men. I will be with them all. Any man, every man. I will become Monica. I will do whatever it takes to get out of here" (pg.227). Lakshmi is hopeful that she will overcome this horrible life style and get back home to her mountain with her mother and sister. No matter what it takes.
This book had a lasting impact on me. I thought about what I would do if I were in that situation and it make me think about how I could help girls like Lakshmi get out of this horrible business. It was well written and very easy to follow the story line but I would love to have gotten just a little bit more detail so I could really step into Lakshmi shoes and I hated the ending. I got so attached to Lakshmi that I really wanted to know what happened and I turned the page and it was over right as it got exciting. I feel as if the writer would have given us more closer it would have been a much better book because it disappointed me at the very end.
This book had a lasting impact on me. I thought about what I would do if I were in that situation and it make me think about how I could help girls like Lakshmi get out of this horrible business. It was well written and very easy to follow the story line but I would love to have gotten just a little bit more detail so I could really step into Lakshmi shoes and I hated the ending. I got so attached to Lakshmi that I really wanted to know what happened and I turned the page and it was over right as it got exciting. I feel as if the writer would have given us more closer it would have been a much better book because it disappointed me at the very end.
Sold 3 : Sara Elsea
The last third of the book was the most emotional part of the book for many reason's. It is a ride of all emotions not only for the reader but for Lakshmi. The Tone in this story is not like another. Really there is not one tone that could fit this third of the book right. It has a mix of disdainful, angry, indignant, candid. Lakshmi is trying to get by. Just trying to push though it all. Trying to forget it. But as shes trying to do all of this she always seems to have obstacles in her way. "Let me do the calculations for you," she says. She pretends to be adding and subtracting. "Yes," she says. "Its just as I thought. You have at least five more years here with me" (226). "I understand that this wealthy man is one of her regulars. But I will not agree to what she asks. I will do what I have to do to get out of here" (229). Shes fed up with all of this with people lying to her and her being here agents her will. And shes also done with false hope. "The American man says he will come back. He will return. he says, as soon as he can, with the other men and the good police officers who will force Mumtaz to let me go" (251). "Five days have passed, and sill there is no sign of the american" (255). After all this time of being in this Happiness House she doesn't even know what happiness even is anymore but right at the end of the book she realizes what she has been missing and feeling for a long time.
My Review on this book is that for me at some points I found it really hard to read because of what was happening. The author mad a good understanding for the readers of this book what it's really like and how what happened in this story is still going on today. Readers can't help but me moved by this book. I would suggest this to anymore. Not only did this book give me heart throbbing, mad, confused, happy, scared and worried but it was just the right amount of emotions to make this book so interesting to me. I couldn't put it down. Over all I give this book:
My Review on this book is that for me at some points I found it really hard to read because of what was happening. The author mad a good understanding for the readers of this book what it's really like and how what happened in this story is still going on today. Readers can't help but me moved by this book. I would suggest this to anymore. Not only did this book give me heart throbbing, mad, confused, happy, scared and worried but it was just the right amount of emotions to make this book so interesting to me. I couldn't put it down. Over all I give this book:
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
3rd Post Sophia Kalomeris
The tone in the last third of the book is perseverance. Lakshmi's drive to never give into the inviting arms of running away in order to find her family -which would probably do her more harm than good seeing as she would probably get lost and never see them again - is prevalent throughout the last part of the book. Lakshmi ignores Mumtaz's threats that she will never go home and starts goes on about how she will sleep with every man she has to in order to get home quicker. "Here at happiness house, there are dirty men, old men, rough men, fat men, drunken men, sick men. I will be with them all. Any man, every man. I will become Monica. I will do whatever it takes to get out of here" (pg.227). She digs deep down in herself and pulls out the drive to get out of the brothel, however long, or however many customers she must meet with in order to fulfill that promise to herself. The syntax or sentence structure throughout the last part are in short, blunt, sentences. It is almost as if what is not said in the short blunt sentences are the silent screams of emotion she is feeling, the agony of being without her family and the shame she feels in herself. There must be so much more going on in her head as to what emotions she is feeling; but Lakshmi is so accustomed to shutting down all of herself and emotions in order to be the "woman" she needs to be for her customers that none of those feelings are clearly written, but rather hidden in the subtext.
Overall Sold was an incredibly interesting and original story on the horrid realities of prostitution, and that not every person has a happy ending. It was depressing but intriguing to watch Laksmi go transform from a little farm girl into an old girl way beyond her years, who is empty and represses her feelings so that she can get through the day. It was interesting to watch Lakshmi conform into such a person but still keep the perpetual hope of returning home. The kinships that she made with the women at the brothel and her friend Harish were touching, and it made the reader equally sad to see them go. The ending was the bad kind of mysterious and cliffhanger-esk. The repetition of her uplifting words were sweet but the ending gave absolutely no sense of closure. The man she shouts to could just as easily be bad and rape her and take her away than the man she thinks will help her get back to her family. It is understandable that the author meant to leave the ending up to the imagination; but it is particularly frustrating that the reader will never find out whether or not Lakshmi finds her family, or if she was basically raped in the literal and figurative sense of her childhood for no reason other than to make money for a twisted old woman only to never find happiness again. Over all, besides the ending, the book was compelling and a page turner, although not much description was given on the surroundings and the people, the reader will still be able to get a sense of Laksmhi's unlucky new life and how she lived. The friendships she makes are heart warming and equally as heart wrenching when they are ended. Overall this book was a nice and fast read that is recommended for people who can endure the shocking and sad material, but still be able to enjoy the book for its part in bridging the gap of a whole other world and culture and bringing it to the reader.
