The Breadwinner

Shauzia vs Parvana: Comparing Central Characters in The Breadwinner 8th Grade

Are you aware that the idea of courage or bravery does not have an exact definition? In fact, it can be depicted in many different ways. For example, one of the many definitions of bravery could be having a strong moral sense of duty and the need in order to fight for what you believe in. Another definition of true bravery could be “understanding that desperate times calls for desperate circumstances and that sometimes in order to survive you need to throw away all morals”. Whatever your definition may be, a perfect example of these two types of bravery and courage is portrayed by Deborah Ellis in The Breadwinner (a story about a young girl named Parvana and her friend Shauzia set in Afghanistan during the rise of the Taliban and how they must fake becoming boys by cutting their hair and deepening their voices in order to help their families survive). It is shown very clearly in The Breadwinner that the more courageous of the main two characters is Shauzia due in order to her possessing the following character traits: making bad situations bearable, deciding between two difficult choices, and the realization that sometimes you have in order to be selfish in order to survive.

One reason that Shauzia is superior to Parvana is...

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