English 485: Expedition Adolescence

Sold by Patricia McCormick explores the topic of human sex trafficking through the eyes of an adolescent female girl who is only 13 years of age. A child so innocent who doesn't fully understand the world couldn't even grasp the concept fully of what her stepfather had done to her. we see just how innocent Lakshimi is when she says " It is all so confusing. I am afraid of this man. But I also feel grateful that he will protect me from the bad border men with guns."  she so young that and innocent that she doesn't yet realize that she should resent the man. situations like these seem to be common to happen countries who are less established. Although they are more common in those countries they still occur in the united states as well. Whether they are in a different country or our own the subject is still something maybe that should be lightly discussed in high school course. 

  Sold by Patricia McCormick is a novel that gripped me dearly as I read. By reading the Story of Lakshmi I was immediately engulfed with her experiences. I decided that this novel was beneficial to high school students, even though it was a heavy novel. I have come across not many books that make me feel like this novel does. The reader gains a view into the world of Lakshmi on her journey to, in, and out of the "happiness house". I understand fully that this novel would be considered heavy and possibly inappropriate for high school students, but I feel readers get a sense of how truly lucky they are in the fact that they are not living in this situation. Secondly, this novel gets kids to wake up  to the real-world dangers around them that they are likely blind to. There are dangers around students that our youth are quite ignorant to. This novel would highlight how this issue is prevalent in all cultures and can be turned into a lesson of how to prevent this to the best of ...

      I've always been of the belief that human beings, from the moment they form to the time they return to dust, are their own persons and beings with an unalienable right to freedom of all kinds in all fashions. while sometimes freedoms mus tbe curbed by laws for the sake of institution or morality, other times freedom is immorally denied, kept and abused and manipulate.     Just like Lakshmi. Human trafficking has always been an unforgivable crime, simply because of the sheer moral rot that I think someone has to experience to consider it. Whether you participate or you look the other way or you talk a lot and do nothing, traffickers have many allies, willing and not, to hide themselves away. The ones we do find are always drops in the ocean. an ocean of flesh and greed, of innocence abused and bodies broken.  We must do better.

I have to say that while it was interesting to read about this relationship, i feel that Leviathan may have missed the mark some on this. The story is interesting and the writing is wonderful, but i can't help but feel that something isn't totally accurate regarding Boy Meets Boy . That is, I feel like Leviathan is riding on the premise of the main characters in this book as being homosexual to carry the story instead of the story standing by itself.  Like some other posters, i do think that the story needs something more to make it truly appealing or relatable to the LGBT community. It's not bad, but it needs something special, something more. I do think Leviathan is trying to make a point however. I think he is trying to point out how easy it could be to include or accept LGBT community members or relationships, to the point that they aren't exactly... special, let's say. What i mean is that if we accept LGBT enough, it becomes a normal part of society. it's n...

 Within the first few pages of reading Sold , you can feel the hopelessness in the voice of Lakshmi.  The beautiful imagery McCormick uses to describe Lakshmi's surroundings still give you a sense that there is hopelessness all around.  When Lakshmi is sent to "Happiness House", which is ironically named, she finds a way to cope with what has happened to her.  "Then he hands me a pencil.  It is shiny yellow and it smells of lead and rubber.  And possibility" (McCormick 182).  Lakshmi befriends a small boy living in the house, and he teaches her about different languages.  This small gesture of kindness from the small boy,  Harish, gives her something to look forward to, a small glimmer of hope.  The other women in the "Happiness House" also use this coping mechanism to help them get through the hostile conditions they are forced into.  I think Sold  not only brings awareness to the major social issues of sex-trafficking, and ho...

     There are multiple important factors that contribute to the formation of a story, essay, novel, or any other piece of literature, and they are all essentially the same – characters, setting, conflicts, language, plot, theme, etc. The variations come with how different authors choose to construct these elements in order to convey their different messages. All of these elements are present in Patricia McCormick’s Sold . Her book details the journey of Lakshmi, a thirteen-year-old girl from Nepal, who has been smuggled into India and sold into a sex trafficking ring. To carefully detail Lakshmi’s story, while also considering the possible thoughts, feelings, reactions, and triggers of the audience, McCormick writes in verse – each chapter being a very short poem. Through the writing style, she effectively utilizes supporting characters, structure, and symbolism to emphasize the theme of hope, while also relieving readers of the burdensome content within the book.  ...

Whilst reading the novel  SOLD  by Patricia McCormick, one of the main messages that I gained from the story was that innocence. Being able to read from the viewpoint of Lakshmi, a 13-year-old girl who had wanted nothing but to bring anything to help her family. My mind and heart were aching for the little girl. So many questions had formed in my mind like one being why? I understand that it is culturally normal but why? Just like why also how? Even though the young girl had experienced horrible events, she was still able to not lose herself. With being the caretaker of her mother and little brother and the good student, it was saddening to see how such a sweet girl was forced to grow up. Sex trafficking is a event that we know takes place but I feel the book had brought light to the situation from a area that is culturally different from us. Not only was a taking mental notes of the location but as well as the victims thought process and reasoning  Further, into the no...

      " But no matter how often I wash and scrub and wash and scrub, I cannot seem to rinse the men from my body" (McCormick 87).        This book was heartbreaking, to say the least. I found it really hard at times for me to get through it without tearing up or getting angry. No one should ever have to go through what Lakshmi had to go through, but unfortunately this is a real problem in the world. I think what broke my heart more than anything was seeing Lakshmi lose her innocence. When she gets her period, that is like the beginning of her becoming a woman, but she still has her innocent spirit. We sadly have to read about her forcibly and brutally losing her sexual innocence.  The quote that I used in the first line is also a huge reference to Lakshmi's innocence. She is trying "wash the men from her body" and does not understand that this will not reverse what has happened to her.      "Simply to endure... is to triumph" (...

When I took the time read Sold, I made sure to prepare my heart and sit with it undistracted. That was hard. It was hard to physically sit still and read about this precious girl and her experiences. My heart broke so many times. Even though I knew that it was more culturally acceptable for her stepdad to sell her, it angered me to see how little he loved his wife or his family. "Lately, I want to tell her, my stepfather looks at me the same way he looks at the cucumbers I'm growing in front of our hut." (McCormick 1-2) On the other side, her mother saddened me because society caused her to believe that she would be better off with a dead beat man, than being a single mother.  Lakshmi's sexual experiences were almost unbearable to read. Tears streamed down my face as Habib prided himself as being her first. Her experiences were far from pleasurable and she desensitized herself to noises, feelings, and sights. "Then I understand: I was the person crying." (Mc...

  In the novel Sold , Patricia McCormick has incorporated the horror stories of girls that have been trafficked into a hero’s journey of a little girl named Lakshmi. The structure of the novel is written in poems and spans between the times that Lakshmi was trafficked and hopefully to where she was rescued. Throughout Lakshmi’s journey, she underwent several brutal realizations. Through her own self-discovery of what the world is like, it prevails to be brutal, dishonest, and full of disgust. The transformation that she had to undergo was too quick, and she could not understand the new world around her. Although in her mind she was the smartest girl in school, she was the best older sister, she was the best caretaker next to her mom, she found quickly that her new world did not provide her with the support that she previously had. The novel is depressing and difficult to get through due to the innocence of the character, and the fact that this is a real-life scenario that happens a...