Overall Sold was an incredibly interesting and original story on the horrid realities of prostitution, and that not every person has a happy ending. It was depressing but intriguing to watch Laksmi go transform from a little farm girl into an old girl way beyond her years, who is empty and represses her feelings so that she can get through the day. It was interesting to watch Lakshmi conform into such a person but still keep the perpetual hope of returning home. The kinships that she made with the women at the brothel and her friend Harish were touching, and it made the reader equally sad to see them go. The ending was the bad kind of mysterious and cliffhanger-esk. The repetition of her uplifting words were sweet but the ending gave absolutely no sense of closure. The man she shouts to could just as easily be bad and rape her and take her away than the man she thinks will help her get back to her family. It is understandable that the author meant to leave the ending up to the imagination; but it is particularly frustrating that the reader will never find out whether or not Lakshmi finds her family, or if she was basically raped in the literal and figurative sense of her childhood for no reason other than to make money for a twisted old woman only to never find happiness again. Over all, besides the ending, the book was compelling and a page turner, although not much description was given on the surroundings and the people, the reader will still be able to get a sense of Laksmhi's unlucky new life and how she lived. The friendships she makes are heart warming and equally as heart wrenching when they are ended. Overall this book was a nice and fast read that is recommended for people who can endure the shocking and sad material, but still be able to enjoy the book for its part in bridging the gap of a whole other world and culture and bringing it to the reader.
Post 3: Katie Coduto
Sold is a heartbreaking novel filled with tears, desperation, and even little traces of hope that keep the readers on the edges of their seats no matter the situation. Through out the entire novel, Lakshmi struggles with the constant sensation that arises within her soul called hope which is also one of the main rising points as to how Lakshmi is saved at the end of the book. In the third part of the novel, I can't help but feel that the tones are hope and realism. Through out her time in the brothel, Lakshmi never loses hope for her own future as well as who she is. One of the only reasons that Lakshmi continued to pleasure men was to earn enough money to send back to her family which would then help them obtain a new roof and maybe some other luxuries. Lakshmi knew that even though she was in pain and that her heart was dead inside, her contribution to her family's income was enough to keep her going for the majority of the novel. Lakshmi witnessed and endured so many horrible things such as beatings, tortures, and the relentless reminders that anyone she loved could be ripped away from her at any moment but she never gave into the temptation of death because some part of her knew that she was stronger than the pain itself. Lakshmi often thought about death in the last couple of pages in the novel but she never gave herself away to death and found ways to keep herself going by envisioning how happy she could make her family and how they would honor her when she would return. However, I didn't think this was the only tone used through out the third part of the novel because that would be too simple for the reader. I also think that there was a massive influence of realism used to make us as the readers completely aware of dark the world can be. On page 231, Lakshmi conveys to us that she can hear the haunting cries of a new girl fading away into the misery of contamination but at the same time, she's not surprised. Lakshmi has adapted to her surroundings and by doing so, she has realized that she is becoming one of them. She has completely turned away from her innocent farm girl self so she could learn how to survive. Another example of this realism was on pages 238-239. On these pages, the truth was revealed to Lakshmi and she realized that no matter how many men she pleasure or how hard she worked to pay off her debt, it would never be repaid and she would be stuck in the brothel until she found it to be her only salvation. "'You will never pay off what you owe.' she says. 'Mumtaz will work you until you are too sick to make money for her. And then she will throw you out on the street.' I shut my eyes and shake my head from side to side. She is wrong. Because if she is right, everything I've done here, everything that's been done to me, was for nothing." (p.239) In these pages, Lakshmi realized that life in the brothel was even worse than expected and that even the things that seemed like they could give her hope, such as paying off her debt to Mumtaz, were snakes hidden within tall grass. She has realized for the final time that life isn't like a storybook, nor is it fair, and that no matter how much hope she has or how much money she tries to save up, she'll never be free.
I honestly thought that this book was one of the better books that I have read in a really long time. I thought that the author channeled desperation perfectly and really allowed the readers to be aware of the danger and evil that is prostitution. I thought the author had very compelling characters and even if we didn't know much about them individually, I thought that she did a wonderful job of still allowing us to care and worry about them. Prostitution is a terrifying crime that we as humans need to deal with and put an end to before it swallows up all of our innocent girls and contaminates them with pain and suffering. I also thought the author did an amazing job at showing us Lakshmi's transformation from this innocent farm girl living in the mountains to a young woman who was perfecting her seduction techniques to get men into bed with her. I thought the author's language was beautiful and I would certainly recommend this book to anyone looking for a compelling but heartbreaking story.
I honestly thought that this book was one of the better books that I have read in a really long time. I thought that the author channeled desperation perfectly and really allowed the readers to be aware of the danger and evil that is prostitution. I thought the author had very compelling characters and even if we didn't know much about them individually, I thought that she did a wonderful job of still allowing us to care and worry about them. Prostitution is a terrifying crime that we as humans need to deal with and put an end to before it swallows up all of our innocent girls and contaminates them with pain and suffering. I also thought the author did an amazing job at showing us Lakshmi's transformation from this innocent farm girl living in the mountains to a young woman who was perfecting her seduction techniques to get men into bed with her. I thought the author's language was beautiful and I would certainly recommend this book to anyone looking for a compelling but heartbreaking story.
