Political and social activist Susan Sarandon said that “When you start to develop your powers of empathy and imagination, the whole world opens up to you.” Sarandon understood that empathy is fundamental pro making sense of current social issues. The book Sold written by Patrick McCormick follows the journey of a young girl named Lakshmi that was sold into prostitution. This novel has assisted in shining a light on the overwhelming intensity of human trafficking as it exists today. Intellectual empathy is an awareness of the need to imaginatively put oneself in the place of others in order to have a genuine understanding of them. To have intellectual empathy is to be able to accurately reconstruct the viewpoints and reasoning of others and
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The characters were wary of Shilpa yet remained close enough to learn how her past shaped her present. When Lakshmi asked Shahanna why Monica and Shilpa never ran away when they get the chance to see a movie, Shahanna explained that Shilpa’s mother was also a prostitute. She was there by free will and had the ability to leave whenever she liked because she owed no debt to Mumtaz. (McCormick 167). Shahanna knew that prostitution was Shilpa’s family business and that leaving Mumtaz would be seen as a disgrace or, worse yet, a betrayal. However, it does explain why Shilpa continued to stay at Happiness House despite the miserable conditions and innumerable opportunities that she had to run away. Lakshmi also asked Shahanna why Shilpa drank so much hateful liquor. She said that “‘Her mother gave it to her when she was young so that it would not hurt so much when she was with a customer. She said she used to hate it. But now she likes it too much.’” (McCormick 172). Shilpa’s mother using liquor as a quick fix for her daughter’s pain had the same detrimental effect of Lakshmi’s stepfather’s gambling that quickly went from supporting to damaging his impoverished family. Shilpa did not want to drink liquor at first. However, her initial intentions became warped when the liquor supposedly helped her more than it hurt her. Monica was affected by promiscuity similarly to the way that Shilpa was affected by …show more content…
The actions of Lakshmi’s stepfather, Shilpa, and Monica may not be seen as morally correct or even justifiable. Be that as it may, they can still be understood when approached objectively. A new world opens up to readers that take advantage of intellectual empathy because they can begin to see through controversial characters’ mannerisms. Actions that may have originally been perceived as coincidental might actually have manifested the ever constant cycle of cause and effect. This gives the reader a more genuine understanding of how each character is connected and contributes a vital role within Lakshmi’s
The characters were wary of Shilpa yet remained close enough to learn how her past shaped her present. When Lakshmi asked Shahanna why Monica and Shilpa never ran away when they get the chance to see a movie, Shahanna explained that Shilpa’s mother was also a prostitute. She was there by free will and had the ability to leave whenever she liked because she owed no debt to Mumtaz. (McCormick 167). Shahanna knew that prostitution was Shilpa’s family business and that leaving Mumtaz would be seen as a disgrace or, worse yet, a betrayal. However, it does explain why Shilpa continued to stay at Happiness House despite the miserable conditions and innumerable opportunities that she had to run away. Lakshmi also asked Shahanna why Shilpa drank so much hateful liquor. She said that “‘Her mother gave it to her when she was young so that it would not hurt so much when she was with a customer. She said she used to hate it. But now she likes it too much.’” (McCormick 172). Shilpa’s mother using liquor as a quick fix for her daughter’s pain had the same detrimental effect of Lakshmi’s stepfather’s gambling that quickly went from supporting to damaging his impoverished family. Shilpa did not want to drink liquor at first. However, her initial intentions became warped when the liquor supposedly helped her more than it hurt her. Monica was affected by promiscuity similarly to the way that Shilpa was affected by …show more content…
The actions of Lakshmi’s stepfather, Shilpa, and Monica may not be seen as morally correct or even justifiable. Be that as it may, they can still be understood when approached objectively. A new world opens up to readers that take advantage of intellectual empathy because they can begin to see through controversial characters’ mannerisms. Actions that may have originally been perceived as coincidental might actually have manifested the ever constant cycle of cause and effect. This gives the reader a more genuine understanding of how each character is connected and contributes a vital role within Lakshmi’s