NOVEL REVIEW/BOOK REPORT

Name : Oppie Anggraeni

Title of the Book : The Breadwinner

Author :
Deborah Ellis

Publication Date:
2001

Publisher :
Groundwood Books/Douglas & McIntyre 720 Bathurst Street, Suite 500, Toronto,
Ontario M5S 2R4

Reason for Choosing This Book:

I had watched the movie adaptation for research purposes, but luckily it had a
very good storyline in my opinion. When I found out the movie was an adaptation, I
then sought access to the original novel. Why I say the story is good is because they
have their own way of conveying the issues of oppression that women often
experience, which is not only detrimental to women but also to the people around
them. Not only the issue of women, but they also together in this movie convey the
impact of the chaos that occurs in a country on the mentality of the children in it.

INTRINSIC ELEMENTS OF THE STORY

Theme
· Gender relations (Chapter 1, pg. 4, 1st Paragraph)
“She wasn't really supposed to be outside at all. The Taliban had ordered all
the girls and women in Afghanistan to stay inside their homes. They even
forbade girls to go to school. Parvana had had to leave her sixth grade class,
and her sister Nooria was not allowed to go to her high school. Their mother
had been kicked out of her job as a writer for a Kabul radio station. For more
than a year now, they had all been stuck inside one room, along with five-
year-old Maryam and two-year-old Ali.”

· Family and friendship (Chapter 3, pg. 19) & (Chapter 14 & 15)
This is the theme that carries the entire story, where Parvana and her
family always protect each other. It culminates in them trying to free their
father from the Taliban. They start by trying to write a letter to the prison,
 until the moment when Parvana was reunited with her father through the help
of Mrs. Weera.

· Children (Chapter 6, pg. 33) (Chapter 7, pg. 41)

The story in this work uses an 11-year-old main character who is
forced to become the backbone of his family in place of his father. She has to
change her identity into a boy in order to enter the market to trade. The novel
is about her journey to fight for her family under the bad rule of the Taliban.

Characters and Characterization

· Parvana (Chapter 6, pg. 33)
Parvana is an 11-year-old girl. Since her father was arrested by the
Taliban on vague charges, Parvana has been burdened with a lot of
responsibility. Due to her young age, she is still able to disguise herself as a
boy and go out to help her family of 2 sisters and her mother. She was a
strong child with a female physique, kind and affectionate to her family. Due
to the Taliban's rule of not allowing women to leave the house, Parvana the
little girl in her male identity felt that it was her duty to help and support her
family.

· Nooria (Chapter 1, pg. 7) & (Chapter, pg. 30)

Nooria is Parvana's sister, and is the eldest child in the family. Nooria
is portrayed in several passages as controlling and commenting on her sister,
especially Parvana, which leads to conflicts between them like any other
sibling quarrel. However, Nooria is also a character who struggles because
she has to act as an adult to take care of her 3 younger siblings at the age of
17.

· Father (Chapter 4, pg. 24, 1st dialog)

The father character is portrayed as a man who lost his legs in the war
and has to be helped by Parvana to move in the market, but despite his
shortcomings he is an educated man and does not limit education to his
family. Instead, he encourages women to have talent, education, and supports
them in their work.
· Mrs. Weera (Chapter 5, pg. 31, 2nd Paragraphs) & (Chapter 14, pg. 75)
Mrs. Weera was a tall woman. Her hair was white, but her body was
strong. She had been a physical education teacher before the Taliban made
her leave her job. She was a brave woman who was not afraid of the
Taliban's rules, she also joined a women's club without the Taliban's
knowledge. They mobilized to protect and reclaim the rights of women in the
Kabul area. She also takes care of Parvana when her mother and her sisters
go to Mazar.

· Shauzia (Chapter 9, pg 50., 1st paragraph) & (Chapter 13, pg. 72, 2nd
dialog)
Shauzia is a girl who also changed her identity in order to work in the
market to feed her family. She came from a poor family where her father was
often abusive to her and her family, but did not provide for her. She works as
a teaboy for the elderly and workers in the market. He dreams of getting out
of the city and starting a new life with the money he collects from selling tea.
He became a good friend of Parvana.

