Theme Blog on "The Breadwinner" 11-19

I devised a potential theme from the book, "The Breadwinner" than most other readers might have.  I've completed the book, and formed an opinion based off of different character's actions and choices.  I think that whether it was intentional or unintentional, the author helps readers realize that courage comes in different forms, and sometimes courage isn't the best quality to have in a certain scenario.  The definition of courage is, "the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear..."  

However, would the action of bravely stepping in front of an entire enemy army to fight by yourself be considered courageous?  Techniquely your facing danger, without fear, but it certainly wouldn't be the smartest thing to do in that situation.  It often seems that courage comes hand in hand with stupidity, and although some people may not consider the "smarter" thing to do courageous, it could be the better option.  For example, during the book, Parvana's mother goes out to look for her husband in jail among the Taliban.  It was banned for women to leave the house unaccompanied by a man, so this was very dangerous for Parvana's mother.  Some may consider this a bold act of courage, while others with realize that it obviously was quite stupid.

On the other hand, there are certainly cases where courage is extremely hard to conjure up and harness, but can be really helpful.  In the book, Parvana has courage practically forced or thrust upon her, considering it is the only option for the survival of her family.  She has to be extremely courageous and/or brave while being smart at the same time.  I don't want to go into too much detail on these events, considering some readers may want to check this book out, but anyone who's read the book will know what I'm referring to. 

I know that there are multiple themes to this book, as there are to many others as well, but this is one that I wanted to focus in and go in depth within.  I've now thought more intensely on this claim about courage, and have came to the conclusion that this theme not only applies to the book, but to real life situations and events as well.