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.