Connecting Sold and Real Life World The novel Sold by Patricia McCormick chronicles/depicts/tells the story of a young Nepali girl, Lakshmi, and her imprisonment at a brothel in India. Although Lakshmi is a very specific character, research suggests that many other young women end up in the same terrible predicament. While there are many women who are sold into brothels, Lakshmi learns of the desolation they suffer. One does not realize the number of young women who are placed in brothels annually. Statistics show that about 100,000 girls are sold into prostitution yearly throughout the world. These victims are punished for not completing sexual tasks assigned to them. Even though prostitution is illegal, it is still used in India. The novel …show more content…
Lakshmi’s view on her father is, “Most likely he has spent the night gambling-and- loosing at the tea shop”(McCormick 24). In Sold, Ama’s relationship with her husband was not healthy or safe for her family or her own well being. Lakshmi’s stepfather used her mom, Ama, for his own pleasure and does not consider valuing her for being the strong women she was. His relationships with others add to the reason why Lakshmi was sold into prostitution. Because of this, he left the family’s money in shambles and needed a way out. He believed the only way out was selling his daughter into slavery. From this, his depiction of the family was based on his belief that everyone was forced to adhere to him. Furthermore, an article, “Sex Trafficking and Sex Work” speaks of numerous, “Factors that include violence by husbands and/or other family members, martial separation or abandonment, with the interaction of poverty and gender based mistreatments “ (George et al. 70). Providing for a family at times can be challenging if one does not have a stable job as the article reiterates. In addition specifically, if one is using the money for their wants and not needs. Lakshmi’s stepfather used up all the money so he was able to satisfy himself and not his family. He used violence on his family, allowing them to coerce into poverty. This explains the reason for Lakshmi to be sold into a living
While to step father was bartering a price for Lakshmi, it became more obvious that she wasn’t going to be a maid, “‘She has no hips,’ I hear her say. ‘And she’s plain as porridge. I’ll give you five hundred’” (McCormick 53). This shows how it is implied that Lakshmi is about to be sold into sex slavery because to be honest hips have nothing to do with house services.
Among these two books, a theme develops; the desire for survival makes people do things they normally would not do. Lakshmi portrays the theme in Sold because
Even though in this story we don’t learn about what Lakshmi went through after she was rescued we can assume that it was not all good things. Some women experience Stockholm Syndrome after leaving because they have been doing it for so long and don’t know what kind of reaction they will get from their families and
Lakshmi was relying on the money she made to get sent home as a way to help her get through each day. However, her family doesn’t see a single rupee. Shilpa makes many bad decisions, but she is only doing it to try to stay alive. “Shilpa is here of her own choice. She has no debt to Mumtaz.
She knew her family was waiting patiently for her to finish her work in the city and come back home. Lakshmi thought she was doing the right thing by going to the city to help her family’s financial situation, but she did not know that she was going to have to “give herself up” in the way she was forced to. It was Lakshmi’s idea to go work in the city to help her family, so it was a big surprise to her when she found out she wasn’t actually going there to be a maid. The thought of her family at home was the one thing that motivated her to get her work over with so she could come back home: “Each night, I dream that Ama and I are sitting outside our hut...and she is twining my hair into long dark braids” (109). Lakshmi was describing how she dreams about her and her mother sitting back at home together.
Human trafficking in Houston is growing at a high rate year after year. The persons that is being trafficked around is telling a lie stating a better life and more money, but that isn’t the case. Women get tricked into being a sex slave and this leads to mental and physical abuse, as well as health infections all because of promises for a better life for her family. Due to this Houston has become a number two place for human trafficking. Houston is a hot spot for traffickers to find their next victim to add to the list of women they have taken away from home and force them to work.
Myrtle Beach is an ideal vacation spot during all times of the year, especially during the summer months when school is out. One problem that can occur during these vacation periods is human trafficking. North and South Carolina are in the top 10 worst states for human/sex trafficking. This has been a problem for the past 10 years in these states. Many locals are scared for their children’s safety after all these trafficking cases have occurred by their homes.
Prostitution is a widely recognized topic, anyone and anywhere can get involved into this line of work with just one thing, themselves. Do the men, women and children really have a choice whether or not they want to use their bodies to earn a living? Or are they forced by outside influences that make them have no other choice. Preliminary research covered numerous topics about prostitution; When the victims started and why they started was not uncovered by these findings. There have not been a sufficient interviews with these subjects to
Although, in Sold, Lakshmi listens to her family and trusts what they tell her when really it was wrong. Although she has her blood family, but her friends in the Happiness House count as a family also to Lakshmi. They may have not been her mother and father’s blood, but the girls in the house all act as one family. They care and trust each other just like a family does. In the story, one of Lakshmi’s family members, Anita, tells her false information.
Human trafficking was a major problem in this book. Researching human trafficking can further all evidence and information on the topic which the books had multiple points to emphasize on . Patricia Mccormick writes sold to inform people about the experiences of others lives and the way they are living with this happening to them or have happened . Her personal trials have taken an emotional route to connect with Lakshmi or some of the young girls she has visited previously. This essay is important because it talks and highlights very key points on Human trafficking and how it affects women and the society as a
The country of East and South Asia suffers a lot from internal problems, one of the problems, though, is human trafficking in particular. Human trafficking plays a huge role in the life of the main character in the book, Lakshmi. The first quote shows the role of women in Indian society “Once you are married, she says, you must eat your meal only after your husband has had his fill. Then you may have what remains”(McCormick 15). This quote explains how women in this country are trained to fully serve their husbands’ needs, and then only tend to their own, women are undervalued in this society and manage most of the household.
If she didn’t treat the girls so poorly, one can assume Mumtaz would not hold the same position of power. While other characters in this book share the cruelness of Mumtaz, not all of the women in Lakshmi’s life put their needs above others to reach their goals. Ama, Lakshmi’s mother, exemplifies the traditional “good” female role. To understand what I mean by this, one would have to define “good”. I use the word in the purest sense: good and bad; black and white.
The opponents of the legalization of prostitution claim that decriminalization of prostitution destroys the moral foundations of our society. The equalization of prostitution to the usual professions such as a teacher or a doctor brings up the notion of immorality and permissiveness in the growing generation. Also, children and adolescents do not correctly perceive the concept of sex and intimacy between a man and a woman. Sex is perceived as a business, and not as something spiritual between two loving people. Many young girls will think that there is nothing terrible in prostitution and this is allowed to
Over the years there have been many controversial ethical issues which are still debated in the 21st century. In today’s modern society one such controversial issue is prostitution. Prostitution can be defined as “The act or practice of engaging in sexual intercourse for money” (Deigh, 2010, p.29). Prostitution is the oldest profession of all. However the ethics of prostitution is still unclear between many societies.
The United Nations’ Convention held in 1949, stated prostitution to be “incompatible with human dignity”. According to the Oxford Dictionary, prostitution is defined as "The practice or occupation of engaging in sexual activity with someone for payment." Often referred to as the “oldest profession” in the world, prostitution has become a burning issue in today’s world. The ongoing debate on whether to legalize, criminalize or decriminalize prostitution seems to be quite unresolvable. This paper investigates the negative impacts of legalizing prostitution such as 1) encouragement of prostitution, 2) increase in the incidence of human trafficking and 3) exposure of prostitutes to severe harm such as drug abuse, infection from sexually transmitted diseases and violence, which clearly supports the fact that prostitution should not be legalized.