1. Boosting Her Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is a feeling of confidence to what decision or action which an individual takes. In the story of Ellis’ The Breadwinner, Parvana has
experienced a lot of discriminations toward women and female children. These unfair treatments toward women and female children are significantly
harmful to them because they lose a feeling of confidence. They do not trust themselves that they are able in doing something like men. Parvana’s struggles
can signify that her self-esteem has been boosted. “I’m Malali, leading the troops through enemy territory,” she murmured to
herself. That helped, too, although it was hard to feel like a battle heroine with a cigaret
te tray hanging around her neck” Ellis, 2000: 148. The datum above implies that Parvana believes that she is Malali, the leading woman in the war.
Her belief can encourage herself more in becoming the breadwinner for her family. She gets a great fear and lack of confidence when she goes to the
market to become a letter reader for the first time. She cannot speak up because she is too afraid. She does not have confidence at all to speak up
Ellis, 2000: 76-77. Compared to that time, Parvana now has gotten her self- esteem or confidence boosted. Her experiences to work as a letter reader and a
bones digger make her not afraid to sell cigarettes anymore. She thinks that she should be Malali who is brave and full of confidence. Hence, she is
motivated to have such a confidence like Malali. Parvana shows that she has boosted her self-esteem by her expression
when she wants to save her family in Mazar. “We’ll find them,” Parvana said
with complete confidence. “We’ll find them and bring them home” Ellis, 2000: 160. It implies that Parvana has a strong feeling of confidence that she
and her father can meet her family in Mazar. She also feels so sure that they will succeed in taking them back in their home safely. Parvana’s struggles to be
the breadwinner of her family and the one who optimizes her attempt to save as well as encourage her family create a strong bond among her family.
Therefore, Parvana is highly confident that she is able to save her family and bring them back to their home. By saying such a thing, it means that she is
ready to bear all of the consequences and risks that she will get in her attempt to save her family.
Parvana’s readiness is proven by the statement that she is ready to face any risks ahead when she tries to save her family. It is represented by the datum
below: The future stretched unknown down the road in front of her. Her mother
was somewhere ahead with her sisters and her brother, but what else they would find, Parvana had no idea. Whatever it was, she felt ready for it. She
even found herself looking forward to it.Ellis, 2000: 166
The statement above shows the condition when Parvana is on her way to save her mother, sisters and brother in Mazar which is attacked by the Taliban
group. The datum portrays what Parvana will face in the future is unknown. She will possibly meet something bad or good. She herself does not have an
idea what kind of condition she will face in the future. However, Parvana is fully confident now. She is ready to deal with anyone and anything ahead.
She only has one goal, that is, to save her family.
Parvana has been habituated to deal with the Taliban in her struggles. When she becomes a letter reader and a seller, she deals with her customers
who are Taliban people. She is not afraid to yell to Taliban soldiers in her attempt to save her father. She deals with them when she escorts her family to
take a walk outside. These efforts have encouraged her to gain full of confidence in her next struggle. Her efforts and struggles can give significant
meaning to the female children in Taliban society and they should be confident and brave to fight against the
Taliban’s rules which place women as the second layer of society.
2. Improving a Sense of Pride on Herself
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