Analysis Of The Book 'Under The Persimmon Tree'

Under the Persimmon Tree Essay

Almost everyone who is fortunate enough to live in a developed country can enjoy benefits and freedom. As people who have had a happy life since day one, many may have never gave much thought on how privileged we are compared to those living in horrible conditions in developing countries. The book Under the Persimmon Tree, by Suzanne Fisher Staples, provides the reader with a new perspective of the lives of those living in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This is done by exploring the lives Najmah, a teenage Afghan girl, and Nusrat, a young American-Pakistani woman. The story is about these two characters struggling to survive under the Taliban regime. As both slowly start to lose what they love most and fall into despair, the

Rumors spread to Najmah that “woman wearing henna on their fingertips had their fingers chopped off”(Staples 12). When Najmah heard the clink of bangles under a woman’s burqa and the click of her heels on the pavement, the sound created an unsettling sensation within her. Suddenly, Najmah recalled how the “Taliban would whip women whose shoes made a sound on paving stones (Staples 180).” She wanted to warn the woman, for her mother had told her that “women risk their lives by hiding their jewelry” (Staples 180). As for Nusrat, notwithstanding the fact that she just moved to Pakistan not long ago, she was extremely vigilant and prudent when the Taliban was around. One time, a servant of Nusrat’s disappeared. Nusrat sent someone to search for her and discovered that “she had been badly beaten and was held without charges” (Staples 99). From this incident, the unfair treatment towards women helped Nusrat to learn more about the Taliban’s rules in Pakistan. Given the facts above, it is very apparent that Taliban’s cruelty toward women is depicted precisely and vividly through the different stories of two