#narullah

[purplebutterflysthings]

I personally really love how much the characters are described by this little boxes, not sure what are names are, like character summaries? But I love how they differ from the characters of the book. For example we know that Narullah who was one of the few characters whose name wasn’t changed was originally just a high school teacher who taught history. He still very much seemed like the same kind person but different background.

But in the movie it’s different. Brother was a runner, a track star, an athlete. Unless I’m stupid who got the meaning wrong, he had a very interesting past and became not just a teacher but one of the youngest headmasters in Afghanistan. Is this important for Parvana’s story? No. Is it accurate to the book? No but is it interesting and adds depth to the story of making them their own character and not just a person in Parvana’s story. Yes

Narullah isn’t the only character like this, there’s Soraya who’s personally my favorite from these boxes since we see deep into her thoughts and interest. As well as Idrees. They’re all so interesting and developed. Different from the books but in a good way.

[purplebutterflysthings]

I don’t understand why it’s so hard for me to imagine Shauzia with long hair. It wouldn’t really make a giant difference but it also kinda would. I still would have loved to see her having fluffy curly hair.

Don’t you think it’s also funny that Sulaymann is Parvana’s older brother but yet they made him look exactly like Shauzia? Curly hair, gapped teeth, brown almond shaped eyes.

Also why does Parvana’s whole family have straight hair and Sulaymann got curly hair?

They all have little waves in their hair like Fattema but it’s not curly. Can someone explain it to me? I’m kinda dumb. Is it genetics?

[purplebutterflysthings]

Sulayman and Hossain are both characters I wished we got to see and read more about

Imagine if Sulaymann did live! Everything would have been easier. Since he would most definitely be a young adult he would be able to find better jobs than Parvana as Aatish. He could help their father in the market even though Narullah would love for his daughter to have a normal childhood and be able to bring her out, he knows that if he does she could face trouble like when they met Idrees. But with Sulayman since he’s a visible guy he would be able to help their father around and both would earn much better money.

Fattema’s health would be much better, though she’s still locked inside at least all her children would be alive and safe. Soraya would have a companion her age who maybe she doesn’t bicker with all the time. She probably wouldn’t confide in him but he would be like a rock for her and we can guess and that Parvana would rely and admire her brother for what he is and what he does for their family. And Zaki is still so young but he could grow up with two very positive male figures and his life and affect him when he grows, it could shape him into a kind gentleman like his father and brother and know how to respect women from his mother and sisters.

Many things would be better but we will never know since Sulayman’s death was a big deal in the movie.

Surprisingly when I first read the book I was shocked to realize that Hossain was so rarely ever mentioned in the book. And then back again in my Name is Parvana but it was such a small part. Hossain didn’t have much of an affect but it was also mentioned that he was a great brother to Parvana just like in the Movie.

“My name is Sulayman,

My mother is a writer

My father is a teacher

And my sisters always fight each other

One day I found a toy on the street

I picked it up

It exploded

I don’t remember what happened after that

Because it was the end.”

[purplebutterflysthings]

Let me start as saying that Parvana is one of my favorite characters! She’s a wonderful protagonist who shows flaws and makes mistakes. Both the movie and book show Parvana as a very interesting character overall. But both book Parvana and movie Parvana have slight differences from each other. But this is mostly about movie Parvana but I really want to highlight some differences.

The breadwinner by Deborah Ellis

The comparison

Parvana in the start of the book is a very sad and grumpy girl, she wishes to move and explore, to just get away from her crammed life, Parvana craves for the same boring ordinary and happy life she had before the Taliban and reflects that on her thoughts

The breadwinner - “It wasn’t her fault she wasn’t in school! She would rather be there too”

Parvana feels alone and sad for not having any friends or anyone to lean on and talk to. She soon starts to change her attitude slightly and becomes more comfortable and gain more confidence even when she witnessed horrible situations. Parvana constantly proves herself as a stubborn and independent smart girl who is risking her life for her family. Yet in the other books you see her flaws, she continues to be angry (but what teenager isn’t?) and defensive to others. Parvana in conclusion I’m the book has a more outgoing and louder personality than the movie.