· Mother (Chapter 1, pg. 5, 1st paragraph) & (Chapter 1, pg. 10-13, 2nd
dialog)
Fatana is a mother of 5 children. She lost her second child, a boy
named Housin. Fatana was a loving, a bit strict, and intelligent mother.
Before the Taliban took over Kabul, she was a writer for a radio station in
Kabul. She and her husband used to come from a well-respected and
educated family in Kabul, but since the coup, everything has changed and left
them and their five children living on a third floor of an apartement building
which had been hit by rocket attack, and half of it was rubble.

· Maryam (Chapter 1, pg. 5) & (Chapter 1, pg. 7, 3rd paragraph)

Maryam is Parvana's 5-year-old sister, she is a cheerful child and
loves to chat with Parvana. They lived in the same room when their parents
were still in good financial shape and shared a room with Ali the youngest
brother when they eventually moved into a small apartment.
· Ali (Chapter 1, pg. 5, 1st paragraph) & (Chapter 1, pg. 14, last paragraph)
Ali is Parvana's 2-year-old brother. When the Taliban took over the
area, Ali was just a few months old so he hasn't been out of the house since.
Just like other children his age, he loves to play and cling to his mother.

· Hossain (Chapter 2, pg. 14, 3rd-4th paragraph)

Hossain was the eldest son of the Parvana family. He was killed when
he accidentally stepped on a landmine when he was 14 years old. He often
played with his sister Nooria and loved little Parvana dearly.

· The Window Woman (Chapter 9, pg. 54, 2nd paragraph) & (Chapter 12,
pg. 70, 1st paragraph)
A woman who lives above where Parvana sells. This woman often
greeted Parvana not by speaking but by giving her small gifts. But, this
woman was also a victim of violence by her husband.

· Homa (Chapter 13, pg. 75, 2nd line) & (Chapter 14, pg. 78, last
paragraph)
Homa was a child not far from Nooria's age. She was the victim of a
Taliban crime, where her entire family was slaughtered and became food for
stray dogs. She is a smart girl who will help Mrs. Weera help girls get an
education.

PLOT
· Exposition (Chapter 1 - Chapter 2, pg. 17 )
The Taliban took control of Kabul. Many bombs fell in the area as it
was at war with the allies. Parvana and Nooria dropped out of school due to
Taliban rule. Parvana's father lost his leg in the war, and her mother lost her
job as a writer due to Taliban rules that did not allow women to leave their
homes. Parvana's family fell into poverty as they had to sell all their
belongings to pay for their living expenses. They then lived in a small
apartment with 8 family members. Parvana's father asked her to collect good
things to sell in order to survive. One day after sitting for a long time to offer
their goods in the market, Parvana and her father decided to return home.

· Rising Action (Chapter 2, pg 17 - Chapter 14, pg. 77)

They had dinner and talked about a brave Afghan woman named
Malali. Suddenly Taliban soldiers barged into their home and arrested her
father on charges of bringing western thoughts to Kabul. The family is
devastated with grief. Nooria and Parvana tried to write a letter to the prison.
Parvana accompanied her mother to Phul-i-Charkhi prison. On the way, her
mother shows her father's photo to some people. People nodded as if they
understood what she meant. She asked the prison guard about her husband.
The guards ignored them. One of the guards took her father's photo and tore
it up. Another guard beat mom with a stick and told her to go home. Parvana
and mom returned home with injuries on their bodies. Mom was sad and
closed herself off. They began to run out of food to survive. Parvana
desperately went to the market to buy some food by herself. When she had
not finished her shopping, she was caught by the eyes of Taliban members.
While being chased, she is helped by Mrs. Weera. They returned to Parvana's
home safely. Parvana changed her appearance to that of a boy.
Parvana sells at the market in place of her father. Parvana manages to
bring food and money to her family. Parvana met a boy who had also
changed his appearance, Shauziah. They became good friends and helped
each other to raise money for their families. Parvana and Shauzia worked
digging up bones to sell. Parvana is frightened and cries when she returns
home. Nooria took Parvana's place digging for bones. After a week, they
finally collected the money. After a week, they finally collected the money.
Parvana again offered her services as a letter writer and reader in the market.
One day, Parvana was selling cigarettes and chewing gum in the market with
Shauziah. They saw the Taliban executing prisoners in the city stadium.
Everyone was watching. Parvana and Shauziah were terrified. 2 days later
Parvana decided to stay away from the market for a while. When their food
runs out, Parvana returns to the market to work and buy food.

