The Breadwinner Reading Log
Response 1
The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis is set in war-ravaged Kabul, Afghanistan during the Taliban’s rule of the country. The quote, “There had been a war going on in Afghanistan for more than twenty years”(13) indicates that it probably took place in the Taliban’s early rule between 1996 and 1998. The protagonist is a young eleven year girl named Parvana who has spent most of her life witnessing and suffering from the turmoil in her country. At the beginning of the story, she appears to be a naive and ordinary girl in the sixth grade who innocently believes that, when the Taliban close down the girls’ schools, she is getting a short holiday from school.
Throughout the novel Ellis attempts to concentrate on Parvana’s personality rather than physical appearance by refusing to describe Parvana’s physical features. This gives the reader the impression that Parvana can be any Afghani girl. Parvana undergoes substantial mental and physical torment in the duration of the plot; along with being made to shoulder the responsibility of running her family’s household, she emerges as a considerably more mature and responsible character at the end of the book.
The author of this paper believes that most of the novel is centered around Parvana and her other siblings being robbed of their childhood. This tells the reader that this was the happening in lots of households throughout Afghanistan. Some physical characteristics of Parvana are described after her transformation into a “boy”. Her hair that is described as “thin and stringy” is cut to a soft fringe. Her determination and courage are also regularly displayed over the course of the books as she takes over responsibility of earning for her household. Her affection towards her younger siblings is also indicated by her taking care of Ali when Fatana was in depression and complimenting Maryam’s art work.
Nooria is one of the few secondary characters in The Breadwinner; she is Parvana’s older sister and is indicated
The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis is set in war-ravaged Kabul, Afghanistan during the Taliban’s rule of the country. The quote, “There had been a war going on in Afghanistan for more than twenty years”(13) indicates that it probably took place in the Taliban’s early rule between 1996 and 1998. The protagonist is a young eleven year girl named Parvana who has spent most of her life witnessing and suffering from the turmoil in her country. At the beginning of the story, she appears to be a naive and ordinary girl in the sixth grade who innocently believes that, when the Taliban close down the girls’ schools, she is getting a short holiday from school.
Throughout the novel Ellis attempts to concentrate on Parvana’s personality rather than physical appearance by refusing to describe Parvana’s physical features. This gives the reader the impression that Parvana can be any Afghani girl. Parvana undergoes substantial mental and physical torment in the duration of the plot; along with being made to shoulder the responsibility of running her family’s household, she emerges as a considerably more mature and responsible character at the end of the book.
The author of this paper believes that most of the novel is centered around Parvana and her other siblings being robbed of their childhood. This tells the reader that this was the happening in lots of households throughout Afghanistan. Some physical characteristics of Parvana are described after her transformation into a “boy”. Her hair that is described as “thin and stringy” is cut to a soft fringe. Her determination and courage are also regularly displayed over the course of the books as she takes over responsibility of earning for her household. Her affection towards her younger siblings is also indicated by her taking care of Ali when Fatana was in depression and complimenting Maryam’s art work.
Nooria is one of the few secondary characters in The Breadwinner; she is Parvana’s older sister and is indicated