In
the first chapter of the novel How to
Read Literature Like a Professor, Foster writes about quests that may or
may not seem like quests within works of literature. Foster writes that in order for there to be a
quest, there must be a quester, a stated place to go and a reason for going
there, challenges and trials during the trip, and a real reason for going on
the trip, which is typically for self knowledge. In A Thousand
Splendid Suns, both Mariam and Laila have a minor quest, although Mariam’s
quest is much more heartbreaking and causes Mariam to grow up much faster than
Laila’s. Nevertheless, both quests
reveal some sort of truth to the girls.
At the time of the quest, Mariam just turns fifteen, and realizes her
father’s true nature. She goes down to
the village in order to see her father, but has to first face the challenge of
her morals and whether or not she should abandon her mother and disregard the
rules for the day. Once Mariam gets to
the village, she has to face the challenge of figuring out where her father’s
home is and two of Jalil’s servants who told her that Jalil was away. However, after spending the night in the
cold, Mariam learns the truth. As she
heads home, “…she cried. They were tears
of grief, of anger, of disillusionment. But mainly tears of a deep, deep shame
at how foolishly she had given herself over to Jalil” (Hosseini 33). The real reason Hosseini has Mariam go down
to the village and to see her father was to reveal the truth to Mariam – that
her Nana had been right all along about her father and that Jalil is ashamed of
having her as a daughter. Another reason
for having Mariam leave is to advance the plot of the story and to have her
Nana hang herself so that Mariam feels the guilt at leaving her Nana for her
awful father and to have Mariam move in with Jalil’s family for the time before
she becomes married. Laila’s quest, on
the other hand comes with a self-awakening that does not come into play until
much later in the novel. Laila enters
her quest as a surprise from her father, going to the two Buddha statues for
educational purposes. However, Laila
learns two things while on top of the Buddha statues: that her father feels “‘…like
you’re all I [Babi] have, Laila’” and “…that, in one important way, she [Laila]
was glad they couldn’t go [to Babi’s little dream, somewhere near the sea]”
(135, 137). The self recognition that
Laila learns on her quest does not have its full effect until Tariq asks her to
marry him and leave with him and his family.
Instead of leaving, Laila realizes that she has a duty to stay with her
father, even if she desperately wants to leave at the time. Near the end of the novel, Laila’s lessons
from her quest appear once again when she realizes that even though she may be
happy with her new life with Tariq, her life is not right because she belongs
at the place where she wanted to escape a few years before; that the place she
has escaped still remains her home and always will be her true home.
In
chapter seven of How to Read Literature
Like a Professor, Foster writes about how many pieces of literature allude
to the Bible in some way, whether it be through titles, names, or symbols. Foster writes that even if a person is not
familiar with the Bible, if a part of a novel seems to resonate within itself,
then there is probably a deeper meaning behind it and one can therefore assume
there is some sort of allusion. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, Tariq becomes
a leader and savior, especially for Laila.
His becomes a holy figure in her life, returning after nine years, which
is a multiple of three, after Laila believed that he was dead. Therefore, Tariq, in his later years at
least, becomes a Jesus Christ figure because both return from the dead and both
bring a sense of hope for a better place for mankind. After coming back and speaking with Laila,
“…another shudder passed through [Laila], a current of something sad and
forlorn, but also something eager and recklessly hopeful” (306). Tariq brings a sense of hope for Laila, even
if he has not had the chance to really do much yet since she is still married
to Rasheed. The hope though, is
something that seemed to be forgotten for the time being when Laila was married
to Rasheed, so, like Jesus, Tariq brings back a sense of hope for a better,
purer life, even during the harsh time of war.
Tariq causes Laila to hope that she, Mariam, and the two children can
“…go someplace remote and safe where no one would find them, where they could
disown their past and find shelter.
‘Somewhere with trees,’ [Laila] said.