Third Post- Sold
In the last part of the book, and really for all the time that Lakshmi is in the brothel, the main tone of the story is desperation. Lakshmi wants more than anything to be home with her family, and she is willing to do just about anything to go home. Some of the girls, like Monica, are in the brothel by their choice, and try to entice the customers to them, while most of the other girls, like Lakshmi hide whenever a man comes in. After a while, Lakshmi begins to add up the money she makes, counting off the days until she will have payed off her debt. "I will be with them all. Any man, every man. I will become Monica. I will do whatever it takes to get out of here." (p 227) Lakshmi has tried to keep herself sane, but it is very hard to do. She keeps calculations of all the money she makes and when she thinks that she only has another year to pay off her debt, she shows her calculations to the headmistress. Mumtaz corrects her, saying that she will have to work for at least another five years. Lakshmi decides that she will do anything to make the money faster and go home to her family. She has tried so hard to make the best of her terrible situation, but now she realizes that it has all been for nothing.
Most of this book was very depressing and heartbreaking, but the beginning was very beautiful. Lakshmi's life is very hard, yet she is happy. She loves her mother and little brother more than anything and she loves her life with them. One of my favorite parts in the book is when the rain comes after the long drought. They get some extra money, Lakshmi and her mother sit outside in the night and loose themselves in fantasies of what they can do with their extra money. Her mother enjoys one of her stepfathers cigarettes and Lakshmi enjoys a bowl of popcorn. This just shows that even the smallest moments can make the biggest impact.
Most of this book was very depressing and heartbreaking, but the beginning was very beautiful. Lakshmi's life is very hard, yet she is happy. She loves her mother and little brother more than anything and she loves her life with them. One of my favorite parts in the book is when the rain comes after the long drought. They get some extra money, Lakshmi and her mother sit outside in the night and loose themselves in fantasies of what they can do with their extra money. Her mother enjoys one of her stepfathers cigarettes and Lakshmi enjoys a bowl of popcorn. This just shows that even the smallest moments can make the biggest impact.
The last third of the book was dreadful and relieving. At this point in the book, so many questions were running through my mind: "would she be saved?" "will Mumtaz ever let her go?" "will they just throw her out on the streets?", it was dreadful being stuck worrying about this main character that we learned to love. The end made it relieving because Lakshmi was saved and it was relieving to know that she would be okay after everything. "I just want enough to pay the street boy what I owe. 'what do you care?' I say. 'It is my money. My family wont miss a few rupees.' She laughs. 'You think the money goes home to your family?' she says." at this moment, I was crushed. I thought for sure that Lakshmi wasn't going to make it long after that. The author did a great job at making the girl seem hopeless. The way that the last third of the book was written, kept you thinking that nothing good would ever happen until the very last pages. Leading up to this, was dreadful.
My favorite part of the book is the very end when Lakshmi is saved. I love this part because the leadup is very well done in the way that it makes you think that nothing good will happen for this girl. Throughout the book i have learned to like this character and i feel for her. At this point all the reader wants is for something good to happen to this poor girl. And right when you start to think that she will never be saved, the police come and take her away. It also well done because anything could have happened when she went with the "police". They could have been men who tricked her and then kept her in another whore house. Or, they could have taken her home to her family. It is up to the reader to decides what happened to Lakshmi.
My favorite part of the book is the very end when Lakshmi is saved. I love this part because the leadup is very well done in the way that it makes you think that nothing good will happen for this girl. Throughout the book i have learned to like this character and i feel for her. At this point all the reader wants is for something good to happen to this poor girl. And right when you start to think that she will never be saved, the police come and take her away. It also well done because anything could have happened when she went with the "police". They could have been men who tricked her and then kept her in another whore house. Or, they could have taken her home to her family. It is up to the reader to decides what happened to Lakshmi.
DIRECTIONS for third posting
Third Posting due Thursday, March 20
Third comment due Tuesday, March 25
For this post, write a CCQC that identifies the TONE of the last third of the book. The claim should include an adjective or two that you think describe the tone, then you need lots of examples/quotes from the book that prove your claim. Sophs, if you need a refresher on TONE, I have put it up on the Edmodo site.
Then write a paragraph that does one of these things, your choice:
*describes a favorite part of the book
*is a review of the book
*uses some part of the book to comment on an issue that interests you
For the comment, find someone who has a different idea than you do about the tone, or about some other part of the book in their second paragraph. Add to their evidence, or challenge their idea by countering it with evidence of your own.
Third comment due Tuesday, March 25
For this post, write a CCQC that identifies the TONE of the last third of the book. The claim should include an adjective or two that you think describe the tone, then you need lots of examples/quotes from the book that prove your claim. Sophs, if you need a refresher on TONE, I have put it up on the Edmodo site.
