The Breadwinner

by

Deborah Ellis

A toshak is a narrow mattress that take the place of seating or beds.

Toshak Quotes in The Breadwinner

The The Breadwinner quotes below are all either spoken by Toshak or refer to Toshak. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Afghanistan, History, and Pride Theme Icon
).
Chapter 5 Quotes

“Mrs. Weera!” Nooria exclaimed. Relief washed over her face. Here was someone who could take charge, who could take some of the responsibility off of her shoulders.

Related Characters: Nooria (speaker), Parvana, Mrs. Weera, Mother
Page Number: 56-57
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14 Quotes

“I don’t like working alone. The marketplace isn’t the same when you’re not there. Won’t you come back?”

Put to her like that, Parvana knew she could not refuse. [...] Part of her wanted to slip away from everything, but another part wanted to get up and stay alive and continue to be Shauzia’s friend. With a little prodding from Shauzia, that was the part that won.

Related Characters: Shauzia (speaker), Parvana, Nooria, Mother, Homa / The Woman
Page Number: 135
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Breadwinner LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Breadwinner PDF

Toshak Term Timeline in The Breadwinner

The timeline below shows where the term Toshak appears in The Breadwinner. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
Gender Relations Theme Icon
Family and Friendship Theme Icon
Agency, Maturity, and Childhood Theme Icon
...Parvana looks around the tiny room, which contains only a tall cupboard and their two toshaks. The lavatory is just a small room with a platform toilet, the water tank, and... (full context)
Afghanistan, History, and Pride Theme Icon
Family and Friendship Theme Icon
...out and down the stairs. Two more soldiers dig through the cupboard and slash the toshaks. Parvana is terrified—Father has English books hidden in the bottom of the cupboard, and the... (full context)
Chapter 4
Family and Friendship Theme Icon
Agency, Maturity, and Childhood Theme Icon
Mother refuses Nooria’s help as she tears off her burqa and collapses onto a toshak. She sobs and allows Nooria to wash her dusty face and feet. Eventually, Mother falls... (full context)
Chapter 6
Family and Friendship Theme Icon
Agency, Maturity, and Childhood Theme Icon
...successful, but Maryam is the only one who seems excited. Mother is back on the toshak and Ali sits next to her, trying to get her attention. Nooria hands Parvana the... (full context)
Chapter 14
Family and Friendship Theme Icon
Agency, Maturity, and Childhood Theme Icon
...Parvana that Mother and Nooria are safe, but Parvana feels hopeless. She crawls onto the toshak and stays there for two days. She insists to Mrs. Weera that the women in... (full context)