‘Yes. Lots of trees’” (315). Once again, Tariq brings hope to Laila’s
life, causing Laila to hope that she and her family can escape to a better
place than Rasheed’s home. In addition,
Laila hopes that they will live in a place that has a lot of trees, which is
her hope to enter the Garden of Eden, before the loss of innocence, to a place
of purity and happiness.
Foster
points out that the Greeks provide a lot of subject matter for future
authors. The Greeks have provided
writers with the four great struggles of the human being, which include the
struggle against nature, the divine, other humans, and with oneself. In A
Thousand Splendid Suns, Mariam captures a few of the four great struggles
of the human being that Foster writes was given to writers from Homer. Mariam definitely struggles with other
humans, particularly with her father and Rasheed. Mariam does struggle with her mother at the
beginning of the novel, but after her death, Mariam has to deal with her father
and then her forced-upon husband, Rasheed.
Mariam also struggles with herself because she remains guilty for
leaving her mother for her father and causing her mother’s death. Mariam also struggles to discover that she
has a say in what she wants for herself and what she wants to do with her
life. However, not until Laila’s life is
in danger and Mariam is the only one who can help, having to kill Rasheed, that
“…this was the first time that she
was deciding the course of her own life” (311).
Mariam finally comes to terms with the fact that even though she is a
woman during a time and place where women had practically no rights at all, she
can still take control of her own life, utilize the power of free will, and
decide her own fate, which she does. By
killing Rasheed, Mariam knows that she has also put a death sentence on
herself. In addition, Laila crossed over
to the underworld somewhat quickly in order to speak to Mariam. Laila travels with Hamza, who “…tells [Laila]
to cross the dry streambed” (353). In
order to reach the land of the dead, one must cross the river, which Laila
does, albeit the river Laila crosses is dried up. Even though Laila does not pay him with a
golden coin, Hamza is the carrier that brings people over to the dead just as
the person who carries souls across the river.
Once she finally reaches Mariam’s original home, Laila is able to
reconnect with Mariam and feels Mariam calling to her. Therefore, Laila enters the Land of the Dead
for a brief moment in order to speak with Mariam and give her a final good-bye.
Foster
points out that the weather plays a critical role in a work of literature. Whether it be for plot development or for a
democratic reason, rain, snow, or fog plays a significant role in
literature. In general, rain can bring
about enlightenment and restoration, and snow can bring abstract thought. What an author does with rain, snow, or fog
in the novel can signify a change in character or parallel the atmosphere or
what is happening in the novel. For much
of A Thousand Splendid Suns, the
characters must withstand a drought. However,
when there was a snowfall during the winter of 1992, “[Laila] would retreat
back to her room, sit on the bed, and watch the snow falling” (208). Instead of going outside to feel the snow,
Laila remains disclosed from the world, choosing to just watch the snow. In doing so, Laila enters a state of abstract
thought, in which she can think without thinking too much about what has
happened to her within the past few years and how she came to be in the
situation that she is currently in. In
addition, by not letting Laila walk freely outside and in the snow, namely by
having Laila remain inside, Hosseini reestablishes that Laila is no longer the
free spirit that she once was when her parents were still living and Tariq’s
family had not fled as well as reinforce the idea that Laila, as all women
during the time in Afghanistan, were not able to go outside when they wished to. In the final chapter of the novel, “the
drought has ended. It snowed at last
this past winter, knee-deep, and now it has been raining for days” (361). At this point in the novel, the rain
signifies the restoration of Afghanistan ,
particularly Laila’s home, from the harsh time of war. The rain brings people back to the town,
restoring the town back to life after the dreaded war and signifying a more
hopeful, cleansed future life for Laila.