Then write a paragraph that does one of these things, your choice:
*describes a favorite part of the book
*is a review of the book
*uses some part of the book to comment on an issue that interests you
For the comment, find someone who has a different idea than you do about the tone, or about some other part of the book in their second paragraph. Add to their evidence, or challenge their idea by countering it with evidence of your own.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
sold blog post #2
i read to page 199 in sold this week and the book has really become more of a living hell for Lakshmi
she has now become the sex slave for the evil fat ugly Mumtaz she buys Lakshmi as her sex slave and then when Lakshmi has her first customer she is scared so she runs away then Mumtaz locks her in a room with no food or water for several days after that she is forced to have sexual intercourse with men that pay for it
then after she is not a virgin anymore Mumtaz makes her pay off her debt which is only 10,000 rupees
but she makes Lakshmi work to pay off 20,000 rupees at all the cost of medicine and cleaning that she charges Lakshmi will be working for more that two years she know the time will be grim working in the
"house of happiness"
she has now become the sex slave for the evil fat ugly Mumtaz she buys Lakshmi as her sex slave and then when Lakshmi has her first customer she is scared so she runs away then Mumtaz locks her in a room with no food or water for several days after that she is forced to have sexual intercourse with men that pay for it
then after she is not a virgin anymore Mumtaz makes her pay off her debt which is only 10,000 rupees
but she makes Lakshmi work to pay off 20,000 rupees at all the cost of medicine and cleaning that she charges Lakshmi will be working for more that two years she know the time will be grim working in the
"house of happiness"
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Sold Post #2: Ashley Garriott
The second third of Sold is focused on survival and how Lakshmi has to adapt to her new life style. Asking for anyone to step into the restrictions and rules of this lifestyle is cruel, Lakshmi at age thirteen was put into this kind of living, worst of all she was tricked by someone in her own family to be treated this way. As a reader, what makes Lakshmi's story so touching is the pure innocence of her intentions, she was only in agreement to leave her home so that she could send her hard earned money home to pay for the tin roof over her family's head. However there comes a point when Lakshmi becomes naive along her journey, maybe because it is at a young age. However it become blatantly obvious that she is not on her way to becoming a maid at some point in her journey. Once she becomes aware of this it is already too late. Now put into these unimaginable conditions Lakshmi desperately tries to focus her mind back onto the world she used to know for example school. She does this with the limited resources she has. In one scene she was caught by the "David Beckham boy" while trying to read one of his storybooks. At first she prepares herself for the heavy weight of his hand, but he does nothing and instead: "he holds it out in my direction... I hate him more than ever now. For catching me at my make-believe game. For seeing that I want his own life for mine..." (pg. 158). Lakshmi is not proud that this is the way she has resulted to relating to her old life, let alone the fact that someone caught her doing it. She has always been strong in supporting her family, but now she is that who needs help, she is weak and she was caught in a weak moment; resulting in a reaction like most: hatred and embarrassment. Without the hope that she will one day return to her family and be able to enjoy the simplest things for example reading a storybook or studying for school, she would give up. A life like hers right now is not worth living, hope is keeping her alive, being caught reading a storybook was really an act of survival.
Shannon Hennessey Post #2
It's terrible how the girls have to learn how be able to please the men right, to get the money, even though they don't want to do any of it. One of the women's name is Monica and she is considered the favorite, which means she is getting the most money. She knows all the tricks with all the different men to get the most amount of money, and the most guys to sleep with. She is talking to Lakshmi offering to tell her the tricks. Lakshmi just stays quiet because she doesn't know what to think. She doesn't want to have sex with men much less learn how to please them. "'You think you are better than me?' she says. 'Too good to learn my tricks?' I am too afraid to even shake my head no" (59%) Lakshmi went from sitting in her room being almost poisoned and then raped to giving sex willingly realizing it would help her family even more.The women go from unwilling and stubborn to barely thinking about how terrible it is, and reading movie magazines.
Worth It?
Observe:
These 30 photos are pictures of prostitutes in Bangladesh. I know its not from India or Nepal but I still thought it might be of interest to people. This is not pornographic nor does it contain any nudity; Don't worry.
Just copy and paste this link into the search engine! --> http://www.buzzfeed.com/gavon/30-tragic-beautiful-photos-of-teenage-prostitutes
Heres the skinny.
So for some crazy, sick reason, I am really interested in prostitution and the black market behind it, the industry, how it works, pricing rules, time rules, the whole back round information. Im not a bad person, I just find it interesting. The whole reason behind my somewhat morbid curiosity was the seen where Lakshmi is getting the introduction from Mumtaz about her 'debt' that she must pay off (p. 106). As sad as this was, I researched some statistics about prostitution in India. I also researched whether or not it is common to be drugged if you are working in a brothel against your will. What I found wasn't very surprising, but still just as grim.
According to Unity of Nobility.com, prostitution rates have dramatically increased in recent years. Most girls are tricked into being sold to "city working" just like Lakshmi. It is evident that the author did a good amount of research on the book's topic before writing. The difference was that some girls are sold to a single person to be a sex slave for only one man, which is almost even more terrifying. I cant imagine the pain and pure fear that runs through these poor girls when they realize their tragic new occupation. Apparently, the trafficking of people is actually the third largest industry in the world behind drugs and the trade of arms ( I mean guns, not actual arms. Don't worry; I thought so too at first and was like, "What"). A man that agreed to speak about his profession said that he trafficked 150- 200 girls per year, from the ages of about 10- 17. The younger ones sold for more, up to 1000 dollars. A ten year old is a fourth grader.
