mariamaafganistan

[mariamaafganistan]

Reflections on a Year or Reading Afghani Literature

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

In most of the books I read for the independent reading project, they all had elements of things that actually happened in Afghanistan. For instance, all three of the books I read mention the war between the Taliban. They also mention how Hazaras are treated terribly and looked down upon. The books use phrases from real languages that are spoken in the country. They also mention Muslims in the books and things Muslims in real life actually follow and believe in doing. A common theme I saw was betrayal. In The Kite Runner, Baba betrays his wife by getting another woman pregnant, his best friend’s wife. He never even had the audacity to tell him that it wasn’t his child. He never even told Amir that he had a brother. For years Baba lived with Ali and didn’t tell him. This led to Hassan having a son, but then dying and leaving him in an orphanage in that orphanage he was raped and abused repeatedly. If Baba had just told the truth Amir would’ve known about Hassan’s death immediately and would’ve taken Sohrab in immediately. Amir also betrays Sohrab by telling him he’ll never take him to an orphanage, but later on he does and this leads to Sohrab’s depression and suicide attempt. In A Thousand Splendid Suns Tariq betrays Laila because he doesn’t tell her he’s leaving the country until two days before he leaves. Another common theme in all three books is violence in abuse. In all the books the authors portray an image of war. One of the books portrays an abuse husband, another portrays war, and another portrays hate crimes. Something about life I learned from A Thousand Splendid Suns is that I should treasure my life. In the book it portrays girls being forced into marriage at a young age and and being abused. I am thankful that I am not in that situation and that I live in America, which it is illegal to do that. In Afghanistan that actually happens to women all the time everyday. Even in my country this happens and no one can or is willing to do anything about it. Girls in countries like that are not free to make the choice of who they marry and they can’t report abusive behavior. No one will do anything about it because it’s normal, they don’t care. Something about life that I learned from Three Cups of Tea is that I should value my freedom. In America I have the freedom to do so many things that can’t be done in Pakistan and Afghanistan. I can go to school and hold jobs that are higher and better than a man. I am able to get birth control and an abortion if I wanted to. I can hold offices in the government and I can be president. Something about life that I learned from The Kite Runner is that life is too short and to not take it for granted. In the book so many characters die and both Amir and Sohrab lost their parents. I’m lucky that both my parents are alive and well. I’m lucky that I can see my parents everyday, that I can talk to them, and that I can see them. Not everyone is lucky enough for that. I’m glad that they’re here to put food on the table and a roof under my head. What I learned about myself is that I actually really like Khaled Hosseini’s books. I also learned that my ability to read has worsened. The last time I read a book outside of school I actually enjoyed I was in the eighth grade. Imma reading level was always a year higher than I actually was. I also learned I don’t want to get married. When I was reading I didn’t really want to get married and reading these books confirmed that. I also learned that I’m privileged compared to the characters in the book. They don’t have the privilege to make decisions for themselves.

[mariamaafganistan]

Week 20 Blog

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Khaled Hosseini

Pages: 345-375

Word Count: 333

Summary:

Rasheed went after both Mariam and Laila with plans on killing them. He strangles Laila, so Mariam goes and gets a shovel and hits him which ends up killing him. They hid his body in the shed. Laila lied and told Zalmai that Rasheed left on a trip. Mariam tells Laila for her to leave with the kids and Tariq and that she’ll stay and take the blame for his death since she did kill him. Laila leaves and Mariam turns herself in and is brought to a women’s cell. Mariam told the court what she did and she was sentenced to execution. She was executed in front of many people.

Critical Analysis:

Hosseini uses some of the eleven strategies for reading between the lines such as, analyzing figurative language and filling in gaps in information. For instance, “And, with that, Mariam brought down the shovel.” Based on the fact that the author said Mariam brought the shovel down, I am inferring something else must be true that we are not directly told or, something else happened off stage. Specifically, I can now tell that Mariam killed Rasheed with the shovel. For instance, “The toilets were closet-sized.” The author uses a metaphor to compare the toilets to being the size or a closet. This comparison suggests that the bathrooms were really small.

