Mary Tess McElhanon Ms. Gourd Pre-AP 10th ELA March 27, 2018 CHILD TO SLAVE Throughout the world, there are a range of different cultures. Some cultures have an a-ray of customs and traditions that make them unique. Other countries consists of customs that affect the ones associated to it. In the novel Sold, by Patricia McCormick, the young girl, Lakshmi, faces many trials due to the customs of her culture. The setting of the novel and the main focuses of its culture affect Lakshmi and her hardships. The novel is set in India. The culture around Lakshmi is based off of her village’s customs. The hill-side village has festivals to honor the gods that provide them with plentiful farming seasons. As stated in the novel, “ I watch as Ama makes …show more content…
She is a thirteen year old girl, but that is not all that makes her character archetype a child. Children love to go on adventures. In the novel it states, “ and I wonder, in this swarming, hurry-up city, what will happen next to me.” (McCormick 66). Lakshmi was excited to venture into the city for a maid’s job. A child is also hopeful. It states, “ we sit together, each savoring our secret treats and dreaming of the days after the monsoon.” (McCormick 27). Lakshmi and her mother dreamt of having enough money to live a plentiful life. With a child being adventurous and hopeful, they have to learn their strange new surroundings. In the book it says, “ at first I nearly cried out. But then I look around at stone faces of the city people and understand that that is not done here.” (McCormick 68). For Lakshmi, the city was a faraway place that she had only imagined about, but with her arrival to the city she discovered it to be a terrible …show more content…
While still in her village, she dreamt for the day she would be married. It states, “ but I would go live with him in the mountains tomorrow if I could.” (McCormick 17) Lakshmi wanted badly to be with the boy, Krishna, that the village leaders had arranged for her to marry. Her dreams change when she is faced with the news of going to work in the city. It states, “ this news is like a tiny earthquake, shaking the very ground beneath my feet.” (McCormick 48). She realizes her fate is beginning to change as she is set into a whirlwind of the horrible place called the city. As she is traveling, she witnesses a girl being punished for trying to run away from her “husband”. It states, “ then another picks up a handful of gravel and flings it at her. She winces, then begins to cry.” (McCormick 85). Lakshmi sees what will happen to her if she decides she wants to escape the life she has been forced into. She is torn between her dreams and her unwanted