I read a story of a girl on this same website that said she was drugged and kidnapped at fifteen years old. She was forced to work as a prostitute from six the morning until three in the morning. She was rescued when a customer let her use his phone and she called her parents. This upset me because it go me thinking: It could really happen to anyone. It could have been one of my friends, even their little sisters.
The more I research this topic, the more emotional I get about the whole subject. It really is a devastating and disgusting thing that plagues poor countries. I think it is okay for a woman to sell herself if she really wants to. Its her choice to do what she will with her body but when you kidnap and drug a child, you are taking her future. You are taking her happiness and free will, her innocence and childhood. What gives one person the right to sell and use another person?
These 30 photos are pictures of prostitutes in Bangladesh. I know its not from India or Nepal but I still thought it might be of interest to people. This is not pornographic nor does it contain any nudity; Don't worry.
Just copy and paste this link into the search engine! --> http://www.buzzfeed.com/gavon/30-tragic-beautiful-photos-of-teenage-prostitutes
Heres the skinny.
So for some crazy, sick reason, I am really interested in prostitution and the black market behind it, the industry, how it works, pricing rules, time rules, the whole back round information. Im not a bad person, I just find it interesting. The whole reason behind my somewhat morbid curiosity was the seen where Lakshmi is getting the introduction from Mumtaz about her 'debt' that she must pay off (p. 106). As sad as this was, I researched some statistics about prostitution in India. I also researched whether or not it is common to be drugged if you are working in a brothel against your will. What I found wasn't very surprising, but still just as grim.
I read a story of a girl on this same website that said she was drugged and kidnapped at fifteen years old. She was forced to work as a prostitute from six the morning until three in the morning. She was rescued when a customer let her use his phone and she called her parents. This upset me because it go me thinking: It could really happen to anyone. It could have been one of my friends, even their little sisters.
The more I research this topic, the more emotional I get about the whole subject. It really is a devastating and disgusting thing that plagues poor countries. I think it is okay for a woman to sell herself if she really wants to. Its her choice to do what she will with her body but when you kidnap and drug a child, you are taking her future. You are taking her happiness and free will, her innocence and childhood. What gives one person the right to sell and use another person?
Heart Wrenching Statistics
Observe:
So while I was researching I came across a beautiful gallery of photos of prostitutes in Bangladesh. Theres no porn or nudity so don't worry. I know it isn't in Nepal or India but I felt as if it may interest some of you to look at.
Just copy and paste the link in your search engine: http://www.buzzfeed.com/gavon/30-tragic-beautiful-photos-of-teenage-prostitutes
Heres the skinny:
So for some sick and crazy reason, I am really interested in prostitution. I would never become a prostitute, I promise, but it interests me to know what the lives are like. I wonder about prices, time allowance with customers and the statistics behind these girls.
After doing some research I found out all about these things. This information devastated me but in some places, didn't surprise me at all. This made me sad to think that I expected the worst and thats exactly what I read.
According to Unity of Nobility.com, prostitution rates have risen in recent years. As has the interest in younger and younger girls, which to me is disgusting and a complete outrage. Pedophilia is popular in brothels which is why certain human traffickers that agreed to speak about their profession can sell ten and eleven year old girls for up to 1000 dollars in India. These men admitted to trafficking over 150- 200 girls per year. These men (and sometimes women) should know what it feels like to be raped, beaten and drugged before they do it willingly to girls every day for money.
I read a girls story about the year she turned fifteen. She was drugged by a woman and kidnapped. She was then told she was going to work as a prostitute. When she refused, she was beaten senseless. When she refused again, they brought hot iron to her skin until she had no choice but to give in. She worked from six in the morning until three in the morning. She escaped finally when a customer let her use his phone. She called her parents and was brought to safety. Though a happy ending, this story is still devastating. This could have happened to anyone. It could have happened to one of my friends, or even one of their little sisters!
The more I read about this topic, the more it upsets me. I found that it is common for brothels to drug their workers in order to make them more submissive and easier to force work out of. As disgusting as this profession is, it is actually the third largest industry in the world. This is behind drugs and the trade of arms (By arms, I mean guns). What really got me going was the fact that a reason why many pimps and madams don't get in trouble with the law because the children are afraid to testify against them because they are so young. These horrible people don't care what these girls go through. They only care about the money. What gives one person the right to another's innocence, freedom, childhood, happiness, and future? I don't understand why the Indian government doesn't DO something about the huge problem they're having. It is unbelievable to me the pain and suffering these women must go through with nothing in return but beatings and being put down.
By Skyler Bryn Pemberton
Elan
So while I was researching I came across a beautiful gallery of photos of prostitutes in Bangladesh. Theres no porn or nudity so don't worry. I know it isn't in Nepal or India but I felt as if it may interest some of you to look at.
Just copy and paste the link in your search engine: http://www.buzzfeed.com/gavon/30-tragic-beautiful-photos-of-teenage-prostitutes
Heres the skinny:
So for some sick and crazy reason, I am really interested in prostitution. I would never become a prostitute, I promise, but it interests me to know what the lives are like. I wonder about prices, time allowance with customers and the statistics behind these girls.
After doing some research I found out all about these things. This information devastated me but in some places, didn't surprise me at all. This made me sad to think that I expected the worst and thats exactly what I read.