Personal Response:

I honestly loved that they killed Rasheed. He had to be stopped one way or another. It makes me so sad that Mariam turned herself in though. I’m glad Laila and Tariq can finally be together. I think Zalmai is gonna be really said because he was so close with his dad, but a bad thing is he’s starting to act like his dad. I honestly read ahead and I hate how Zalmai is so rude to Tariq, but Tariq doesn’t respond back. He just sits there and takes it and says it’s okay. That’s a real man.

[mariamaafganistan]

“The toilets were closet-sized.”

Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns (362)

#afghanistan #khaledhosseini #athousandsplendidsuns #analyzingfigurativelanguage

[mariamaafganistan]

“And, with that, Mariam brought down the shovel.”

Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns (349)

#afghanistan #khaledhosseini #athousandsplendidsuns #fillingingapsininformation

[mariamaafganistan]

Week 19 Blog

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Khaled Hosseini

Pages: 285-345

Word Count: 367

Summary:

Laila goes into labor and has to have a c-section. Rasheed would praise every bad thing Zalmai does. He spoils him and buys him everything even though he has no money, but he doesn’t do anything for Aziza. Laila stood up to Rasheed and slapped him. Laila keeps standing up to him and he keeps beating her up. Laila has to give Aziza up to a foster home because they couldn’t afford to eat. Tariq shows up at Laila’s house. Rasheed finds out that Tariq has been to his house and he isn’t happy.

Critical Analysis:

Hosseini uses some of the eleven strategies for reading between the lines such as, recognizing lies and filling in gaps in information. For instance, “I’m not a young man anymore.” I can infer that Rasheed isn’t telling the whole truth here, because earlier, he was able to go away to far places without complaining because it benefits him. I think Rasheed just doesn’t care about his own daughter or Laila. He knows that Laila can’t go without him to go see Aziza, but he doesn’t care and lies to say that he’s too old and tired. For instance, “Is this who I think it is?” Based on the fact that Rasheed said he think knows who came over, I am inferring that something else may be true that we are not directly told or something happened off stage. Specifically, I can now tell that he knows that Tariq came over because he was told that a man who hops came to his house.

Personal Response:

This chapter really excited me because Tariq is back. I’m hoping Laila and Mariam take the kids and run away with him. I predict that in the next chapter Rasheed is going to kill Laila for having Tariq over. I’m so mad that he treats Aziza like trash just because she’s a girl and that he praises Zalmai. You should be treating your children equally, period. I’m glad Laila has been standing up to Rasheed, but I was so scared she was gonna die when she had the C-section. I hope they escape Rasheed’s abuse.

[mariamaafganistan]

“Is this who I think it is?”

Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns (337)

#afghanistan #khaledhosseini #athousandsplendidsuns #fillingingapsininformation

[mariamaafganistan]

“I’m not a young man anymore.”

Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns (319)

#afghanistan #khaledhosseini #athousandsplendidsuns #recognizinglies

[mariamaafganistan]

“Jack is dead.”

Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns (304)

#afghanistan #khaledhosseini #athousandsplendidsuns #analyzingfigurativelanguage

[mariamaafganistan]

“She was the one who put him down to nap, who played even-tempered peacemaker to her volatile sibling.”

Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns (297)

#khaledhosseini #afghanistan #athousandsplendidsuns #analyzingdiction

[mariamaafganistan]

Week 18 Blog

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Khaled Hosseini

Pages: 225-285

Word Count: 380

Summary:

Mariam and Laila got into their first big fight. Rasheed hates the baby. Laila defended Mariam and stops Rasheed from hitting her. Laila and Mariam called a truce. Mariam agrees to runway with Laila. They were caught and Rasheed brings them back home and beats both of them to bar death. He then separately locks them in a room with a baby for a few days to starve to death. The Taliban took over Afghanistan and made any form of art illegal. They made all women’s right illegal. Laila found out she was pregnant with Rasheed’s child and she goes to kill it but realizes the baby is innocent in all this and that enough people have died.

