My name is Kyle Nguyen, I am a sophomore in high school and something I believe is for people to understand the struggles that other people go through. A lot of people make bold assumptions or don’t even respect people for all that they have done. Sometimes I think it’s best to realize how our world became what it is today and how we should appreciate what we have. This is something my parents taught me, how to understand and appreciate where I am today, where some people aren’t as fortunate as I am. This graphic novel The Breadwinner, by Deborah Ellis, presents this topic very well.

Pathos: The story starts with a father and a daughter that are selling their last valuable items on the side of a road. Right from the start, we can see the story takes place in a third-wheel country where living conditions are harsh and making money is very difficult. It is important to understand how people live in these less fortunate countries and how we should appreciate what we are given. These countries often see many brutal acts such as wars or invasions. The picture below shows a panel from the graphic novel about how this third-wheel country was in peace until an invasion took place and caused a civil war. This caused many people to die and others to be held captive. People who are born in more fortunate countries, like myself, should appreciate that we aren’t constantly facing wars and dangers that could ruin the economy and make it hard to live. Also, the graphic novel shows the struggles of the family and how their own family members are being taken away in front of them.

Logos: This graphic novel is very good to read if you like learning about other parts of the world, as well as the present dangers that take place in third-wheel countries. For example, the story shows a poor family that is struggling to live. They have an interaction with soldiers from the army, and they follow the family to their house just to take away the father. This shows how poor-end countries give people no rights to stand up for themselves, the soldiers were able to take away the father for absolutely no reason. This story teaches you the unfairness of life that some people have to face, how badly women can be treated, and how dangerous it is for these people that are living inside of a war. So if your interests are present dangers in the world and how reality really is, then this is an extremely good graphic novel to read.

Kairos: Exigence, or “the moment or event that motivates someone to write or to speak about a specific issue, problem, or situation”, is present in this graphic novel. The author, Deborah Ellis, wrote this informative graphic novel as a result from the real life wars occurring in Afghanistan, and it goes through several life lessons that people should learn from. Ellis wrote this graphic novel as her own way of showing empathy for people of poor countries. Every story has a reason why it was created, and this one definitely proves its point and gives us a real-life understanding of reality. It teaches you to be grateful for what you have because there are people out there who face harsh struggles and suffer things that they don’t deserve.