Reading Response 3

I have recently started reading a book called "Sold" by Patricia McCormick. I kind of ruined the whole novel for myself though because a few months ago I opened it at a random page and it got so interesting I kept reading...from the middle of the book...until I finished it. I saw the book perched up on the shelf in the classroom library, and although I knew the ending, I figured there was no point reading a book if only half of it was read. Anyways, I started reading (from the beggining this time) and it evidently made the conclusion much more satisfying because all my questions that surfaced while I was reading the ending were answered in the beggining! So a quick resume of the book would consist of a thirteen year old girl named Lakshmi living in a third world country, living in poverty with a loving and nurturing mother, a happy baby brother and a gambling and selfish step father. Attempting at making ends meat, Lakshmi and her mother rely on their rice crops for a semi-stable income. When harsh Himilayan monsoons wash away all their crops and hopes of being financially safe, Lakshmi`s step father is persistant trading her off to become a maid in the city, and recieving an allowance in return. Lakshmi is happy she can assist her mother with paying rent for their small hut and having enough milk and food for the whole family, even if involves not seeing her family until the next year. Her step father brings her to a dazzled stranger whom will take her to the city to find a job. The stranger is an unpleasant woman, dressed beautifuly. Lakshmi beleieves she will be working as a maid, but shortly after finds out she has been traded into being a child prostitute. Sharing a house with numerous other sex slaves, she feels she has no escape. The days are long and there are very few moments of happiness. If she leaves and tries to escape and is caught the cruel woman who took her will shave her head and punish her immensly. She is afraid of the concequences, as a majority of children would be, and decides she has no way out. She is reminded constantly that she must portray the ideal prostitute to gain the most amount of money possible because she owes a debt to the stranger who took her and payed her father. The whole time reading this I thought to myself why would she sacrifice her happiness and maybe even her sanity when, if planned out correctly, she had the slightest opportunity to escape. I suppose if I was in that situation and the only safe place I knew was in that home, being forced to sleep with strange men on a daily basis, perhaps I wouldn't have the strength to leave either. But being on the outside looking in, it seems that leaving would be the only logical thing to do. She has many hopeful opportunities to escape when certain white men from America enter the house and secrety announce to her that they can take her out of there and save her, but she hesitates. It aggrivates me when she does not  accept this offer because even if these men are lying and are not planning on helping her as promised, it's a risk I feel she should take! What would be worse than being a sex slave at the age of thirteen?

This book is one of those books you can finish in a day because every spare second you have you're reading it. It's very interesting and although it's slightly irritating reading about so much pain and suffering, it's suspenseful at the same time.

You jump, I jump Personal Post 4

So, last night I went to the movie theatre to see Titanic with my boyfriend. I've seen the movie a few years ago but didn't remember the whole thing. I used to cry a lot at movies but this year I guess i ran out of tears because most movies don't get to me anymore, and I figured Titanic would be the same. The movie started rolling and I was so into it and instantly remembered what I was missing.  I fell in love with Leonardo Dicaprio and thought his acting was outstanding for his performance as Jack Dawson, a 3rd class Titanic passenger, who falls in love with Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet), a 1st class passenger who is engaged to a wealthy man by the name of Cal. Jack saves Rose from her attempted suicide and after a short time of direct bonding, the two fall in love. Cal's a selfish man and can't stand the thought of coming out as the under dog. Happily sneaking around together, Jack and Rose's connection faces an obstacle when the boat hits an iceberg and the boat starts to fill with water and sink. Only enough smaller boats to save but half the passengers aboard, Rose refuses to leave Jack and board one since the boats are to be filled with children and woman only primarily. When it showed the boat going down I started to immidiately cry more than I have in a while, because it was such a touching story and not only was it sad, it was non fictional. I think the movie captured the possible and likely reactions of those who actually took place at the unfortunate event of the sinking of the Titanic. I wondered what it'd be like to be pushed away from safety if I wasn't considered wealthy enough to be saved. I went to the Titanic exhibit a few months ago and I found it very interesting. They had all types of objects found in the ocean belonging to the Titanic and even showed what kind of rooms different kinds of passengers slept in. I can't believe how many people died due to selfishness and how many deaths could have been prevented. It makes me so frustrated that people would rather watch others die in exchange for their own personal comfort. My feelings on the Titanic was that it was tragic and awful and many more people should have survived.