Critical Analysis:

Hosseini uses some of the eleven strategies for reading between the lines such as, filling in gaps in information and predicting outcomes using foreshadowing. For instance, "It's an interesting eye color she has, Aziza. Don't you think? It's neither yours nor mine." Based on that fact that Rasheed said that Aziza’s eye color doesn’t match theirs, I am inferring that something else must be true that we weren’t told directly, or something happened off stage. Specifically I can now tell that Rasheed has his suspicions that Aziza is not his child. For instance, "Did you two ever do anything out of order?" I believe that based on the fact that Laila and Tariq had sex, Laila will be pregnant with Tariq’s child later on.

Personal Response:

I hated this section so much. I was so glad they were getting away from their abusive husband, but they were caught. I really thought that man would help them seeing as he also has a baby, but he snitched on them. It also angered me hoe Rasheed “punished” them. He beat them and locked them in dark, hot rooms, and starved them close to death. He didn’t even care that there was a baby. And to make matters worse when Laila told the police why they were running away and how abusive Rasheed is his only response was “we don’t get involved in family business.” Rasheed literally beats them every single day in front of a baby, but go off I guess.

[mariamaafganistan]

"It's an interesting eye color she has, Aziza. Don't you think? It's neither yours nor mine."

Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns (282)

#khaledhosseini #afghanistan #athousandsplendidsuns #fillingingapsininformation

[mariamaafganistan]

The room turned into a pressure cooker.

Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns (270)

#afghanistan #KhaledHosseini #analyzingfigurativelanguage #AThousandSplendidSuns

[mariamaafganistan]

"Did you two ever do anything out of order?"

Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns (246)

#khaledhosseini #afghanistan #athousandsplendidsuns #predictingoutcomesusingforeshadowing

[mariamaafganistan]

"Swelling so quickly," Rasheed said."

Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns (232)

#khaledhosseini #afghanistan #athousandsplendidsuns #fillingingapsininformation

[mariamaafganistan]

Week 17 Blog

A Thousand Splendid Suns  

Khaled Hosseini

Pages: 165-225

Word Count: 372

Summary:

The Mujahideen came back and Mammy fell into depression again. Giti was killed. Tariq tells Laila that he and his family are fleeing to Pakistan. Laila and Tariq finally have sex. Tariq proposes to Laila and tells her to come with him to Pakistan, but she denies it and says she can't leave her father. Mammy agreed to flee to Pakistan, so they all find things to sell. A bomb goes off in their house which kills Mammy and Babi. Mariam and Rasheed take Laila in and help her recover. A man comes to tell Laila that Tariq has died. Rasheed tells Laila that she can continue to stay with them if he marries her, otherwise she has to leave. Laila agreed and marries him much to Mariam’s dislike. Rasheed treats Laila like a saint unlike Mariam.

Critical Analysis:

Hosseini uses some of the eleven strategies for reading between the lines such as, filling in gaps in information and analyzing figurative language. For instance, “Then a giant roar. Behind her, a flash of white. The ground lurched beneath her feet. Something hot and powerful slammed into her from behind.” Based on the fact that the author wrote there was a “giant roar” and a “flash of white,” I am inferring that something else must be true that we were not told directly, or something happened off stage. Specifically, I can now tell that a bomb went off and destroyed Laila’s house, killing her parents. For instance, “The waiting. Like a defendant about to hear the verdict.” The author uses a simile here to compare their existing to the waiting of a defendant during a trial. This comparison suggests that they were anxious waiting to hear the results just as a defendant would be.

Personal Response:

I really liked this section to the book. I'm glad Laila and Tariq finally got together, but I'm so mad he left. I was so heartbroken for Laila to find out he died. I also felt bad for Laila because she had no one and she married Rasheed. He is the worst husband. He's so abusive and a rapist. He also has really bad anger issues.

[mariamaafganistan]

Then a giant roar. Behind her, a flash of white. The ground lurched beneath her feet. Something hot and powerful slammed into her from behind.

Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns (193)

#fillingingapsininformation #afghanistan #khaledhosseini #Athousandsplenddisuns

[mariamaafganistan]

It was selfish and irrational, but she was furious at him for abandoning her, Tariq, who was like an extension of her, whose shadow sprung beside hers in every memory.

Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns (182) in everyb memory

#KhaledHosseini #afghanistan #analyzingfigurativelanguage #AThousandspledndisuns