(SIP-A) Najmah’s perspective is a first person account of the heartwrenching tragedies experienced by an Afghan civilian during times of war. (STEWE-1) The reader truly feels sympathetic for Najmah as she details how her mother and brother were killed in an American bombing. Najmah recalls, “I stumble toward the broken upright timber of the doorframe and the chunks of mud plaster and dust over the footprint of what was my home. My mother lies on the ground nearby with her legs splayed at odd angles to the rest of her… Habib lies motionless a few feet behind her” (Staples 66-67). (STEWE-2) The reader also feels sympathy when reading Najmah’s emotional reaction to her brother’s return and her father’s death. When Nur finally returns, and Najmah sees him for the first time, she is overcome with joy “as the stack of plates in her hands falls to the floor and shatters” (250). Her happiness does not last for very long though, ending when Nur tells her, with “[t]ears brim[ming] in his eyes,” “Baba-jan is dead” (Staples 253). He initial joy turn in to sadness. (SIP-B) Nusrat’s experiences are recounted from a third person perspective, showing her life before and after the war began with literary flashbacks, to help the reader understand the importance of Faiz in her …show more content…
(BS-3) The reader cannot help but feel sympathetic for the innocent victims of war through Staples’ use of graphic and vivid descriptions of Najmah and Nusrat’s tragic, realistic experiences. (BS-2) The literary element of conflict, along with real life examples of American airstrikes, show the perspectives of two civilians experiencing the outcomes of war. (BS-1) Staples accurately depicts the real world experiences of Afghan civilians while detailing how American airstrikes create tragedy in the lives of the two main characters. (R) One can only hope that peace will eventually be brought to the Middle East, but until that day, the lives of many innocent civilians will be lost or impacted in various negative