Summary Of Mccormick's Novel Sold

McCormick’s novel Sold is extremely relevant because of the enormous human trafficking industry in not only South Asia, but many other parts of the world. Worldwide, the US State Department estimates that nearly half a million children are trafficked into sexual slavery a year, and about 12,000 Nepali girls are sold by their families intentionally and unwillingly into sexual slavery in India annually. The issues of poverty, the shaming and subordination of women, rape, unsafe sexual practices and corrupt law enforcement officials pose extreme challenges to societies attempting to progress in the world, as well as the individuals who have to live with them. Also discussed in the novel, is the refusal of aid by women in brothels who do not realizes
what is being offered to them. As shown in the novel (pages 203-208, 213-217, 245-252), women in brothels are often manipulated into thinking that aid workers (Americans in this case) are not there to help, but trick the girls and will publicly shame them by making them run naked in the streets.
This fear, along with language barriers and fear of punishment from brothel leaders and the police being paid by the leaders, often leads to the rejection of aid, and the closure of opportunities for escape. Still, many aid workers travel to South Asia every month and attempt to free these women of their debt and help reintroduce them to society. Sex trafficking is an extremely relevant issue because of the extent at which it still goes on today. Often, people living in “first-world” or “developed” nations tend to forget that sex trafficking still occurs, and have no idea what it is really like for the women involved. This can make it hard for them to escape, as it seems most people have just accepted the fact that this occurs and do little to nothing to help prevent it. However, we cannot neglect these women who feel like they have nothing left in the world. As written in the novel, after Lakshmi is raped for the first time, she says, “I hurt. I am torn and bleeding where the men have
been. I pray to the gods to make the hurting go away. To make the burning and the aching and the bleeding stop. Music and laughter come from the room next door. Horns and shouting from the street below. No one can hear me. Not even the gods” (p.125).
Sold by Patricia McCormick is an extremely well written book that does not shy away from graphically describing the lives of women trapped in sex slavery. Unlike other forms of media about sex trafficking written for teenagers and adults, it does not romanticize the horrible experiences of these women. While a compelling and inspiring story, Sold does not let you forget what it is truly about, often switching to a graphic scene of rape and helplessness after a particularly moving moment. It also follows the story of a much younger girl than normal, with typical stories following a girl of 16-17 years old rather than 13. Also different from other stories about sex trafficking, Sold was compiled from the stories of many different women, with the shared themes and events such as treatment by customers, relationships with the other brothel girls, and abuse by the brothel leader all culminating to create the story of Lakshmi. This means that the story of Lakshmi is not one sided- it’s not only a multidimensional story, but one that anyone involved in the sex trafficking business can relate to. This novel brings the issue of sexual slavery back to the forefront of our brains, and inspires its audience to do something about it. Through reading this book, audiences are able to understand as well as someone not directly in the position of these girls can, what it means to be sold into sexual slavery, and lose all hope of becoming free.