Under The Persimion Tree, By Suzane Fisher

The Taliban Essay

In the novel and in real life there is a group of Islamic extremist who do many harsh and cruel things. In the novel Under The Persimion Tree, by Suzane Fisher Staples the Taliban are definitely present and they do many harsh and evil things when they barge into Najmah's life and take her father Baba-Jan, as well as her younger brother Nur. Overall the book depicted the Taliban as an evil group of murderers, while in reality the Taliban are a group of Islam extremists that are even more harsh than depicted in the story. Staples portrayed them like this to show how Najmah has a major conflict with them throughout the novel. In the novel there is a group of men called the Taliban who do many harsh and cruel things. The Taliban are portrayed as very harsh people who do things like kill people. This is shown in the novel when it says "After we saw our fathers and uncles and other village men dead" (Staples pg255). Furthermore

In the novel Baba-Jan and Nur are taken when “the men shove and drag Baba-Jan and my brother towards the the Datsun pickup trucks”(Staples pg18). This affects Najmah in the novel because when they are taken she has to do all of the work around the house and farm as well as protect the rest of her family, and this all happens because of the Taliban. In the book the Taliban also steal food from Najmah’s family when they show up and say "you had enough food for our enemies you will give us more then you gave them"(Staples pg16). In addition to all of this the Taliban in the novel force Najmah to hide from them by pretending to be a boy which is risky according to Nusrat who says “it is very dangerous for you to pretend to be boy"(Staples 194). All in all the Taliban have a major impact on Najmah throughout the