Starvation (Visceral Imagery)
When Mumtaz tries to starve Lakshmi until she submits to working in the brothel, Lakshmi describes her memories of starvation in the village in visceral detail. Unlike Mumtaz, who lives in excess, Lakshmi understands hunger. When she starves, Lakshmi's "stomach gnaws on itself," and her "insides keep moving, unwilling to believe they’re empty." To heighten the impact of this imagery, Lakshmi describes the futile tricks she uses combat hunger, such as trying to "swallow...spit and pretend that it is soup."
The City (Visual Imagery)
The city is a chaotic, overwhelming environment. Lakshmi describes walking through "streets jammed with scrawny rickshaw men...naked children pawing through rubbish heaps, stray dogs nosing through gutters filled with human waste." From Lakshmi's point of view, the city is oppressive and filthy.
Happiness House (Olfactory Imagery)
Happiness House, the brothel where Lakshmi is held in sexual slavery, overwhelms her senses with "the smells of spices and cooking oil, perfume and cigarette smoke," and "smells of liquor and incense." This olfactory imagery helps the reader feel the brothel's oppressive atmosphere.
The Village (Visual Imagery)
Though her village struggles in poverty, Lakshmi describes the "cluster of red mud huts clinging to the slope" that make up her village in romantic, pastoral detail. She remarks that the "tawny fields will be dotted with the cheerful dresses of the women, red as the poinsettias that lace the windy footpaths." Through this romantic, colorful imagery, Lakshmi expresses her fondness for the Himalayas' natural beauty, which starkly contrasts with the claustrophobic city.
