Student Question
Why does "I Am Malala" have a preface and a prologue?
Quick answer:
The preface and prologue in "I Am Malala" serve distinct purposes. The preface, set in Birmingham, 2015, highlights Malala's ongoing efforts through the Malala Fund and her role in advocating for girls' education globally. It establishes her credibility and the necessity of her work. The prologue, however, recounts the events leading to her shooting by the Taliban, setting the stage for her story. Together, they frame Malala's journey and mission.
The preface (“Birmingham, England, June 2015”) introduces the subject of the book and establishes the continued importance of Malala's work through the Malala Fund. In contrast, the prologue describes the events prior to the shooting and thus invites us to read Malala’s story. Basically, the preface establishes Malala's credibility in the area of girls' education, while the prologue provides the background details that led to the shooting. Note that the preface is never a part of the text; it is numbered in Roman numerals rather than the Arabic numerals used in the prologue and the rest of the text.
The preface provides details about Malala's adjustment to life in Birmingham and describes her work with the Malala Fund. From the preface, we learn that Malala played an instrumental role in building a school for the Maasai Mara people in Kenya. The preface also explains why she visited Nigerian schoolgirls on...
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her seventeenth birthday: in 2014, more than 250 schoolgirls in Chibok were abducted by members of Boko Haram. Although many of the girls have been rescued, the Nigerian government is still working on rescuing the rest of the girls. Meanwhile, Malala aims to support girls' education in Nigeria through the Malala Fund. To date, Malala's foundation has funded education projects in Jordan, Kenya, Pakistan, and Nigeria; it has also worked to integrate Syrian refugees into Jordan's schools. So the preface helps us understand why an organization like the Malala Fund is necessary, while the prologue briefly explains the premise behind the shooting (the main event of the book).
In *I Am Malala*, what is the prologue about?
In the Prologue to I Am Malala, Malala Yousafzai tells us about that fateful day when she was almost murdered. The day had started out like any other; Malala and her classmates were on the bus, heading off to school like millions of other children the world over. Normally, Malala would walk the short distance to school, but, as her father's an outspoken critic of the Taliban terrorist organization, her mother thinks that the bus is safer for her.
Unfortunately, this turns out not to be the case. As the bus approaches the school, it's suddenly stopped by an armed member of the Taliban. He boards the bus and asks which girl is Malala. No one answers, but as Malala is the only girl not wearing a burka, the terrorist quickly discovers her identity and promptly shoots her three times.