· Climax (Chapter 13 - Chapter 15, pg. 81)

 Spring turned into summer. Mother and Mrs. Weera set up an all-girls
school. Nooria joins the class. Mother tells Parvana that Nooria will be
married off in Mazar. Mother decides that they will go to Mazar-E-Sharif,
but Parvana refuses because she fears for her father when they decide to
leave. Mom gets angry and leaves Parvana. Parvana saves Homa from
Taliban. Homa tells her how her family was brutally shot at by the Taliban,
and their bodies were eaten by dogs. Parvana is scared and worried that her
mother and Nooria will die. Parvana breaks down and shuts herself in and
refuses to return to the market. Shauzia persuades Parvana to return.
Parvana's life feels like a nightmare. Father manages to return to their home.

· Resolution (Chapter 15, pg. 81, last paragraph - Chapter 15, pg. 87)
Father’s condition gradually improved. Parvana felt alive and hopeful
again. Parvana told this to Shauzia. Shauzia was happy to hear it. Shauzia
told Parvana that she will leave the city as her grandfather was looking for a
husband. Mrs. Weera gets news that people from Mazar are in the refugee
camp. Dad and Parvana plan to look for mom and Nooria there. Mrs. Weera
and Homa plan to go to Pakistan to meet their women's group and create a
school. Parvana bid farewell to the window lady by planting a flower in her
shop. Two days later, Parvana bid farewell to Mrs. Weera and Shauzia.
Shauzia, who was also leaving the city, said that she and Parvana should
meet again in Paris 20 years from now. Parvana envisioned what the future
would hold and felt ready to embrace it.

SETTING
· Places:
· Kabul, Afghanistan (Chapter 1, pg. 7, 1st paragraph)
“But now the country was ruled by the Taliban militia. They were
Afghans, and they had very definite ideas about how things should be
run. When they first took over the capital city of Kabul and forbade girls
to go to school, Parvana wasn't terribly unhappy. She had a test coming
up in arithmetic that she hadn't prepared for, and she was in trouble for
talking in class again. The teacher was going to send a note to her
mother, but the Taliban took over first.”
· Parvana’s Family small apartment (Chapter 1, pg. 10, 2nd
paragraph)
“Now Parvana and her father slowly made their way up the steps of
their building. They lived on the third floor of an apartment building. It
had been hit in a rocket attack, and half of it was rubble.”

· Kabul market (Chapter 1, pg. 4, 1st paragraph)

“She didn't dare say those words out loud. The man sitting beside her
father would not want to hear her voice. Nor would anyone else in the
Kabul market. Parvana was there only to help her father walk to the
market and back home again after work. She sat well back on the
blanket, her head and most of her face covered by her chador. “

· Pul-I-Charkhi prison (Chapter 3, pg. 22, 2nd paragraph)

“Pul-i-Charkhi Prison was a long walk from Parvana's home. By the
time the huge fortress came into view, her legs were sore, her feet ached
and, worst of all, she was scared all over.”

· Cemetery (Chapter 10, pg. 55, 3rd paragraph)

“One of the areas of Kabul most heavily destroyed by rockets, there
wasn't a single intact building in the whole area, just piles of bricks, dust
and rubble.”

· A bombed-out building (Chapter 13, pg. 74, 6th paragraph)

“Parvana wasn't so clever, and she got caught in the rain. She covered
her tray with her arms to keep her cigarettes dry and ducked into a
bombed-out building. She would wait out the storm there and go home
when it was over.”

