Courage

Courage is a major theme in "The Breadwinner." The theme was demonstrated by both Parvana and her mother as they handled their extreme circumstances in a war torn city. Even though she was only eleven years old, Parvana took on the job of supporting her family after her father was arrested. She drew much of her strength from the example of Malali, a girl about whom her father had told stories. This girl was said to have rallied the Afghan troops when they were fighting the British in 1880.

The first time that Parvana thought of herself as Malali was on the day her father was arrested. She had wrapped herself around her father’s waist in an attempt to keep the Taliban from taking him away. As the soldiers had pulled her away from her father, he had called her his Malali. Given courage by her...