What exactly is courage anyway? Is it fighting through fear, or is it not having fear at all? In The Breadwinner, Parvana doesn't want to be courageous, but she is anyway. And though courage is forced upon her, she wears it well, and makes good on her duty to support her family no matter how frightened she might be at times. But the thing is, though, that we think pretty much everyone shows courage at some point in this book, since just being alive under Taliban rule requires courage on a daily basis.
Questions About Courage
- What makes a person courageous?
- Is it more courageous to run, or to stay and fight? Parvana's family does both.
- Which character shows the most courage and why?
- Why is it a priority of Father's to teach his daughters to be courageous?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Shauzia is a selfish coward when she leaves her family to escape the Taliban's control.
Mother appears to act courageously when she goes to find her husband, but actually she is being quite stupid.