How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"The lesson here, my daughters," he looked from one to the other, "is that Afghanistan has always been the home of the bravest women in the world. You are all brave women. You are all inheritors of the courage of Malali." (2.61)
Father so badly wants his daughters to be courageous, so he tells them the story of Malali. He wants them to understand that bravery isn't attained with age or gender or even race, and that if Malali can inspire the Afghan soldiers to defeat the British, imagine what they can do.
Quote #2
Parvana couldn't sleep. She could hear her mother and Nooria tossing and turning as well. She imagined every single noise to be either Father or the Taliban coming back. Each sound made Parvana hopeful and fearful at the same time. (3.5)
The night of Father's kidnapping is pretty rough. Parvana misses him so much, and now paranoia sets in as she worries that the Taliban will barge back in at any moment. You know how it is when your mind plays tricks on you. Is that sound Father opening the door, or is a Talib solider returning? No wonder this kid can't sleep.
Quote #3
Malali wouldn't be afraid, Parvana knew. Malali would form an army and lead it in a storming of the prison. Malali would lick her lips at such a challenge. Her knees wouldn't be shaking as Parvana's were.
If Parvana's mother was scared, she didn't show it. She marched straight up to the prison gates and said to the guard, "I'm here for my husband." (3.44-3.45)
Parvana is terrified as she and her mother approach the Taliban prison in hopes of rescuing Father. She looks to her role model, Malali, but only feels like she pales in comparison. Meanwhile, nothing can get in Mother's way—and Parvana sees firsthand how courageous a woman can be when her family is threatened. Watch and learn Parvana.
Quote #4
Parvana started to cry. "The Taliban… one of the soldiers… he was chasing me."
"Dry your tears. Under such a circumstance, running was a very sensible thing to do. I always thought you had the makings of a sensible girl, and you've just proven me right. Good for you! You've outrun the Taliban. Where are you going with all that bread?" (5.23-5.24)
Parvana knows going to the marketplace is a bad idea, but she sets aside her fear because her family is starving. When confronted by a Talib solider, she lets her instincts take over and runs away as fast she can—in this moment, Parvana summons the courage to protect herself (and the bread) for the sake of her family. Luckily she runs right into Mrs. Weera, who praises the young girl for using her smarts… even though she is crushing the bread.
Quote #5
Parvana began to tremble.
"You are a letter reader?" he asked in Pashtu.
Parvana tried to answer, but she couldn't find her voice. Instead, she nodded.
"Speak up, boy!" A letter reader who has no voice is no good to me."
Parvana took a deep breath. "I am a letter reader," she said in Pashtu, in a voice that she hoped was loud enough. "I can read and write in Dari and Pashtu." If this was a customer, she hoped her Pashtu would be good enough. (6.15-6.19)
This man wants his letter read and is in no mood to deal with this kid who won't even speak. If Parvana is going to survive, she needs to find the courage to read this man's letter with confidence.
Quote #6
She turned around to plead with her mother. "Don't make me do this!"
"You see?" Nooria said in her nastiest voice. "I told you she was too scared."
"It's easy to call someone else scared when you're safe inside your home all the time!" Parvana shot back. She spun around and went outside slamming the door behind her.
Out on the street, she kept waiting for people to point to her and call her a fake. No one did. No one paid attention to her at all. The more she was ignored, the more confident she felt. (6.59-6.62)
Parvana is the family's only hope for food since she can physically pass as a boy—but while the family is excited about this plan, Parvana is just terrified. Luckily, she is so mad at Nooria that she doesn't even realize she's thrusting herself into the marketplace, and once she gets there, she realizes her family is right—no one is really concerned about her. This gives her courage to buy what she needs.
Quote #7
When she came to the shop that sold tea, rice and other groceries, she hesitated for a slight moment, then walked boldly through the door. I'm a boy, she kept saying to herself. It gave her courage. (6.64)
Parvana has never been outside of the house without her Father, so when the family sends her out to buy some food after his kidnapping, she is terrified. Who knows what the Taliban will do to her if she is discovered? She finds courage from looking like a boy, though.
Quote #8
"Maybe we can save her!" Parvana said. She saw herself climbing up the wall, smashing the painted-over window with her bare fist and helping the princess down to the ground. The princess would be wearing silk and jewels. Parvana would swing her up onto the back of a fast horse, and they'd ride through Kabul in a cloud of dust. (12.43)
Parvana and Shauzia imagine they are saving the Window Woman from whoever is making her scream and cry. They have great fun pretending they are brave heroes, but they don't have to pretend—outwitting the Taliban every day to put food on their families' tables sounds a whole lot like heroism to us.
Quote #9
"You'll never guess," her mother said. "Nooria's getting married." (12.66)
We don't know about you, but we think it takes guts to leave your country and family and agree to marry someone you've never met. Or is it stupidity? Either way, you've got to hand it to Nooria for taking a chance at a better life.
Quote #10
"I'm Malali, leading the troops through enemy territory," she murmured to herself.
That helped, too, although it was hard to feel like a battle heroine with a cigarette tray handing around her neck. (14.26-14.27)
Parvana knows she should rescue this girl (Homa) who's on the run, but she's afraid too. By pretending she is Malali though, Parvana feels like she can get the woman to safety—it might seem a little silly, but we're pretty sure Homa doesn't mind.