Her relationships:

(I’m only going to do her relationships in the movie and all character interactions Parvana had with other characters so……yeah💜)

Parvana and Narullah: Parvana and Narullah have a very sweet and close relationship. Narullah was teacher before the Taliban and seems to often tell Parvana stories about their culture and people. Parvana seems to find comfort and peace in her father’s presence from an outside perspective. After her father is taken away she becomes determined to get him back obtaining hope in finding him and when she does, she tells him the last story he had told him as a way to show her love and appreciation for him and his stories. Narullah sees potential in Parvana as a storyteller and wants to see beer be a child but it’s hard to do that under the Taliban. Narullah is caring and gentle man with a good heart who Parvana sometimes might get annoyed by his soft ways but clearly shows she loves him because of her dedication to get him back. ❤️

Parvana and Fattema: (Both of them had a different relationship from the book but I’m just doing the movie) Fattema seems as a soft spoken and wise woman, she loves her family and is very willing to protect them, she seems closer to her oldest daughter but she seems protective of Parvana

By shielding her so that the man wouldn’t hurt Parvana in the first prison visit. Parvana seems to also worry about her and her sake very often. Though she is sometimes called by her older brother’s name from her mother, she clearly shows lots of love and affection for her mother even if her hopeless demeanor does not match Parvanas hopeful one. ❤️

Parvana and Soraya: Parvana and Soraya have what every sibling relationship has, a lot of teasing, Soraya is quiet and graceful which Parvana dislikes and both often bump heads with Soraya often demanding Parvana for her to either be quiet or to get water. Since Soraya is stuck inside all the time she does seem to take out some frustrations on Parvana. But Soraya obviously loves Parvana,

Both grow closer to the events that unfold through out the movie showing their unity, she also worries for Parvana, Parvana doesn’t agree with Soraya a lot because of her lack of faith in getting their father back, But Parvana does show love and appreciation to Soraya for convincing their mother to let Parvana go back to the prison. 🦋

Parvana and zaki: This is short because Zaki obviously loves Parvana and Parvana loves him, she often pulls on her hair and loves her stories. Zaki did not recognize and trust Parvana when she dressed up as a boy but soon realizes that it’s his sister. Overall, they’re adorable.

Sulaymann and Parvana: Sulaymann and Parvana do not interact in the movie but in Parvana’s story she is portraying her grief through a story made from her brother. Parvana and Sulaymann may have had a close relationship because Parvana is expressing her sadness over his death during the movie. Sulaymann was a very important character in parvanas character development.

Parvana and Razaq: Razaq is my favorite character because we see something as tragic as the death of his wife hit him hard which Parvana did not expect. Razaq shows compassion to Parvana and her situation even if it cost him his life just because a little girl showed him kindness. Parvana and Razaq symbolizes men in Afghanistan who don’t always have the same opinion and Razaq was like a second father to Parvana (maybe that’s why he looked a lot to Narullah) Parvana saw good in him and Razaq proved it to her. What else is there to say? 💙💙

Parvana and Idrees: These are two opposite characters since Idrees is the antagonist and a representation of the Taliban especially young men. Idrees was an old student of Narullah who joins the Taliban. He was the sole reason why Narullah got arrested and why Parvana had to dress as a boy. Idrees’s first interaction with Parvana wasn’t really an interaction and very creepy.

“She’s old enough to marry, I’ll be looking for a wife soon.”

This line got Narullah mad and Idrees mad from his rejection, later on Parvana and Idrees have another encounter with this one ending with a brick on his face. He’s then sent away to fight never to be seen again. Parvana and Idrees were characters that seem worlds apart, Parvana obviously harbors hate for him because of he did and no one could blame her. Parvana is rightfully reasonable for hating him and hitting with a brick. And Idrees from what we could get is that he’s a stupid boy who doesn’t realize the situation he’s in until he fires a gun, it kinda summons sympathy for him since he looks no older than 17 but he’s still a horrible person who did horrible actions. I personally for some reason think Idrees and Parvana would have gotten along or shared interest if he had been a normal boy with no relationship to the Taliban and he wouldn’t have been such a violent boy. In the Art of the breadwinner book, in the character design part in page 160 it says for Idrees “In a decent, simpler world, Idrees would have gotten to know Parvana, he would have heard her voice”.

Parvana and Shauzia: The best for last, Parvana and Shauzia had a great friendship, both connected from their shared situation and shared parts about themselves they couldn’t share to anyone. They supported and helped each other in many ways and I will always cry when parvana says goodbye to Shauzia. Parvana was quiet and wiry while Shauzia was energetic and free, both were friends with different perspectives and life’s but they had connected and remained close.

Shauzia and Parvana were the 2 main leads and they showed an excellent example of friendship, survival and struggle and parvana seems to really appreciate her and Shauzia seems to enjoy being with Parvana which is really heartwarming. ❤️❤️❤️

I’m sorry it was long. Since the book and movie are very different I think of different events that happened after the movie in my own way which includes the books and all of these characters but again for another time. I would have included Asif and other characters but they don’t appear in the movie I couldn’t but this was actually really fun to write🩵💜