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A Thousand Splendid Suns (Chapters 1-10 (Does Mariam trust her mother or…
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Chapters 1-10
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"I'll die if you go. The jinn will come and i'll have one of my fits. You'll see, i'll swallow my tounge and die. Don't leave me Mariam Jo. Please stay. I'll die if you go.ch.5. pg27
Mariam's mother is begging her to stay home instead of spending time eith her father. It makes me think that her mother is afraid of her father leaving her just like her ex husband did.
"It was when Mullah Faizullah's slight, stooping figure apppeared in kolba's doorway that Mariam cried for the first time that day. ch.6.pg38
I think Mariam see's this koran tutor as a parental figure. She is able to talk to him inn an easier way the talking to her parents and she turns to him for comfort when nana dies.
Does Mariam trust her mother or her father more?
Does Mariam's mother wish she didn't have a daughter
Does Jalil have any sympathy for his daughter?
Characters- Mariam, Jalil, Nana, Mullah
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Theme- Blood isn't always family, meaning just because they are related to you doesnt mean they have a family bond with you.
Chapters 11-20
"And she felt for the first time a kinship with her husband. She told herself that they would make good companions after all" ch12.pg85.
When Mariams find that she is pregnant she feels a connection with her husband that she did not feel before. He was loving to her and seemed to care a lot. She knew he was happy to be having another child after loosing his first.
"Mariam remembered a time when she had enjoyed, even lookedforward to, cooking for Rasheed. Now cooking was an exercise in heightened anxiety." ch 15 pg 64 (pdf)
Ever since Mariam has lost the baby, Rasheed has completely changed his attitude towards Marium. He has been aggresive and abusive towards her. He rarely lets her go out and she always has to be covered.
"Rasheed's wife, Mariam, came in. She was wearing a blackhijab. Strands of her hair
strayed from it onto her brow. She took a seat along the wall across from Laila " ch19 pg 85.(pdf)
This is the first actual encounter between Mariam and Laila.They do not speak, however Laila notices her in a room of people. This may be becasue she is more covered and silent, different than most of the other.
What connection does Rasheed have to laila's family? Will Laila save Mariam from her husband? Has Mariam accepted the way that she's living or does she think she will escape her suppressed lifestle?
Chapters 21- 30
" He spoke through the door and promised that he would come back ... for her." Hosseini, page 184
Laila had to force Tariq to leave without her because she doesn't want to leave her mother and father with all the violence in Kabul. Will they reunite? I think Laila should have went with him.
" Giti is dead. Dead. Blown to pieces." Hoesseini, page 179
These are Laila's thoughts as she was trying to accept the fact that her last friend was dead. She had been hit by a rocket and killed. Laila now has no friends.
"That my young friends is the story of our country, one invader after another... But we,re like those walls up there. Battered, and nothing pretty to look at but still standing." Hosseini, page 132
This is what thetaxi driver said when he was talking to Laila, Tariq, and Hakim. He talks about the history of Afghanistans on going conflict
Chapters 31-40
Why did Laila want to be friends with Mariam so badly?
Do you think Rasheed would kill the baby?
Will Laila and Mariam try to run away again?
""Did you know that he
used to drink sharab back then, that he was crying drunk that day?" Hossein, page 139 (pdf)
In this quote I assume "sharab" is a type of alcholic drink. A women describes how Rasheed was wasted and wasn't paying attention to his son, which is why he drowned in the river.
"You win. You win. Don't do this. Please,no beating! Please don't do this." Hoessein, page 146, (pdf)
This is kind of a turning point in the book. Even after Mariam had been so hostile towards Laila, Laila still tried to protect her from rasheed who was trying to beat her. Laila and Mariam become almost like sisters after this.
"But Zalmai worshipped his father, and,because he did, he was transformed when his
father was around to dote on him. Zalmai was quick then with a defiantdefiant cackle or an
impudent grin." Hossein, page 176 (pdf)
Laila describes how well behaved her son is whenever her husband is not home. I think he sees how badly his mother is treated by his father, and thinks that it's okay for him to act up and be aggresive as well.
Chapters 41- 51
Why didn't Tariq search for Laila if he wasn't married?
Do you think Zalmai understands how bad of a person his father was compared to Tariq?
If Mariam had kids of her own would she still turn herslef in?
"Had Mariam been certain that he would be satisfied with shooting only her, that there was a chance he would spare Laila, she might have dropped the shovel. But in Rasheeds eyes she saw murder for them both." Hosseini 349
Mariam believed she had no choice but to kill Rasheed to save Laila and the children. she shows her selflessness by explaining that she would give her life to save Laila's. Laila and the children seem to be the only yhing she has to live for.
"she hears of schoold built in Kabul, roads repaved, women returning to work, and her life here, pleasant and grateful as she is... unfufilled."
I think how great everything is at the moment feels unrealistic to :aila. She feels as if she should be experiencing these things with Mariam and feels guilt that Mariam is dead.
"Laila had not found the strenth to tell Aziza the truth. She had told her that she was going to a very special school where the children ate and slept and didn't come home after class" Hosseini, 314
Rasheed made Laila send Aziza away to an orphanage because they could no longer feed her. Why did't he kick Mariam out?
FInal thoughts
"Had Mariam been certain that he would be satisfied with shooting only her, that there was a chance he would spare Laila, she might have dropped the shovel. But in Rasheeds eyes she saw murder for them both." Hosseini 349
"she hears of schoold built in Kabul, roads repaved, women returning to work, and her life here, pleasant and grateful as she is... unfufilled."
"And she felt for the first time a kinship with her husband. She told herself that they would make good companions after all" ch12.pg85.
If Mariam would not have turned herself in, do you think she would have been caught and killed anyway?
Do you think Jalil's treatment of MAsriam when she was younger was influened by those around him? What changed his mind when he came back to try to find Mariam?
Does Laila regret not leaving with Tariq when they were younger, would she change that if she could or is she content with how the situation played out?
Reflection- I think this book captured an event that is a very realistic example of what was going on in the middle east at that time. Unfortunately many women were oprressed and the men were superior. Mariam was a character who gave in to these beliefs while Laila resisted more and had a lot of hope. Although Mariam had a very sad ending, she found light in the darkness, giving her own life to protect the only thing she had ledt, the only people she love which were Laila and her children.
This book was very compelling, but also hard to read at times. There were some very sad scenes that made me question a lot. I thought about how our society is today and what my life would have been like if I lived in times like those. I thought these events where very eye-opening and made me greatful for the world I live in.
Do you think Rasheed has any giult for ditching Mariam?
Will Mariam turn to her family for help?
Will Rasheed ever know the baby isn't his?