Sold- 6th Post

From the very beginning at "Happiness House," Lakshmi refuses to work as a prostitute. I think this is very noble of her. At first, despite beatings and starvation, she does not comply to sell her body. I think that Auntie Mumtaz is a horrible person. How could a woman force young girls, even children, to become prostitutes. What if she was in that situation? I think that she oly thinks about herself and no one else. It is sad that Lakshmi, after refusing to be a prostitute, is drugged and raped. It is very hard to read these poems about how the men rape her. After a while, Lakshmi decides that she must sleep with the men to pay off her debt to Auntie Mumtaz. It must have been hard to make that decision. Auntie Mumtaz then advertises Lakshmi as the "virgin" of "Happiness House." She could only be named that for a while, so Auntie Mumtaz decided that she was no better than the rest of the girls. She told Lakshmi to live witht he other girls of the house. Lakshmi makes friends with some of the girls. They give her advice on how to survive in the house. One of these girls in named Shahanna. She tells Lakshmi how the house works and what she should do to make life easier. I like Shahanna. She seems like a genuine friend to Lakshmi.