Tali vs. Jeena

In Sold by Patricia McCormick, a loyal, hard-working girl named Lakshmi, lives in Nepal and grows up on a farm. When she is thirteen, she, whether on purpose or by accident, is sold into prostitution. Before she is taken away, she lives a simple lifestyle that consists of farming, cleaning, cooking, and doing whatever else must be done while trying to ignore her stepfather's gambling problem. While on the farm, she had a goat named Tali. She raised Tali like a younger sister, or even a daughter. While being separated from Tali, I can't help but wonder how she copes with practically losing a daughter.

At the prostitution house she must work and live at (known as the "Happiness House"), some of the women or girls there already have children. The children live a pretty good life, with school and plenty of time for playing. But when it gets dark, the children must hide under the bed or play out of sight, staying that way until the men leave, which may not happen until the wee hours of the morning. These kids hardly get any sleep and increase their mother's debt to Mumtaz (the owner of "Happiness House"), and as horrible as it may sound, I wonder if these kids make it harder for their mothers.

But that train of thought might not be entirely true. On page 144, Pushpa (one of the prostitutes) whispers to her young daughter "You do not remember, but we used to have a proper home.". This line shows me that these women used to live in actual homes, possibly even like the one that Lakshmi used to live in. But if that is true, then something must have happened to get them desperate enough for money, that Pushpa had to resort to....this. Maybe they wouldn't of been so desperate if they didn't have so many mouths to feed. But more mouths to feed means more help to help make money. This may have been the situation with Lakshmi and Tali. Sigh, a vicious cycle, isn't it?

But in conclusion, Tali was a profitable goat. There may have been more money made then spent with her. But then again, maybe not. There is no sure way to know for sure, but I can make guesses. So can you, so if you bothered to put up with this confusing blog post, let me know what your guess is? Thanks!