Mikaela Gleason

5/12/2019 Mrs.Wright The Breadwinner Essay - Google Docs

English 3/5
29 January 2019

The Breadwinner essay

In Deborah Ellis’s historical fic on novel, The Breadwinner, the author explores Parvana’s

life in Afghanistan during the Taliban's’ reign. Readers learn the hardships the Afghans, like

Parvana's family, have to deal with, such as the oppression of women and the li le educa on

allowed. Father had an educa on in England so the Taliban took him, leaving no one to receive

money and buy essen als for the family. This leads to Parvana pretending to be a boy in order

to keep her family alive and well while facing a series of other events.

One thing about Parvana is that she’s a sympathe c character. The family depends on

her for their survival, and even though it involves a lot of sacrifice and risk, she does it anyway,

pu ng herself aside for others. She also is sympathe c because she, at such a young age, lives

in war. “Parvana was born one month before the Soviets started going back to their own

country” (pg# chp2). This reveals that Parvana has spent her en re life under the threat and

dangers of war, even the war with the Soviets, not just the Taliban.

Ellis uses symbols in her novel, The Breadwinner, to describe feelings, the character’s

personality traits, or even give hints on what's going to happen to our protagonist or other

characters in the novel. An example is the torn picture of Parvana’s father, which shows how

li le the Taliban care when they tore it: “One of the soldiers snatched the photo and tore it into

pieces. Another started hi ng mother with a s ck” (42). It also shows that Father is gone for

good, he has been torn out of their life by the harsh hands of the Taliban, since the picture was

the last image they had of him. In addi on, the wildflowers Parvana planted in the market were

a symbol of hope and beauty. She planted flowers in the middle of the market but people

started to state all the nega ve possibili es of the future of the flower un l an old man walked

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_AWIJwsViGwnXODhE679x30GNFl6qeQnjU5l5boG0FI/edit 1/3
5/12/2019 The Breadwinner Essay - Google Docs

up and stated, “‘Afghans love beau ful things’ he said, ‘but we’ve seen so many ugliness, we

some mes forget how wonderful thing like a li le flower is’” (163). Flowers were n

Afghanistan before the Taliban and they are s ll the same beau ful organisms like the Afghans

s ll have the same fight in them that kicked out many other forces that tried to take control of

Afghanistan. These were some of the many symbols that stood out to me in Deborah Ellis’

novel.

A theme that stands out to me is war, pain, and tragedy; it shows how li le others care

for each other when they have a thirst of power. An example is Hossain’s death. The Taliban

placed landmines all over Afghanistan. Due to Hossain’s luck, he happened to step on one, so

the Taliban was the cause of his death (25). Another tragedy is the father being taken by the

Taliban. During dinner, the Taliban heard father teaching Afghan history and telling his

daughters to stand up. As a result, they busted in, interrup ng the family’s dinner. They yelled,”

Afghanistan doesn't need your foreign ideas!”(31). A Talib hit Father in the face.:” Blood from

his nose dripped onto his white shalwar kameez” (31). He was immediately arrested. To

describe people’s carelessness even further, the Taliban beat people up. There was no chance

for the vic ms to explain themselves, then Parvana and her mother went to the prison to

retrieve Father, the Taliban disapproved and beat them up. When the Taliban busted into

Homa’s family home, they drug her loved ones out and shot them in the street (page #). a This

all reveals that people will do anything for power, even if it involves hur ng others.

In the end, The Breadwinner is an in retrieving novel that is recommended to readers

who loves historical fic on along with a story of a life in war and risk, and a li le violence. It is

definitely not meant for 1rst grade and below, due to content and reading level. The book

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_AWIJwsViGwnXODhE679x30GNFl6qeQnjU5l5boG0FI/edit 2/3
5/12/2019 The Breadwinner Essay - Google Docs

makes you feel sympathy and a slight bit of sadness if you have tons of emo on. This is also

recommended if you want to learn about the Taliban and a hint on the perspec ve of an Afghan

dealing with these problems. Make sure to keep watch for copies of The Breadwinner in nearby

bookstores if these details sound like you.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_AWIJwsViGwnXODhE679x30GNFl6qeQnjU5l5boG0FI/edit 3/3