Religious and Cultural Differences

There were a number of cultural and religious differences that affected Amanda during her travels. When she was in Bangladesh, she discovered that few people were willing to interact with her because she was a woman traveling alone. She had to create a bit of a scene in order to get past the stigma and find someone willing to rent her a room. One night she heard someone shuffling around outside that room and began to fear that someone was trying to break in. She was fearful and knew she had reason to be afraid, but she also knew that she couldn't create a scene. If she had accused a man of wrongdoing, she would likely have been blamed for causing the problem and she would have lost her room.

This theme came into play a great deal later, when Amanda was held captive. She...