How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Title.Paragraph)
Quote #13
"Have you done something for which you should be punished?" she says.
I don't answer.
She yanks on my braid. My scalp yelps with pain.
But I don't say a word. […]
I meet her gaze. "No, Mumtaz," I say. "I haven't." (176.Punishment.9,21-25)
This is a really complicated scene regarding power shifts. Who has the power in this context, and how does she have power? What role does truth play in power relations at this moment in the novel?
Quote #14
Something inside me breaks open, and I run down the steps. I see Mumtaz, her fat mango face purple with rage, her arms pinned behind her back by two policemen. She lunges in my direction and spits. But the policemen hold her back. (177.TheWordsHarishTaughtMe.27)
We see clearly here that the power relationship has once again tilted askew. Mumtaz is powerless, held by the good policemen that the third American promised would come to help Lakshmi. But that's not all. Take a look at Lakshmi—something in her "breaks open" and only then does she find the strength to move toward freedom. What exactly has broken within her, and how does it relate to her power and the power others have over her?