Sold Theme of Perseverance, Hopes, and Plans

In her mountaintop home in Nepal in the novel Sold, Lakshmi withstands extreme weather, poverty, and disappointment in her mother and her stepfather. Yet she and her family surge forward, because, as Ama says, "Simply to endure... is to triumph" (11.EverythingINeedToKnow.11).

It's this introduction into hardship and struggle that helps Lakshmi persevere at Happiness House. She withstands Mumtaz's abuse, the abuse by the men who rape her, and a growing isolation as her friends gradually disappear into the fringes of society.

But her hope is integrally tied to perseverance. Lakshmi hopes to be free of Happiness House, she hopes to return home, she hopes and believes that there is something more for her. Even on the mountaintop, she has goals that she wants to see realized. And without her hopes and goals, Lakshmi might not endure her struggles with the same determination.

So Lakshmi makes plans to achieve her hopes, and these plans allow her to persevere despite almost insurmountable odds. Without hope and plans, Lakshmi's ability to endure her captivity as a sex worker might come to a much different end.

1. What are Lakshmi's hopes in Nepal, and how do the plans she makes around these help her endure the hardships she experiences there? What are her hopes at Happiness House, and how do her plans help her endure the experiences she has there?
2. How are Laskhmi's approaches to perseverance on the mountaintop in Nepal and at Happiness House in India different?
3. What makes Lakshmi's ability to persevere at Happiness House different from the attitudes of other characters toward hope and perseverance?
4. Who affects Lakshmi's attitude toward perseverance and hope most? Try to think of one character who does the most harm and one character who does the most good.

Lakshmi has little control over her own rescue, so her perseverance and hope are actually pretty useless.

Lakshmi is the exception rather than the rule when it comes to hopes and perseverance of girls in Happiness House.