· Sports Stadium (Chapter 11, pg. 62, 16th line)

“They ran over to the stadium entrance as fast as they could without
bouncing their cigarettes onto the ground. Several Taliban soldiers were
urging people inside, yelling at them to hurry. They pushed and shoved
 people through the stadium gates, swinging their sticks to get the slow
ones to move faster.”

· Time
There is no specific mention of this in the novel, but based on the war
told where the conflict between the Taliban and the allied forces heated up
again, it happened around 2001.

· Social Condition
The social conditions that the novel tries to portray show the
uncomfortable state of Kabul as a result of the war. The main character in the
novel is told to initially have a good and perfect financial life with his
educated parents and several siblings. However, everything changed when
bombs fell on Kabul and destroyed their belongings. Then everything
changed and forced him to become the backbone of his family. The novel
also depicts how women are deprived of their right to improve themselves
and are considered an insult when they leave their homes. The novel
describes the conditions of the people of Kabul under Taliban rule, where
they live in fear. This is because they only spy on each other and if they
commit an offense then they will report each other. The markets and streets
are only filled with men, while women are only occasionally seen with their
husbands.

· Explain the social and cultural context of the setting.

The Taliban's regulation also requiring women to wear chadors (a
piece of cloth worn by women and girls to cover their hair and shoulders.
Girls wear this outside.) makes them look similar to each other. Parvana, the
main character in the movie at the beginning of the story has a great fear of
the outside world and this is due to how the Taliban group that controls the
area often uses violence and tends to torture citizens who break the rules. Not
only Parvana but also other women in the city of Kabul. In contrast,
Parvana's father, who was a smart man, raised his children to be brave
enough to fight against the evil forces of the Taliban.
 Behind the narrative of the story that tries to convey what happened,
the author also slips some terms that exist in Afghan culture, such as nan
(Afghan flat bread) as their main meal every day, Shalwar Khameez (long,
loose shirt and trousers, worn by both men and women. Men's are all one
color, with pockets on the side and on the chest), toshak (a narrow mattress
used in many Afghan homes instead of chairs or beds), karachi (a cart on
wheels, pushed by hand, used to sell things in the market) and many other
terms.

ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS
· Point of View:
The novel uses a third-person point of view with limited omniscient.
We can see how the author positions himself as the reader or audience of his
work. In that, the author makes us focus on Parvana, what Parvana is
thinking, and where she is, but at the same time the author does not tell us
what is happening elsewhere. In this third person point of view too, we as
readers are forced to see everything through the eyes of an 11-year-old girl
where the things she says are in accordance with the limitations of a child.
This can be seen when she tries to describe her brother, Nooria. Through her
perspective, we would assume that Nooria's character is an annoying
character. But actually we as readers understand that Nooria is just behaving
as a first-born child should behave.

· Style and Tone:

The language style used by the author in this novel is quite easy to
understand as there are no specific terms that refer to scientific actions, but
the author uses some terms in Afghan culture such as nan (Chapter 3, pg. 20,
3rd paragraph) or karachi (Chapter 8, pg. 45, 19th line) in the narrative. In
addition, the author does not try to present a better setting for the novel.
Everything is portrayed as a result of the war, which may offend some people
who have lived there for a long time, but that doesn't mean that what the
author says is wrong. In using such a setting, the author still inserts beauties
that make us as readers less depressed and still have hope besides the beauty
that this author inserts often causes feelings of sadness. For example, when
Parvana meets the window woman (Chapter 9, pg. 54, 10 th line), when
Parvana's father tells stories of encouragement (Chapter 1), and when
Shauzia gives Parvana several dried apricots (Chapter 9, pg. 50, 26th line).

· Symbolism and Imagery:

⸰ Hair (Chapter 2, pg. 11, 18th line)
Hair in the novel is identified with femininity, as under Taliban
rule women had to cover it and stay indoors. This can be seen in how the
author portrays Parvana who feels jealous of Nooria's beautiful hair. The
decision to change Parvana's identity by cutting her hair and wearing her
brother Hossain's clothes is a symbol of freedom. After changing her
appearance, Parvana is free to go anywhere in the city.

