(AGG) Thanks to the news, when we think about the Middle East, all that comes to mind is facts, and it doesn’t really register that these are real people, under tragic and desperate circumstances, trying to make a living. (BS-1) Najmah was initially a somewhat childish girl who couldn’t imagine who she’d become after encountering the ruthless Taliban. (BS-2) Najmah’s thoughts and actions while with Akhtar’s family have been the foundation in tracking her developments, and her silence, if dug into deep enough, portrays some development in her mindset as well. (BS-3) Najmah and Nusrat’s losses have built a connection between both of them, but Najmah still learns, experiences, and develops while spending time with Elaine. (TS) Under The Persimmon …show more content…
(SIP-A) When Akhtar and Khalida first salvage Najmah from what’s left of her house, not only do we start to see some symptoms of PTSD -- we see her becoming someone else entirely, after recovering from the initial shock and trauma. (STEWE-1) Najmah has started to move past the death of Mada-jan and her baby brother, Habib, although she is forever scarred whilst she will continue to be speechless for an interval of time. She starts moving past her loss when she realizes “the hole where Akhtar has buried [her] hair also holds [her] mother and baby brother… But they are far, far behind [her], and [she] realize[s] [she] will never see them again” (Staples 85). This passage is trying to portray how she’s developing and moving on. (STEWE-2) After she moves past her loss, Najmah remains speechless, and we can see how she’s potentially developing Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. A symptom of this disorder is “acting or feeling as if the traumatic event were recurring (including a sense of reliving the experience, illusions, hallucinations, and dissociative flashback episodes” (Darity). This relates to how Najmah’s experiences have affected her when she’s “afraid if [she] close[s] [her] eyes [she’ll] see [her] mother’s outstretched arm and the stain of blood spreading around her and Habib’s perfect body, both of …show more content…
(SIP-A) After Najmah has officially met Nusrat, Najmah isn't sure that she can trust such a weak yellow-haired foreigner (Staples 199), though the other person’s experiences have had an impact on their own selves entirely. (STEWE-1) The first connection the two had was when they had formed calluses on their “hands”. “She opens her own hand and shows Najmah her own calluses in identical places on her fingers” (Staples 194). But what this really means is that Najmah’s past experiences and the ones she's experiencing with Nusrat have made her more tolerant to pain and hurt, almost becoming emotionless. This is also how Nusrat knew Najmah was a girl, and we can tell that being silent wasn't something internally important because Najmah’s first words were “how did you know?” (Staples 194), so being silent was only something to protect her -- now that she was found out, it really was not necessary. However, a piece of why Najmah did break her silence was because she could relate to Nusrat via their losses. It also may have led Najmah closer to achieving her goal of finding Baba-jan and Nur. (STEWE-2) After Nusrat and Najmah gain a bond, Najmah starts to change back from Shaheed, the person she was while with Akhtar’s family, she's starting to become herself