How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"Who would read what I write? Am I allowed to publish? No. Then what is the point of writing, and what is the point of looking? Besides, it will not be for long. The Afghan people are smart and strong. They will kick these Taliban out. When that happens, when we have a decent government in Afghanistan, then I will go out again. Until then, I will stay here." (4.6)
Mother wants nothing to do with the Taliban, and she believes so strongly in the Afghan people that she is willing to wait until they kick them out of the country before she begins writing again. Father tries to convince her that writing again might expedite that process, but Mother is stubborn and she won't listen. She knows that, as a woman, there is no sense fighting the Taliban, yet at the same time, her belief in Afghani's resiliency keeps her hopeful.
Quote #2
"Mrs. Weera!" Nooria exclaimed. Relief washed over her face. Here was someone who could take charge, who could take some of the responsibility off her shoulders. (5.35)
Nooria has been in charge since Father was kidnapped and Mother got depressed, and frankly, it's been quite stressful—food and money are scarce, and the little ones are hungry and lethargic. So when Mrs. Weera arrives, she saves the day. Sure it's a huge help to have another adult around, but she's a breath of fresh air, and her lively spirit in the apartment makes everyone feel like the family might be okay.
Quote #3
"Father come back to us!" she whispered, looking up at the sky. The sun was shining. How could the sun be shining when her father was in jail?
Something caught her eye, a flicker of movement. She thought it came from the blacked-out window, but how could it? Parvana decided she was imaging things. (7.47-7.48)
Parvana never doubts that Father will one day return, and while she pleads to the sky for him to come back, she senses that someone is watching over her. Not in a creepy way, though—in a comforting way. Women are not allowed near windows and they are blacked out so people can't see in them… Is Parvana being hopeful or foolish?
Quote #4
"I thought you were my father," she said, tears falling down her face.
The man put his hand on her shoulder. "You seem like a fine boy. I'm sorry I am not your father." He paused, then said in a lower voice, "Your father is in prison?" Parvana nodded.
"People are released from prison sometimes. Don't give up hope." The man went on his way into the market, and Parvana went back to her blanket. (8.66-8.67)
Parvana is so sure she sees Father walking around the marketplace, but she is wrong. Luckily, though, the dude she manhandles seems pretty nice—he could have told her what most likely happens to old men in prison, but instead he tries to give her hope. Thanks, stranger.
Quote #5
It was a small square of embroidered cloth, no more than two inches long and an inch wide. Parvana had never seen it before. As she wondered where it had come from, her eyes went up the blacked-out window where she thought she had seen a flicker of movement a few weeks before. There was no movement now. (8.69)
The little present confirms to Parvana that someone is definitely watching her from that window. But who? And why? Parvana doesn't care; she is just glad there is a friendly presence in the marketplace.
Quote #6
"Most people who are arrested are never heard from again. They just disappear. I have an uncle who disappeared."
Parvana grabbed Shauzia's arm and forced her to stop walking. "My father's coming back, she said. "He is coming back!" (9.16-9.17)
Shauzia isn't trying to be a downer here—she's just explaining that the odds aren't really in Father's favor. Not many people can survive a Taliban prison, not to mention someone as frail and old as Father, but Parvana tells Shauzia to talk to the hand. Her father is not like the rest—so he will come home and that's final.
Quote #7
Parvana gave Shauzia a nudge, and they looked out over the mounds of dug-up graves, at the boys, sweaty and smudged with dirt, at the piles of bones beside them, gleaming white in the sudden sunshine.
"We have to remember this," Parvana said. "When things get better and we grow up, we have to remember that there was a day when we were kids when we stood in a graveyard and dug up bones to sell so that our families could eat." (10.55-10.56)
Parvana and Shauzia are digging up people's remains for money, because their families are that poor—and yet they still believe that one day things will change. There will be a time in their lives when they look back on this and chuckle to themselves about how hard their lives once were.
Quote #8
Parvana was fresh out of hope. She did what her mother had done. She crawled onto the toshak, covered herself with a quilt and resolved to stay there forever.
For two days she stayed on the toshak. "This is what the women in our family do when we're sad," she said to Mrs. Weera.
"They don't stay there forever," Mrs. Weera said. "They get up again, and they fight back." (14.50-14.52)
When Parvana learns that the Taliban are in Mazar, she loses all hope—Nooria moved there for freedom, and Mother and the little ones are there with her. Mrs. Weera tries to be positive as always, but Parvana doesn't feel like it, and just like her mother did when Father was kidnapped, she wants to wallow in her despair. There will be none of that on Mrs. Weera's watch, though—she snapped Mother out of her depression and she will do the same for Parvana.
Quote #9
"Are they dead?" Parvana asked.
"No, no, not dead. They may look scraggly and dying now," he said, "but the roots are good. When the time is right, these roots will support plants that are healthy and strong." He gave the earth a final pat, and Parvana and one of the others helped him up. He smiled once more at Parvana, then walked away. (15.58-15.59)
Have you checked out the "Symbolism" section? You should totally check out the "Symbolism" section… wink wink… nudge nudge.
Quote #10
Twenty years from now, Parvana thought. What would happen in those twenty years? Would she still be in Afghanistan? Would Afghanistan finally have peace? Would she go back to school, have a job, be married?
The future stretched unknown down the road in front of her. Her mother was somewhere ahead with her sisters and her brother, but what else they would find, Parvana had no idea. Whatever it was, she felt ready for it. She even found herself looking forward to it. (15.79-15.80)
This is the final scene in the novel, and Parvana and Father are in the back of a truck, hitching a ride to Pakistan to find the rest of their family. While some people would be sad to leave their homeland or terrified about what lies ahead, Parvana instead seems hopeful. This girl's got one resilient spirit.