According to Unity of Nobility.com, prostitution rates have risen in recent years. As has the interest in younger and younger girls, which to me is disgusting and a complete outrage. Pedophilia is popular in brothels which is why certain human traffickers that agreed to speak about their profession can sell ten and eleven year old girls for up to 1000 dollars in India. These men admitted to trafficking over 150- 200 girls per year. These men (and sometimes women) should know what it feels like to be raped, beaten and drugged before they do it willingly to girls every day for money.
I read a girls story about the year she turned fifteen. She was drugged by a woman and kidnapped. She was then told she was going to work as a prostitute. When she refused, she was beaten senseless. When she refused again, they brought hot iron to her skin until she had no choice but to give in. She worked from six in the morning until three in the morning. She escaped finally when a customer let her use his phone. She called her parents and was brought to safety. Though a happy ending, this story is still devastating. This could have happened to anyone. It could have happened to one of my friends, or even one of their little sisters!
The more I read about this topic, the more it upsets me. I found that it is common for brothels to drug their workers in order to make them more submissive and easier to force work out of. As disgusting as this profession is, it is actually the third largest industry in the world. This is behind drugs and the trade of arms (By arms, I mean guns). What really got me going was the fact that a reason why many pimps and madams don't get in trouble with the law because the children are afraid to testify against them because they are so young. These horrible people don't care what these girls go through. They only care about the money. What gives one person the right to another's innocence, freedom, childhood, happiness, and future? I don't understand why the Indian government doesn't DO something about the huge problem they're having. It is unbelievable to me the pain and suffering these women must go through with nothing in return but beatings and being put down.
By Skyler Bryn Pemberton
Elan
Second post- Paloma Prudhomme
The power education has is simply amazing especially in Sold. As I was reading this book it was quite obvious how an education could mean so much to people in India. Having an education meant that you had opportunity and goals and a purpose. Having an education can also be very dangerous, people can see you as threat. Lakshmi loves learning and on her own time she tries to keep up with her reading and writing even though it is very dangerous. But she soon learns that if Mumtaz found out she would be punished severely. This passage in Sold was a perfect example of that, Shahanna says "If they find out you can read and write, they will think you are planning to escape"(p.171) It amazed me that some people in this world can think of a simple thing such as reading and writing, and see it as threat. It made me realize that we are extremely privileged to be able to have an education handed to us and not worry if someone will kill us because of it. I admire Lakshmi so much for having the courage to keep going on learning her reading and writing, no matter how dangerous it might be.
Post #2 - Lilly Berns
One of the major sad points in this so-called "Happiness House", is that most if not all the women there must pretend. They have to pretend to enjoy themselves, so that they earn more money, they have to pretend that there is really no other choice for them, and even the children with their mothers have to pretend that they are not in a "Happiness House". "But in the evening, it is even harder to pretend. As soon as dark falls, the bigger ones [children] go up onto the roof. They fly homemade paper kites until they are too tired to stand, daring to come down to sleep only late at night after the men have finally gone. The younger ones, like Jeena, are given special medicine so they can sleep under the bed while their mothers are with customers" (pg 145). It is unthinkable how the women are treated here, and that the only way they go through with their life is by pretending they are somewhere else. Even the children have to suffer through this. The little innocent babies are in the rooms, while their mothers are having sex practically right above them. They are too young to pretend, so their innocent hearts must endure the pain that they don't know is there.
Sofia Wildvine - post #2
After reading terrible and disturbing disruptions of rape, I started to wonder how many STDs and pregnancies occur in these disturbing "Happiness Houses". On page 128, no longer innocent Lakshmi describes a scene when Shahanna offers her a condom. "Dont let Mumtaz see this,' she whispers. 'What is is?' I ask. She checks to make sure no one can hear. 'A condom....Ask men to use it, so that you don't get a disease.' she says. 'Most of them say no; they will threaten to go somewhere else if you insist.' This made me despise what these girls have to go through even more. The men are so arrogant and power-hungry that they do not even consider for a second what they might give the girls, not only shame, but a chance of pregnancy or disease. They are steeling their innocence along with their health. According to "Tiny Hands- Sex Trafficking in Nepal", these girls are forced to have unsafe abortions since many of the men refuse to use condoms. HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases are also very common. After the girls are found to have HIV, they are "kicked out", or rather, allowed to go back home. If they return to their villages, they face being ostracized because of what they have been—because of what was done to them. Many times their families will not take them back. Those who don’t die of AIDS, most end up back on the street, selling themselves. I can not imagine a worst life; where there is absolutely no hope.
Rick Miles post 2 mind control
The people running the brothel use a wide variety of ways to manipulate Lakshmi into doing what they want, one of those being mind control. When she is first assigned to do whatever a man asked she was very very confused and when she found out what it was he wanted to do, she ran away in fear. To try to convince her the runner of the brothel beat her, starved her, imprisoned her, and ultimately had to sedate her in order for her to let the men abuse her like they did. While Mumtaz is starving Lakshmi so that she will submit to the men Lakshmi says this, "After five days of no food and water I don't even dream," (113). Throughout this third of the book it is made obvious that Lakshmi does not understand what these men are doing, but she can feel the shame and dishonor that come with it. Lakshmi is resilient in standing up to these men and to Mumtaz, but they are not afraid to make sure that Lakshmi knows who is in charge. Mumtaz and others at the brothel will do anything to control Lakshmi into submitting to these men to turn a minimal profit.
