Loss In Najmah's Under The Persimmon Tree

(AGG) Losing a family member is a very tragic experience that will happen to everyone at some point, but what if you lost them all at one time? (BS-1) Najmah’s loss has lead her to go through many changes. (BS-2) Najmah has to flee to a refugee camp because it is not safe to stay in Kunduz alone, and that affects her in a variety of ways. (BS-3) At the end of the book, Najmah makes a very big decision to go home, which is influenced by the loss of her family. (TS) In Under the Persimmon Tree, one major message is that people are shaped by those who they lose in their lives.

(MIP-1) The loss of Najmah’s family has made her character change in many ways. (SIP-A) The first way that the loss of her father and brother has impacted her is that

(SIP-A) With their parents gone, their uncle will try to take the land, which is why Najmah and Nur know they must go home. (STEWE-1) Nur doesn’t want their uncle to take their land and he turns down the option to live in New York City.“ ‘We have no choice but to return to Golestan,’ says Nur quietly. ‘Uncle or someone else surely will take our land if we don’t go back’ ” (Staples 256). Because their family is gone and nobody's there to take care of the farm, they know their uncle will take their land. But, if they go back to their home, Nur will be able to own the land and they can take care of their farm and don’t have to worry about their uncle trying to steal it. (STEWE-2) Nusrat thinks it is way too dangerous for them to be their alone with their uncle. “ ‘ you cannot go back to a village where you have no one to help you. Your uncle will take your land. Who would stop him from killing you and taking everything?’ ” (Staples 255). Nusrat also knows that their uncle will take their land and believes they should not go and that it would be best for them to go with her to New York City. (SIP-B) Najmah has grown up in Kunduz and if she leaves, her heart would be empty. (STEWE-1) The stars are very important to Najmah and she wants to be able she can see them in New York. “ ‘Can you see the stars in New York?’ ”(Staples 247) Najmah used to connect with her father through the stars, and if she couldn’t see them in New York, then she would become disconnected from her father and she wants to make sure that doesn’t happen. (STEWE-2) Najmah would also miss Kunduz a lot and doesn’t think she will be happy there“ ‘My entire life I have lived in the shadow of the Hindu Kush,’ says Najmah. ‘My heart will cry if I couldn’t see the mountains everyday’ ” (Staples 247). Since Najmah has lived there all her life, it would be really hard for her to say goodbye to her childhood and she