Summary Of Sold By Patricia Mccormick

The book that I read was called Sold by Patricia McCormick and was written in the first person. The book is about a 13-year-old girl named Lakshmi who lives in Nepal in a mountain area. She lives there with her step-father, mother, and baby brother. Being fed up with their family living in poor conditions her stepfather sends her to go work. Lakshmi thinks that she is going the city to become a maid but soon finds out that she was sold to become a prostitute against her will in a place called the “happiness house.” She finds herself being used by men in the hopes of paying her debt to the owner Mumtaz. An American man came and asked if she wanted to leave but she was taught that they would disgrace her in the streets if she said yes so she …show more content…
This book shows that people can be so disgusting that they would use girls against their will for self-pleasure and as a source of income. McCormick also shows us that people are unforgiving through the life of a girl named Monica in this story. When she talks about her trip home she says, “When they heard I was coming, they met me outside the village and begged me not to come back and disgrace them.” Her family felt like she was a disgrace even though she did what she did to make money to support her family. The author has tried to show the humiliation and struggles these girls face in and outside of these brothels. She showed us the true nature of humans when it comes to things like these and I agree with her ideas of the society. It’s sad to think that if something like this happens to a girl in this very school, based on their parents and their background they could face the same fate as Monica. Society needs to change their ideas and understanding about this issue. Some people believe that these girls let these things happen to them by will and although some do, younger girls probably don’t. All the blame is put on the girls and no one cares about the men that are paying to use these girls. It’s sickening to think that the world has turned into such a place that they don’t care about the abuser but think lowly of the victims …show more content…
In the author’s note at the back of the book, it states that “ Each year, nearly 12,000 Nepali girls are sold by their families, intentionally or unwittingly, into a life of sexual slavery in the brothels of India.” This text-to-world connection is sadly the truth, and that’s just Nepali girls. There are more girls that get sold or kidnapped that are unaccounted for. Near the beginning of the book, Lakshmi tells her mom “I’m not a child anymore”. Her mother’s response to that was “Tonight, you are a child.” I have found myself in the same thought process as Lakshmi, wanting to help my mom out with problems but to only be stopped by the reminder that I am still a child in her eyes. This book is able to connect with the feelings of children both in underdeveloped places and in places like Canada. The way McCormick portrayed the emotions of Lakshmi made it seem like an autobiography. Generally speaking, this book was a good read and a well-written insight into the tragedy we call sex