SOLD by Patricia McCormick Literary Essay

Many young children, teens, and adults face challenges that are not seen in other parts of the world. In Sold by Patricia McCormick, she tells the story of a young girl who leaves her home in the Nepalese mountains to work in the city and support her family. Lakshmi, the protagonist,  faces many challenges when she arrives at a brothel to work off her debt. She is placed in a position of uncertainty and surprise due to the fact that she thought she was going to work as a maid. Many teenagers, like Lakshmi, have families who depend on them for survival.

At home, Lakshmi's family face many challenges and struggle to get through the seasons. The first line states, “One more rainy season and our roof will be gone, says Ama.” This line is the foundation for all of the events that occur in the story. This showed me how unsure the stability of their home was and how important her family meant to Lakshmi. I think that the tin roof symbolizes Lakshmi’s role in the family. The roof keeps the family safe and dry and Lakshmi sees herself as responsible for their safety and comfort.  Another line that really showed me how important Lakshmi is to her family when she talks about how rare it is for children to survive the seasons. “They take food from their bowls , feed it to their children, and silence their own churning stomachs. This is the season when the women bury the children who die of fever.” This shows me the importance of Lakshmi having a job and how lucky she is to have it. I think that although it is not what she thinks, the job, itself, is hope. Lakshmi’s stepfather spends his days betting, waiting for something tremendous to come around, and Lakshmi’s mother does her best to survive and support them. Lakshmi knows that she has to support her family more than she has in the past and will do whatever it takes to help them.

When Lakshmi gets to the Happiness House, nothing is what she thought it would be. She can tell something is wrong from the minute she gets a few miles from home, but she just goes along with it, trusting the people who take her to her destination. When Lakshmi enters the Happiness House, she sees girls running around in luxury clothes instead of maids clothes, which she was expecting to see. When Lakshmi figures out where she is, she shuts herself off and refuses to “work”. Mumtaz forces her to please her visitors until she learns the way things are supposed to be and drugs her so does as she is told. I think that the lassi Mumtaz uses to drug Lakshmi represents her losing control of herself because even though the lassi makes her lose control of her body, she is still aware of what is happening. “ Today the David Beckham boy taught me some new words. Now I can say: sit, walk, book, bowl, good, bad, happy, and sad. “ I think the David Beckham boy is a symbol for making the best of what you have. He teaches Lakshmi how to be more optimistic and gives her something to look toward. I think the David Beckham boy is a sign of hope for the girls in the Happiness House because he brings a new side of feeling and hope into their lives. He gives everyone something to look toward. All of the impurities push Lakshmi to work to support her family because she knows they are relying on her.

Lakshmi is willing to go to great lengths to insure the security of her family. She would do anything for them and she really proves herself. She tracks everything she does and trusts that the pain won’t last forever. This made me think about how our society is so different. It is a law that kids have to go to school and if they don’t, still have to be educated. Parents work and support their families. In Sold the roles are switched, and the stakes are much higher for Laksmi and the security of her family. I think it is important to recognize that this story is a very real situation that many teen girls face in other parts of the world. Many children have to take on the responsibility that a parent in our society would take on but for them, it is what is considered “normal” and expected.

Through Lakshmi’s story, we follow a young teenage girl as she experiences confusion and abuse, to support her suffering family at home in the Nepalese mountains. Lakshmi’s family means the world to her and she would do anything for them, as many kids in that situation would be forced to do. Many teenagers face challenges in order to support their families and put themselves on the line.