Foil

Character Role Analysis

Parvana and Nooria

Parvana and Nooria are opposites. Parvana is close with Father because of their days in the marketplace, while Nooria and Mother are tight since they are stuck home all day taking care of the house and kids. A typical eleven-year-old, Parvana is happy when school is closed, but Parvana, who is sixteen, is upset—she is focused on her future and needs to be educated in order to realize her dream of becoming a teacher. These two even look different, and before Parvana chops all her stringy hair off, she envies Nooria's beautiful thick hair.

The thing about these differences, though, is that they don't just help us understand each of the girls better—they also help us understand life under Taliban rule more fully.

So while both of these girls are brave, they show it in different ways—Parvana by dressing up as a boy and risking her life to buy her family food, and Nooria by deciding to marry a man from Pakistan in order to find her freedom. While Parvana questions her sister's decision, Nooria doesn't blink an eye—she is willing to leave her family in exchange for an education and freedom. Either way, both girls pay heavy prices in this book.