The Necessity of Mind Control
Mumtaz uses lying and mind control to keep the girls at the "Happiness House". She must know that many of the girls would try to run away or kill themselves if they knew there was no way for them to leave. So she taunts them to keep them interested. This can be compared to putting a laser beam on a wall, high enough that a cat cannot reach it, but can still see it. She tells the girls that they will be able to leave and live happy lives if they pay off the money they owe (which is usually more than what she actually paid). " 'You can go home...' ... Mumtaz flicks the bit of leaf in the air and continues. "As soon as you've worked off the twenty thousand rupees I paid for you." ...I know this 20,000 price is a lie" (132). It is despicable for Mumtaz to do this to the girls, although intelligent. As proved by one of the girls, if they feel hopeless, they will kill themselves. So she makes the goal of freedom seem attainable, all while lying about the amount of time they still need to stay. However, the girls do not know that when they are inevitably freed from this torture, a worse life lies in wait for them. Monica was banished by her family for being dirty, and was forced to come back just to have a roof over her head. Chances are, many of the girls will have the same fate or worse. This child prostitution is a vicious circle that needs to be stopped in order to save all the helpless, abused girls of India regain happy lives.
Sophie Davidson Post #2
Uncle Husband is a very persuasive, manipulating and controlling man. After Lakshmi arrives with Auntie, she sees already that Uncle Husband can control Auntie by physical abuse. After, he tells her that she needs to call him husband in order to protect her which we all know as readers is complete BS. " 'The border is a very dangerous place,' he says. 'There are bad men who might harm you, or try to take you away from me and auntie.'" This goes to show how awful he was without her even realizing it. She just thought he was protecting her, that he was doing a noble deed. When in fact, it was the complete opposite.
Second Posting-Mind Control/education-Amara Killen
The environment that Lakshima has grown up in doesn't allow her or other young women to realize that they can stand up for themselves and have a voice. Even before Lakshima gets taken to the "Happiness House," she is constantly told that she is worth less than men. She lives in a completely patriarchal society; her stepfather treats her mother with disrespect and her after she gets her period her mother tells her that now she must be a women, a term that pretty much consists of feeding the men, bowing to them, letting them have sex whenever they want and washing their feet. She states that it has always been the fate of women to suffer serving men. This does not set up Lakshima to feel proud, powerful and strong being a women. So once she is sold, the environment she lives in is a setting for the "mind control" to only worsen. After multiple men have used her as an object to pleasure themselves, one night a man comes in who, after they sleep together, holds her and shows her love and kindness. She refers to him as the hugging man, stating, "In the days after the hugging man leaves, I consider myself in the mirror...Sometimes I see a girl who is growing into womanhood...It doesn't matter, of course. Because no one will ever want me now" (178). Even despite the gracious, small acts of kindness that she receives and the obvious fact that she has been forced into these acts, because of the messages that have been thrown at her her entire life she still believes that she has been ruined and is not worth anything. This is why education is so important. Once Lakshima begins to read and see that there are ways to live a free, powerful life, she fights back and trusts the American's to take her to safety. This is similar to malala yousafzai, who had the courage and strength to stand up for education because she already was educated. It is a simple message, but a challenging one to put into action: education will conquer mind control.
I read the second half of the book and i just felt so bad for her i wish she could have just ran away. i think it is really sad that the men that use her don't care about her at all. this hole thing is so wrong. And how they where starving an whipping her that is horrible. she try to think it is all a nightmare she also try to think of her old home every day.
2nd Sold Post: Katie Coduto
It doesn't matter who you are, where you come from, or who you associate with, everyone pretends. Sometimes people pretend to be something they're not, sometimes people pretend situations are better than they are so they don't seem broken or disturbed inside, and sometimes people pretend so that others won't realize the pain that they suffer and yet are able to endure day by day. In the novel Sold to pretend is to survive and to survive is to pretend. Every day, each of the girls live their lives while pretending that they're not dead inside. They look men in the eyes and lure them in with their crimson red lipstick and blackened eyes while their hearts are breaking because they know that this will be their lives forever... Well... Unless they conduct an STD or they're too old to be considered "sexually appealing", then they're out on the streets like trash. In these brothels, children are hidden away by makeup to convey false facades of womanhood. Each of these enslaved girls have different techniques that they have established to lure men into picking them over the other girls which is enough to chill your backbone and terrify you to your core. The teenage girls in this book should have no reason to know how to seduce men into their bed so that they make enough money to survive. In this novel, one of the main themes is the loss of Lakshmi's innocence which was so prevalent and enduring in the first half of the novel. Now instead of playing with her pet goat and tending to her crops, she is learning how dark the world truly is and how terrifying life can be for a young woman. On page 144, Lakshmi witnesses Pushpa, another prostitute in the brothel, taking care of and whispering sweet nothings to her baby about how they didn't always use to live in this house, but an actual home where there was safety and love. Lakshmi then goes on to talk about how Pushpa's child isn't the only baby in the brothel and that other women have had babies as well to aid them some kind of family or companionship that they wouldn't be able to experience anywhere else. Lakshmi is filled with confusion when she sees how each of the mothers try to give their babies lives that hide away the fact that they're living in a sex slave home. Mothers buy them nice clothes for school, ribbons, and buy them sweets even if it means that they themselves are going further and further into debt. "I ask Shahanna why this is so. 'We all need to pretend.' she says. 'If we did not pretend, how would we live?'" (p.144) This quote conveys that pretending is an essential part of the survival of these women and that no matter how afraid, angry or scarred these women are they keep on picking themselves up by pretending to live lives that should have been theres in the first place. Mothers are pretending that they can buy their babies luxurious items like fresh clothes because they know in their hearts that even if they have to pretend to give these lives to their children, they will do everything they can to do it. Mothers are so devoted to their children that they will give up more of their lives to prostitution so that their children can be happy and live lives that aren't like those of their mothers. Mothers have to pretend for their children and young girls have to pretend for their lives. All in all, pretending is what keeps these women alive because they know if they show who they truly are, they will be slaughtered like cattle.
