The Breadwinner

When Parvana gets home from the cemetery, her mother demands to know where she was. She starts crying, admits she was at the cemetery, and gives all the money to her mother. Her mother is upset at the state of the country and forbids Parvana to return to the cemetery. She asks her to return to reading and writing the next day. Parvana refuses, explaining that she and Shauzia want to save to buy trays to move around the market. Nooria agrees that Parvana should be allowed to earn more money if she can, pointing out that they need extra money to pay rent and to afford propane for the lamps at night. Mrs. Weera agrees that “unusual times call for ordinary people to do unusual things […] to survive” (116).

Shauzia and Parvana return to the cemetery for two weeks, after which they have enough money to buy two trays with straps to go around their necks. On Parvana’s first morning back at her letter-writing spot, her mysterious window friend drops a red bead down to her.

In the afternoons, Shauzia and Parvana find things to sell. One afternoon, laden with cigarettes, the girls see a crowd going into a stadium.