Parvana's Journey

When Parvana meets Asif, he is covered in filth, hungry, and alone. Only about 10 years old, Asif has clearly been through trauma, evidenced by his missing leg and the scars that cross his back. He is thin and battles a deep cough similar to the one Parvana’s father had. Throughout the novel, Asif maintains a tough exterior through rudeness and ridicule, particularly towards Parvana. Parvana constantly bounces between frustration at his insolence and compassion for him. His cruelty clearly originates from his rough past, and he uses it as a protective shell to keep him from further hurt and pain.

Although Asif maintains his tough exterior overall, Ellis does give the reader glimpses of his softer side. For example, he has a special way with Hassan, and he selflessly takes care of him and carries him. He also tends to Leila’s sores and opens up to her about his family. Although he first lies about his past, saying that a monster chased him into the cave, he eventually shares that his parents died, and he used to live with an uncle who beat him. Furthermore, based on Ellis’s description of Asif’s angry reaction in the minefield, the reader can guess that he probably lost his leg in a mine explosion. Asif’s character serves as an example of the war’s devastating effect on children. Asif has suffered both physical and emotional damage because of the war. His harsh personality directly results from his suffering, showing how war affects every aspect of one’s identity, particular a child’s. 

Leila, a small, young girl of about eight years, bubbles with life and excitement when she first meets Parvana and Asif in the minefield. Her energy and optimism clash with the unsanitary conditions in which she lives. Her dirty face is covered with sores due to infection, and her makeshift dress is nothing more than a “long piece of flowered cloth with a hole cut out for her head” (89). Forced to fend for herself after her mother left, Leila has been without the care of an adult for months. She talks nonstop to Parvana and Asif because they are the first living people she has encountered in a long time other than her silent grandmother. Without her mother, Leila does not know how to take care of the house or property, so she lives with the stench of rotting animals and filth until Parvana and Asif help her clean things up.

Leila has become desensitized to her surroundings because of the war. Her instinct to survive has taken over, so that she talks about the day a peddler was killed in the minefield as, “a really good day” (99). Instead of being horrified at his death, she is excited because of the survival supplies that she gains. Leila also asks powerful questions about the war that show the senseless nature of the ongoing killing. She asks if killing a child is easy, since the bombers seem to drop bombs on children easily. She also asks why the bombers would want to kill Grandmother, since she was not a threat to them. Her questions highlight the utter futility of the bombings; the only people they seem to kill or maim are innocent civilians, particularly women and children. Her questions prompt the reader to ask his or her own questions about the war. Leila herself becomes another innocent child who dies because of the war. Leila’s character shows the meaningless nature of the war’s violence, as well as the devastating effects the war has on a child’s life.