Sold part 2: Sara Elsea!
Lakshmi at the age of thirteen has always lived in poverty and she knows how to deal with only having little to nothing. Her new "Happiness house" that she was put into after her stepfather sold her to her new fat Auntie named Mumtaz and stays there with other girls of all ages. But Lakshmi soon realizes this is not a very happy place to live and thinks that this is all one big mistake and that shes suppose to be at some rich city women's house as a maid. But she doesn't say anything and will do anything to help her mom get back her gold earrings and to pay off the 10,000 rupees that she was sold with. Mumtaz puts her in a room where she is locked up in until men come and go as they please to have sex with her. But she doesn't realize it until it's to late and she has her first in counter with an old man. Mumtaz explains to her that she has to do what she says because she belongs to Mumtaz now and then lies to Lakshim by saying that she must pay off the 20,000 rupees that Mumtaz used to pay for her. Lakshim knows that's a lie and doesn't say anything back. After what fell like months go by she no longer puts up with Mumtaz request so Mumtaz gets so mad that she tells Lakshmi that she will starve her until she decides to be with men. "I also know how to swallow your spit and pretend that it is soup..... And how to tie your waist cloth so tight that, at least for a few hours, you can fool your belly into thinking its full." (111) Lakshmi is trying every way possibly to just get though this without having random men come in her room. This is her way of survival. She wants to survive without doing the deeds that Mumtaz wants her to do. Shes trying every way possibly. She think that she has tricked Mumtaz because Mumtaz thinks she will eventually get so hungery and thirsty that she will have to give in. But Lakshmi has been put in these situations before and knows exactly what to do.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
The Story Book
All Lakshmi wants is to be able to learn and thrive in the world that she is not allowed to know. Lakshmi notices a boy whom she calls "The David Beckham boy", she is jealous of him because he gets to live somewhat of a normal life. He goes to school every day, sleeps every night, and has a mother. Lakshmi finds The David Beckham Boy's notebook and she feels at home because she can imagine being back with Gita and her teacher. After The boy catches Lakshmi with his notebook,
"'Do you want me to teach you how to read the words in the storybook?' he say.
I do.
I don't dare admit how much.
'Yes' I say, my eyes fixed on the notebook.
'Yes, I do.'" (page 163)
Lakshmi is very interested in things outside of her vocabulary and just things that she doesn't know, like other languages, and what a bus is. This got me thinking about how in our society, we take learning and knowledge for granted, most third world countries do not have the information we do, they don't have the schooling we do and we don't even notice it. Many students are just waiting for the next Monday off or the next time they get sick so that they can stay home. While Lakshmi doesn't even get the chance to go to school, she is stuck in a bubble of which she cannot escape. The only thing that seems to make Lakshmi's mood lighten is a book or learning something new.
Lakshmi is being mind controlled because the people running the whore house have beaten her into the person they want Lakshmi to be. In order to get Lakshmi to have sex with the men and not protest, the headmaster (Mumtaz), whips and starves Lakshmi until she agrees to sleep with the men. "Tonight when Mumtaz comes to my room, she sees that her strap has left raw sores on my back and neck, my arms and legs. so she hits me on the soles of my feet."(p.110). As much as the idea makes me cringe, I look up to Lakshmi's strength. She had to undergo so much pain and sufferance that I could never handle. I would have given in far before she did.
Sold blog- second post Sierra Stephens ESPIRIT
Education is an empowering aspect in anyone's life, and giving this opportunity to all should be a top priority. Education is much more than just learning useless facts, it is a way to feel worth something, it is a way to be able to respect yourself. After long days of reading then secretly hiding Harish's book whenever he came back from school, Lakshimi was caught in the act. After Harish offers to help Lakshimi learn how to read this new language, she considers her emotional state, "And then he is gone. Leaving me to consider how long it has been since a tomorrow meant anything to me" (163). This coincidental act is a simple thing that saved Lakshimi's sanity. Education helped Lakshimi along the road of re-gaining her happiness and ability to be excited and feel useful and not just a toy for men to play with anymore. It is astounding how 4.1 million American students are attending 9th grade right now, yet we all value school as a privilege. It is astonishing that we are privileged enough to even go to school, while girls in third world countries are being taken away to work for their families at young ages, never having an education as young women. It is important for us to think less about how awful it is to be waking up at six every morning to go to school five times a week, but to be thankful for what we are given because billions of girls will never have that opportunity.
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