Discussion Topic C

In A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini, the character Mariam is a woman who lives her life full of regret.  At the decision of going to visit her father Mariam's mother warns her, "I'll die if you go."  Mariam comes home to find that her mother committed suicide.  The warning that Mariam heard from her mother carries on with her throughout her life, tormenting her and making her feel guilty for her mother's death.  Hosseini shows how Mariam's past negatively affects her as she constantly remembers that if she hadn't left she wouldn't have the life she has.  Also, as Mariam grows up, she lives with the memory of the "first time she heard the word harami."  Hosseini's use of diction of the word "harami" reminds Mariam of her mother's indifference to her.  Nana, Mariam's mother, fills Mariam's childhood with a feeling of bieng unwanted.  These feelings follow Mariam and eventually make her feel unworthy and self-pity.  The negative ideas that hr mother fed her made Mariam feel that there was no hope for happiness for her.  She remembers her mother telling her that snowflakes were, "a reminder of how women like us suffer."  Mariam believes that she is forced to live suffering, without any opportunity for a better life.  Hosseini ironically compares a snowflake to suffering.  Snowflakes are all unique and usually described as beautiful, however Hosseini does not embrace the beauty of the snowflake.  The neglet Mariam received from both parents led her to believe she would never find someone to appreciate her.  For this reason Mariam is surprised when she wins the affection of Laila and her daughter.  The connection that she makes with them helps Mariam learn that she is worthy of love and happiness.

Discussion Topic A

In Khaled Hosseini's, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Laila and Mariam live a hostile life with their husband Rasheed.  Rasheed's rage begins when both his wives don't please him by giving him a son.  Hosseini uses imagery to show Rasheed's discontent with Laila after the birth of her daughter when "Mariam detected a shadow on his face, a darkness underlying the coppery light of dusk."  From this description it is evident that Rasheed is upset and thus begins his violent outbursts.  Hosseini changed Rasheed's lighthearted mood, to a dark and angry mood, that became the foundation for the upcoming abuse.  After Laila's refusal to be intimate with Rasheed, he blames Mariam and tells her, "It's your doing. I know it is." Mariam becomes afraid and places "her arms instinctively crossed over her chest, where he often struck first."  Hosseini uses diction to give the reader a feeling of fright that Mariam is experiencing at the moment.  The reader can understand that this is not the first time Mariam experiences this kind of behavior in her husband, because he has done it enough that she'd developed the instinct to protect herself.  By beating Mariam he not only hurts her physically but also psychologically.  The reader can see this when Mariam "shivered with fright when he was like this."  Her husband's violence has made her feel uncomfortable to make any mistake.  Mariam feels that she is not a good wife because of her husband's neglect.  Hosseini shows how domestic abuse can torture the life of the victim.  As seen with Mariam domestic abuse psychologically affects a person by making them feel unworthy.