⸰ Malali (Chapter 3, pg. 22, 9th line)

Malali, a brave Afghan woman who Parvana's father often tells
her about, is the epitome of female courage and freedom. Parvana often
remembers Malali to restore her courage in the face of suppression by
the Taliban as well as Malali's remembrance of her father. Malali's story
also reminds Parvana that fighting oppression and despair is possible and
in the future, making Afghanistan a place that once again celebrates
women like Malali and perhaps women like Parvana.

⸰ Shalwar Kameez (Chapter 7, pg. 42, 5th dialog)

Parvana's Shalwar Kameez is a beautiful long, red-colored outfit
that had to be sold but has never been worn by Parvana. When she saw
that it was sold, Parvana was satisfied that she was able to bargain well.
The beautiful dress symbolizes Parvana's beautiful old life, and as it is
taken away by its new owner, Parvana notices the innocence of her
childhood disappearing.

⸰ Replanted flowers (Chapter 15, pg. 85, last paragraph)

As she was leaving Kabul, Parvana planted a flower at her usual
place of business. People who saw Parvana doubted that the flower
would grow in the dry and hard soil, but it did. The flower became a
 symbol that symbolized the uncertain future for Parvana and her family
who were about to start a new life elsewhere.

· The imagery
⸰ Bombed-out buildings (Chapter 1, pg. 9, 4th paragraph)
Through the depiction of Pavana's neighborhood with bombed-
out buildings, it shows the post-war conditions in Kabul. Neighborhoods
that were once bustling and brightly lit "had turned from homes and
businesses into bricks and dust." (Visual Imagery)
⸰ White Bones in Rusty-Brown Earth (Chapter 10, pg. 55, 3rd
paragraph)
When Parvana and Shauzia reached the place where the bones
were dug up, Parvana saw bones sticking out of the ground. The bones
are depicted in contrast to the dark color of the ground. "white bones
stick[ing] out of the rusty-brown earth." (Visual Imagery)
⸰ Sandals Slapping (Chapter 5, pg. 29, 5th paragraph)
Before becoming a boy, Parvana was desperate to buy nan in the
market but was almost caught by Taliban members. Parvana ran, causing
the sound of her sandals slapping the pavement below. The depiction of
this sound shows Parvana's desperation and exhaustion. “Clutching the
still-warm nan to her chest, Parvana kept running, her sandals slapping
against the pavement." (Auditory Imagery)
⸰ Thwack of Sticks (Chapter 3, pg. 22, 6th line)
When they tried to release his father from prison with his mother,
the Taliban beat his mother with wooden sticks. Parvana, who was also
hit, described hearing the sound of the wooden sticks hitting her back as
a sound before finally feeling it. (Auditory Imagery)

Personal Opinion and Critical Analysis:

Apart from my frustration about the fate of Mother, Nooria and her two
younger siblings who are not known until the end of the novel, I would like to talk
about the fact that this novel is based on real events that happened in Kabul,
Afghanistan. Reporting from the shmoop.com page, the author of this novel
interviewed Afghan children living in refugee camps to write this book. This is not
the first time we've heard stories like this, we've also heard about Malala Yousafzai
who also experienced almost the same oppression as Parvana. All of these characters
ultimately represent how women and children have to fight for their rights in life. The
thing that always passes through my mind is, "How many more stories like them must
happen to change the fate of women and children?" coupled with the many scientific
studies conducted using these works of literature as objects.

· Conclusion & Recommendation:

The issues raised in this novel are issues that we often hear in society,
but the author conveys something different where these issues arise due to the
rebellion of a group that is fatal to the people in the area and at the same time
the author tries to tell readers that what happened in Kabul was a disaster and
very dangerous. Apart from all that, this novel is one of the novels with a very
good storyline. Something unusual and enough to make the reader feel
emotional about the conflicts faced by the main character.