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The effects of human trafficking on victims
The effects of human trafficking on victims
The effects of human trafficking on victims
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Innocence ripped away and replaced by premature struggling through life is what outlines Sold by Patricia McCormick. This historical fiction novel follows the story of Lakshmi, a thirteen-year-old girl living in Nepal. Desperately poor, Lakshmi can only enjoy simple pleasures, such as raising her speckled goat named Tali, and having her mother Ama brush and braid her hair. When the violent Himalayan rains tear away all that remains of their cucumber crops, Lakshmi’s maimed stepfather says she must take up a job, for he cannot get work. Lakshmi is introduced to the charming Bajai Sita who promises her a job as a maid in a wealthy area of India. Excited and full of hope to help her family, Lakshmi endures the long trek to India where her journey ends at the “Happiness House.” Soon she learns the frightening truth: she has been sold into prostitution. She is betrayed, broken, and yet still manages to come through her ordeal with her soul intact. Sold depicts a story meant to teach and inspire, making the novel a piece that is highly important for all to see and read.
Mumtaz, the ruler of the brothel, runs the house with brutality and a sense of street smart. Cheating Lakshmi of her paltry earnings, Mumtaz tells the girl she will never leave until she can pay off her family’s debts, which will never happen given the way the process is set up. She is living what is essentially enforced slavery. Despite her dire circumstances, Lakshmi continues to live by her mother’s words “simply to endure is to triumph” and slowly forms friendships with Shahanna and Anita who enable her to make it through her new struggles (McCormick 16). She learns to speak English from “this David Beckham boy” (McCormick 140). In time, Lakshmi meets a disguised Ame...
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...nd willingly obliges as she feels a man “pushing himself between her thighs,” only gasping for air, not complaining (McCormick 103). The fact she doesn’t know what is happening at every moment around her proves how unregulated and truly horrible the life she has ahead of her is, and how utterly unprepared for the world Lakshmi was when she left her remote village.
When the American man comes to save her is when it gets important. The awareness has risen, and the forced prostitutes are liberated. Ultimately, the novel acts as a learning tool. It exposes topics unknown to many in our privileged Western world. Not everyone knows about the system of sexual slavery and how pervasive it still is in other countries. The reader quickly learns everything there is to know about how scary and dangerous the trafficking can be, and how it impacts those sold into its dark ways.
I agree with the quote "A work of literature must provide more than factual accuracy or vivid physical reality... it must tell us more than we already know.". I feel like when reading a book it shouldn't be all about facts or just story lines. A book should should mix things up so it makes us want to read them and not focus on one thing. The Book Sold tells us facts about sex trafficking but it also provides us with something else, how a life of young girl is sold into sex trafficking by her step father so she can help the family with money. The second book "Eleanor and Park" talks about vivid details and also has a story line about relationships.
The novel, Wanting Mor, by Rukhsana Khan is an enthralling tale of life lessons. The story unfolds through the eyes of a traumatised Afghan female named, Jameela. Jameela begins to discover and comprehend themes and morals of life after witnessing the death of her loving mother, Mor. As the novel progresses, numerous themes arise throughout the course of the novel. This powerful novel depicts themes of confidence, tranquility, and righteousness in the cruel cold-hearted world in which Jameela inhabits.
Neglect and the lack of care from society is affecting the life of Theresa Flores. As young girls they are being forgotten by their community and society as human beings who need to be cared for as they grow and heal from the traumatic events in their life. The stories of Theresa and Rachel prove events of human trafficking have taken place in the United States during the 1980’s-2000’s and are currently occurring. In The Slave Across the Street by Theresa Flores, Theresa informs the reader of her experiences with neglect and the effects these experiences have on her. As Theresa begins to show signs of physical abuse, the adults in her schools and community are taking no notice in fear the results would affect themselves. Theresa says, “By doing nothings, turning a blind eye, they
In the novel, the author proposes that the African American female slave’s need to overcome three obstacles was what unavoidably separated her from the rest of society; she was black, female, and a slave, in a white male dominating society. The novel “locates black women at the intersection of racial and sexual ideologies and politics (12).” White begins by illustrating the Europeans’ two major stereotypes o...
While they do not examine how living a life of gratitude in their family might have contributed to Sarah's pain that does not mean that they didn't love her deeply. What shines through is Sarah's strength, her ability for generosity, and her love for many in her life. The chapters of the book are each introduced by the dates when women who vanished were last seen by friends or family. This helps to emphasize how long it was before the police took these women's disappearances seriously. deVries discusses quite lucidly the impact of societal attitudes and stereotypes upon sex workers in contrast with their actual humanised, individual situations and choices. Ultimately, this book is a wonderful testament to a strong person destroyed by circumstances within and without her that echoed off of each other to a heartbreaking end. It is also indicative of a society which sees some women as disposable because of the presumption of labels, and to not treat a person as an individual first who regardless of labels, does not deserve such a violent outcome in their
The author uses Celia’s story to raise issues about American slavery as a whole, the book forces the reader to acknowledge the extenuating circumstances that slavery drove its victims to doing actions that were unthinkable otherwise. The book also showed how the meaning of crime was confusing, it was terrible being a female slave that had no rights to her own body.
