Summary Of Sold By Patricia Mccormick

Patricia McCormick wrote Sold, a National Book Award winner. This book focuses on a young girl who was sold into prostitution by her stepfather. Lakshmi thought she was going to the city to work as a maid and help her family earn money. She didn't let her situation get her down however, she stayed positive the entire time she was at the house. One way she passed time was by figuring out how long it would take her to pay off her debt and leave. She made friends with one of the other girls at the house and trusted her and told her everything she was thinking. One night an American came into Lakshmi’s room and gave her a card with words that she couldn’t understand. He asked her if she wanted to go with him but she was to scared to say anything.

This book offers not only insight to why a young girl might be sold but also what it is like for them once they realize what their families have done. It was also evident in the book that the young girls trust the people who take them. They feel like for once they are doing good and supporting their families. Most of the children who are sold are farm children just like Lakshmi. All they want is to help their families and they have been betrayed. “If I go, you will have money enough for rice and curds, milk and sugar. Enough for a coat for the baby and a sweater for you.” She smiles wanly and strokes my check with her work-worn hand. “Enough,” I say, “for a tin roof”(McCormick 48). Before they leave they are hopeful and they then become discouraged. Even though this book isn't based on true events it still shows the struggles and feelings of someone who has been sold. The author did this by actually going to the Red Light District of Calcutta and speaking with women who were once sold by their families. Prostitution affects a lot of young girls all around the world and not many people are aware of it. If someone read this book they would feel sorry for a fictional character but it would open their eyes about what actual people are going through. Even after the women are saved they need help dealing with what they went through. So even after they are

Many of the families are poor and cannot afford the essentials. In order to pay for these things they sell their daughters. Some of the families, like the family in this book, sell their daughters simply because they can. Lakshmi’s stepfather sold her merely to support his gambling problem. The girls think that they are finally going to help their family financially but in fact their families hardly ever see the money the girls earn. This book was a prime example of how money can make people do unspeakable things. The people who buy the girls only buy them if they can make them money. Once their income begins they will not stop. They want to keep making money off of the girls. But the thing is they don’t even see the girls as girls they see them as dollar signs. “Her eyes begin to gleam like new rupee coins. “There is something you could do,” Mumtaz says. Pushup looks up expectantly. “Sell her to me.“ She points to little Jeena, asleep in her bedroll. “ In a few years, when she is old enough, I can make a lot of money with her”(McCormick 195). In this book the lady who runs the brothel sees an infant only as a future worker. This proves that they don’t truly care about anyone except themselves. It is a sad truth but it is a