12 However, the character of Parvana changes in the middle of the story. Since her
father is arrested, there is no one who could go outside to work besides her. It changes Parvana into a brave person. Parvana knows that she is the only one who
could help her family to survive. Moreover, being the breadwinner for her family makes her more mature. Those characters are analyzed by
employing Murphy’s nine ways of characterization. However, the writer only employs three ways,
namely thought, seen by another character, and direct comment.
1. Brave
According to Murphy 1972, there are nine ways of characterization p.161. Readers can see the character through the main charac
ter’s thought. Murphy 1972 states the author can give the readers direct knowledge of what a
person is thinking about p.171. By knowing the main character ’s thought, the
readers might know what kind of person the main character is. Another way to know the character’s characterization is by observing how the character is seen by
another character. Murphy 1972 states a characteristic of character can be seen by another character. The author could describe the character by employing
another character’s point of view or opinion p162. Since Parvana’s father has arrested, no one in the family dares to go outside.
However, the family is running out of water. Then Mrs. Weera asks Parvana to fetch the water because Mrs. Weera knows that Parvana is a brave girl.
“We’re out of water,” Nooria explained. “We’ve been afraid to go out.” “You’re not afraid, are you, Parvana?” She didn’t wait for the answer.
“Fetch the bucket girl. Do your bit for the team. Here we go” Mrs. Weera still talked like she was out on the hockey field, urguing everyone to do their
best p.59.
13 Then, another character of Parvana could be seen through her thought. As
seen from her thought, Parvana is a brave girl. When her family asks her to disguise herself into a boy, she tries to refuse it. However, she thinks about it, and
Mrs. Weera encourages her. After thinking about it, she finally agrees to disguise herself. She finds courage in herself.
When the soldiers come to her house to arrest her father, Nooria, her older sister hides herself in a small room and covers herself with a chador. Parvana is
sitting in her place and cannot move herself to hide. While sitting, she sees the soldiers hit her mother and other soldiers drag her father outside. The soldiers hit
her mother until her mother falls down to the floor. By seeing her mother falls down, it gives courage Parvana to take an action while her older sister hides
herself. “Seeing her Mother on the ground finally propelled Parvana into action.
When the soldiers dragged her Father outside, she flung her arms around his waist
” p.31. As one of the soldiers has dragged her father outside, the other soldiers are
still inside the house looking for things to be taken away. When Parvana sees it, she is thinking about her father
’s books which are hidden at the bottom of the cupboard. She thinks that the soldier will find it so it leads her to scream. Even
though her body hurts, she still wants to protect her father ’s book.
They couldn’t be allowed to find father’s book The soldiers had started at the top of the cupboard and were working their way down closer and closer
they came to the bottom shelf, the one with the false wall. Parvana watched in horrors as the soldiers bent down to yank the things out of the bottom
shelf. “Get out of my house” she yelled. She threw herself at the soldiers with such force that they both fell to ground p.32.
14 She is the one who forces the soldiers to go away from her house. Her mother is
on the floor and her body hurts because of the hitting. As an eleven-year-old-girl, Parvana is brave to do it. She has the courage which her older sister does not have.
Since her father is arrested, no one goes outside. They eat what they have until the third day; they are running out of food. Nooria tells Parvana to go outside
to buy food and to fetch water. Since her father ’s arrest, she is the one who will do
her father ’s work. As she cannot go out without her chador, her mother and Mrs.
Weera finally make a decision which is quite hard to believe. Her mother and Mrs. Weera will turn her into a boy. At first, Parvana is scared that people and the
Talib will find out that she is not a boy. She refuses the plan. However, thinking about the situation now, she knows that agreeing to the plan is the only way to
help them survive. When Parvana refuses the decision, Mrs. Weera tells her that they can force her to do it but they cannot force her to act as a boy. By knowing
that gives her courage. Parvana realized Mrs. Weera was right. They could hold her down and cut
off her hair, but for anything more. They needed her coorperation. In the end, it really was her decision. Somehow, knowing that made it easier to
agree. “All right,” she said. “I’ll do it” p.66. Since Parvana has disguised herself as a boy, she is the only family member
who is able to go out without any difficulties. She goes outside to work and to run errands. One day, after working and fetching water, Parvana thinks that it will be
great if her younger sister can go outside. So, she asks her mother whether she can take her younger sister to the water tap outside. At first, her mother refuses her
offer because her mother is afraid that they will be arrested. Parvana is so brave that she even thinks about taking her sister outside. “Mother, can I take Maryam
15 to the tap with me?” p.86. After taking her younger sister outside successfully,
Parvana also wants to take out her mother and her older sister. By disguising herself as a boy, it gives her courage to take all her family members outside to
enjoy the sun and see the situation outside. Even though she knows the risk, she still wants to do it. Parvana wants all her family can go outside the house and
enjoy the sun outside as they cannot enjoy it when they are inside the house. “One day, after she had been working for a week, Parvana had an idea.
“Mother, I’m seen as a boy, right?” “That’s the idea,” Mother said.
“Then I could be your escort,” Parvana said. “I could be Nooria’s escort too, and you could both get outside sometimes”
p.89. Through Parvana’s thought, it can be seen that she is a brave person who is
willing to do anything to help her family. She has the courage that not all the kids in Afghanistan have. Even though she is not the only one who disguises herself
into a boy, the writer can still see the courage in Parvana. She dares to do something which is impossible for others to do, such as digging up the bones in
the graveyard. It really needs strong courage for an eleven-year-old girl to do it and Parvana has it. Besides, Mrs. Weera knows that Parvana is a brave girl who is
willing to do anything for her family.
2. Mature