Symbolism is a poetic and literary element that interacts with readers and engages their feelings and emotions. In Sold, thirteen-year-old Nepali girl, Lakshmi, is forced to take a job to help support her family. Involuntarily, she ends up in prostitution via the Happiness House; this sex trafficking battle forces Lakshmi to envision her future and possibility of never returning home. The very first vignette of the novel speaks of a tin roof that her family desperately needs, especially for monsoon season. At the brothel, Lakshmi works to pay off her debt to the head mistress, Mumtaz, but cannot seem to get any sort of financial gain in her time there. Both the tin roof and the debt symbolize unforeseen and improbable ambitions, yet she finds the power within herself to believe. How does Lakshmi believe in herself despite her unfathomable living conditions and occupation?
In the book Sold by Patricia McCormick shares the story of Lakshmi who at the age of 13 is sold by her step father and is forced into the a life of prostitution. She is born and raised in a simple village community, her only trouble in life is her step father. Lakshmi will soon come to learn there is a whole world outside of her village and it is not as pure as she once believed. Lakshmi is starved and beaten until she finally comes to terms with her new fate. She tells stories of what happened to her while locked away, what she learns from the other girls, and what could happen to her if she angers Mumtaz. Lakshmi does not understand what is happening only they are happening to her. The experiences Lakshmi goes through can relate to everyones’ personal experiences in life.
The picture explains how sexual violence was rampant during the atlantic slave trade. Women were exploited, and their roles were to satisfy men, give birth, and feed the whites. It is a dominant theme in the picture. She agrees that her work is erotically explicit and would appreciate if people were ashamed of the exploitation done to the
The story clearly illustrates that when one thinks of their ideal lifestyle they mainly rely on their personal experience which often results in deception. The theme is conveyed by literary devices such as setting, symbolism and iconic foreshadowing. The abolition of slavery was one step forward but there are still several more steps to be made. Steps that protect everyone from human trafficking and exploitation. Most importantly, racism is something that needs to stop, as well as providing equal opportunity to all without discrimination.
Imagine having your parents sell you into prostitution and you don't realize it until it's too late. How would you feel? Sold by Patricia McCormick is novel about a girl, Lakshmi, who lives in the mountains of Nepal and is forced to leave her home due to a monsoon. After the disaster, her home, crops and livelihood and family is left alone and in need of help. In order to get this help, Lakshmi is sold off. However, Lakshmi does not notice that she is sold off until she is abused and treated like an animal by Mumtaz in the happiness house. A thought of betrayal sweeps over her, and because of the depression, she has no hope for life and cannot stay positive. Throughout this book, there are many people who have helped Lakshmi gain hope and positivity,
She sees her mother as “[her] enemy,” (27) because she was against her mother “always plotting” (28) footsteps for her to follow and is stopping her from rebelling against her position in womanhood. Her mother depicts the image of a traditional woman where she perceives her mother of being “out of place” (26) and lost woman. She resisted her mother’s effort of raising her into a traditional woman and thinks it’s a “joke” (29) but in reality it was what “[she] had to become” (29). To do things that insists behaviour that “girls” (29) are supposed to do, she was in perseverance and opposes by playing acts such as “[slamming] the doors and [sitting] as awkwardly as possible” (29) that were considered ‘wrong’ in the society. Struggling to fight through the norms, she feels conflictual tension, and faces hardships to be the ‘hero’ she imagined herself to be. Her mother acts in a very structured way metaphorically showing that the girl’s attempts to prove that cultural views of the way society are, and a grasp of her own identity is
Women play a key role in this novel in many ways. In the case of...
...her dreams, someone who allows her to do what she wants and help her stay in American for good. Tamila’s job is to find an Iranian-born husband before her visa expires. After meeting Ike a young American man, Tamila fell for him instantly, he makes her smile and blush every second they talk. Her friendship with Ike has grown stronger. And it is becoming harder for Tamila to ignore the forbidden feelings she has for him. To complicate matters, Tamila has to be brave and share her feelings of Ike with her family; she loves him too much and plans to be with him for the rest of her life. Both characters in the novels The Handmaid’s Tale and Veil of Roses have found their love, but they are too scared to share it; it might cause them their relationship.
Garg in ‘Hari Bindi’ discusses the story of a common woman and made it extraordinary by the active force she was experiencing in herself to live her life. The husband of the protagonist symbolises the power and control of patriarchy that had restricted her life in such a way