The Breadwinner: Stories and Hope Under the Taliban

Written by Elizabeth Coulter

Director Nora Twomey’s The Breadwinner presents an Arabian Nights-style “stories-within-a-story” animated adaptation of Deborah Ellis’ children’s book. Having previously told stories of her native Irish culture, such as The Secret of Kells, she has now taken on this story that speaks to more recent events in Afghanistan. In The Breadwinner she continues to tackle the universal subjects of hope and stories: the comfort that art can bring us in dark times and the importance of stories in our lives. The Breadwinner is a Bildungsroman, but one that is challenging for all ages as it grapples with the grim reality of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. The animated medium along with a clear storyline allows it to be bleak and emotionally tense without being too graphic, making it available to children. This ability to convey deep and dark real life concepts to children ties in very well with the film’s message of the power of storytelling in our lives as we grow up, especially for Parvana who is thrown into a situation in which she must grow up very quickly in order to become the titular breadwinner.

Parvana Listens to Stories

The purpose behind stories can often be lost on us when we are children. It is only as we grow up, having to take on more responsibilities and realising that life is hard that we fully grasp their meanings. And yet as we grow up we risk “downgrading” stories to a childish realm, losing sight of their centrality to the human condition. In the beginning of the film, when Parvana’s father tells her that she should be telling stories because she is a child, Parvana asks “what’s the use [of stories]?” (The Breadwinner 7:07-7:08). Parvana’s father reminds Parvana of the importance of stories by teaching her the history of Afghanistan, as he says, “Maybe if we think of it like a story, huh? Stories remain in our hearts even when all else is gone” (The Breadwinner 2:08-2:12). He goes on to tell the story of Afghanistan as a ‘Wheel of Fortune’; a cycle of good times and bad times. Such a story provides context for how Afghanistan ended up where it is and offers hope for a better future despite the bleak point in the country’s history the two find themselves in. This not only encourages Parvana to understand that “everything changes…stories remind us of that” (The Breadwinner 4:37-4:41), but it also reminds us of the purpose of stories; how they teach us by structuring our understanding of the world.

Everything does indeed change for Parvana when her father is abruptly arrested by the Taliban. Without Nurullah to take care of them, Parvana and her family find themselves in a desperate situation. As a result, Parvana is not afforded the luxury

of a typically gradual Bildungsroman; rather she, like a lot of children in war-torn places, is forced by circumstance to grow up the moment things change. Such an immediate transformation that breaks the mould provides a sense of realism that is perhaps lacking in many children’s stories. Although there may be many adults who would consider the tragedy of Afghanistan under the Taliban unsuitable for children, Twomey suggests that “what adults think that children are frightened of and what they are actually frightened of are often two very very different things” (“The Breadwinner”, 23:19-23:24) and that such real world hardships make more sense to children than perhaps more terrifying nonsensical “supernatural” stories (The Breadwinner 23:25-23:36). Therefore, Nurullah’s narration to Parvana of the real story of Afghanistan’s ups and downs provides her with the tools to better analyze reality, but also with the ability to soothe. Once Parvana accepts the mantle of breadwinner, she realises that she herself possesses these tools and she uses them to look after her family.

Parvana Tells Stories

The story of ‘The Boy and the Elephant King’ that Parvana tells throughout the film follows a more familiar, “typical” story plot than Parvana’s own, further closing the gap between Parvana’s world and our own. She begins telling this story to calm down her little brother Zaki and continues to tell it to Shauzia when she is struggling to keep up with their work while the two friends are along together away from home. Despite being a fantastical story, Parvana takes from history the truth that the bad times do not last forever, with ‘The Boy and the Elephant King’ providing a promise of a better future. As Nurullah stated while recounting his own experience growing up in Afghanistan, “when [he] was young…[he] knew what peace felt like here…” (The Breadwinner 3:46-3:50) and that “some looked to those who might restore order…but at a great cost” (The Breadwinner 4:16-4:22). Similarly, in ‘The Boy and the Elephant King’, the country begins peacefully but is then thrown into a dark period. The protagonist “looks to restore order” for his people, wading through very low points in his life. Nevertheless, Parvana is able to use the story to calm her family and friends as they see themselves in the boy’s struggle between seeming hopelessness and hope; the promise of a better future. Parvana finishes telling the story to herself during a scene of high emotional tension outside the notorious Pul-i-Charkhi prison in order to soothe herself and help her cope with the fact that she is a child in an unforgiving world. At the crucial end point in her journey to free her father when she is unsure as to whether or not she will succeed, she ends the story happily, providing herself with hope for happiness and thus reassuring herself that she can continue to be strong enough to be the breadwinner.

The hope of a better future is what keeps characters such as Parvana and Shauzia going in their endeavour to survive despite the lamentable situation of women in Afghanistan. Both girls disguise themselves as boys so that they can work towards their modest dreams. Parvana seeks to free her father and so bring her family back together while Shauzia dreams of going to the seaside and working there. When Parvana leaves Shauzia to go and try to free her father, both girls know that it is highly unlikely that they will see one another again. Nevertheless, Parvana, as the breadwinner of the story, tells her friend with confidence that “[she’ll] meet [Shauzia] at that beach [she] was talking about, where the moon pulls the water 20 years from today” (The Breadwinner 1:09:11-1:09:18), reinforcing hope of a better future at a sad time. Parvana creates a story out of reality, imagining a happy ending for the two which makes Shauzia happy even though they both know the improbability of such an outcome. Regardless, Parvana’s optimistic words work and the friends part with a bittersweet “until next time” (The Breadwinner 1:09:26-1:09:34).

A Story to Remind

The Breadwinner subverts the typical “cookie cutter” story in order to lend it a more real world feel, forcing the viewer to confront the value of stories and the sobering fact that there are people with lives like Parvana’s today. It unapologetically makes such a story available to children, treating them as being grown up enough to begin to comprehend some of the bad things that occur in the world and that “everything will change” in life as they grow up and that the stories they have are there to help them. Stories are there to reflect the harshness of reality, but also to ease it. The universal theme of storytelling speaks to people of all ages who sometimes need reminding why humans of all ages need stories in order to navigate an ever-changing and complex world.

Works Cited

The Breadwinner. Directed by Nora Twomey, Cartoon Saloon, 2017.

“The Breadwinner.” The Film Programme. BBC Sounds, 24th May 2018, https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b0b3fkqk.