The Road to Lost Innocence is different than most of the books we have read for many reasons. In other blog posts, people have pointed out that it is non-fiction and that it's from a woman's point of view. However, I think the most important difference than the other works in the course so far is the quality and quantity of violence in the book that isn't in the context of war. Granted war was a huge factor that led to environment that exists in the book but the violence isn't in combat or battle. Paul had to kill someone but that was in a desperate attempt to stay alive. Kien cleans up bodies and other grotesque miscellaneous body parts but that was from a war zone. Somaly, however, is a civilian that is repeatedly beaten and raped in peacetime.
The life of a prostitute is a life of pain and suffering and the book exposes this in the same fashion that prior books in the course exposes the lives of soldiers. They have certain things in common. Both resort to addiction and abuse, suffer physical, mental, and emotional damage and are misunderstood by a portion of society. They are also both the oldest jobs in history. However, the soldier seems to be more inclined to have a sense of duty while the prostitute is held against her will by either abductors and pimps or by her own economic limitations. This is the main difference that sets this book apart.
The following link shows research and statistics that show the problems prostitutes face. http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/mhvhealt.htm
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