How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Title.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I do not know what they have agreed to. But I do know this: he gives her nearly enough money to buy a water buffalo. (53.Numbers.9)
What we have started to realize—though Lakshmi hasn't yet—is that she is what has been bought.
Quote #2
"Leaving," I say. "I'm going home."
Mumtaz laughs. "Home?" she says. "And how would you get there?"
I don't know."Do you know the way home?" she says.
"Do you have money for the train? Do you speak the language here? Do you even have any idea where you are?" (70.Sold.8-11)
One way that Mumtaz has enslaved Lakshmi (and one way that traffickers enslave the trafficked) is to isolate her from everything she knows. At Happiness House, Lakshmi has nothing—no money, no language, no idea of even where she is. And Mumtaz uses this to her advantage.
Quote #3
"You belong to me," she says. "And I paid a pretty sum for you, too." She opens to a page in her book and points to the notation for 10,000 rupees.
"You will take men to your room," she says. "And do whatever they ask of you. You will work here like the other girls, until your debt is paid off." (70.Sold.16-17)
Focus on the word "debt." A debt implies that Lakshmi owes Mumtaz something, and it gives Mumtaz not just physical power but financial power in the situation. Moreover, Mumtaz has just offered Lakshmi a glimmer of hope, one that Lakshmi grasps with all her strength. Why might Mumtaz offer Lakshmi hope of paying off her debt?