Foster
writes that almost anything in a piece of literature can be a symbol. However, what symbols mean depends on the
reader’s personal past and experiences, so there is an unlimited number of
things a symbol can mean instead of one symbol having only one specific
meaning. There are many symbols within A Thousand Splendid Suns, such as the
color green, which both Mariam and Laila constantly wear (Laila especially,
since her eyes are green), representing the growth and maturity that the two
girls have to undergo in such a rapid period of time. Laila wearing green in particular has another
possible meaning, in which she is constantly being compared to a flower, with
Rasheed even calling her “‘…my flower, my gul’”
(207). Laila’s very being reminds the
reader of a flower because of her green eyes and blonde hair, and with the
addition of wearing green a lot, she resembles a bright flower, possibly even a
yellow daisy. In doing so, Hosseini
creates a sense of irony by having Laila run away during the spring time, which
makes sense, since spring is the perfect time for the flower to bloom, but has
Laila caught in the midst of her escape.
Besides the color green, there is also the matter of Mariam having
miscarriages every single time she tries to have a child. The symbol has multiple meanings, some of
which Mariam thinks about in her anger, but as Foster writes, there is no
single meaning behind a symbol. Mariam
losing the child could be her payment for having abandoned her mother for her
father, it could represent Mariam being a harami
and therefore cannot have legitimate children of her own since she herself is
not legitimate, or it could be a simple way for Hosseini to move the plot along
and to help Mariam realize that even though she is not legitimate, she can
still love and have that love be returned to her from someone she is not
related to. In the latter idea, Mariam’s
inability to have children presents her with a problem she must face directly
in order to overcome, which she does eventually after finally accepting Laila
and her illegitimate child, Aziza. Rasheed
is the “man” of the house in the novel, having a tight control over Mariam and
Laila. However, the reader should not
forget that Rasheed is “‘…a shoemaker….He makes them for diplomats, members of
the presidential family – that class of people’” (43). Rasheed may believe he is the king in his
home, but in reality he is merely someone who bows at the feet of wealthier,
classier people. Rasheed’s profession
can symbolize his desire to be considered upper class and can help to explain
why he feels the strong need to have a son and why he is so possessive over his
things and wives. However, as Foster
points out, Rasheed’s profession can mean something else entirely, but it is up
to the reader to determine what the many different symbols can mean.
Foster
points out that a novel would not be the same novel if it was not for the
setting and geography. Geography can
mean a variety of things, ranging from people to setting to theme to
symbol. Geography can be used to develop
a character as well, particularly if they are going on a trip or going south,
in which case they are probably going south to “run amok,” but either way, by
having a character leave one place for another can determine whether or not a
character grows. Geography is very
important within a novel, for the geography can help to explain the plot or the
people within the novel. If Hosseini did
not place the novel in Afghanistan ,
there might have been a war going on, but Hosseini chose Afghanistan for
a particular reason, whether it be for the culture, the weather, or simply
because he wanted to demonstrate the harsh realities of what happened in Afghanistan
during the war that many people remain ignorant about. At the end of the novel, Hosseini does right
a denouement about why he wrote the book and placed the novel in Afghanistan ,
but it does not explain why he chose the specific parts of Afghanistan
that he did. Mariam grew up in a little
hut on the outskirts of the main part of town.
In doing so, Hosseini uses the kolba
to develop Mariam’s character. At first,
the reader thinks that the kolba is
used to help show Jalil’s character because “Jalil could have hired laborers to
build the kolba, Nana said, but he
didn’t. ‘His idea of penance’”
(10). Although that may be true,
Hosseini also uses the kolba to
develop Mariam as a character because of where the kolba is located. By having
the kolba on the outskirts of town,
Mariam remains an innocent child, unaware of her father’s true character. In addition, having her live separately from
the rest of Jalil’s family reiterates the fact that Mariam is an illegitimate
child. Hosseini has a majority of the
novel place within a town that is being hit hard by the war. In doing so, he makes the atmosphere of the
novel somewhat unsettling since the reader does not know when another loved
character is about to randomly die by a rocket.
He gives the place a character, one of which is full of anger, sorrow,
and hatred. However, at the end of the
novel, he also has Laila escape the place that has caused her so much pain in
the past. Even more, near the very end
of the novel, he writes that “a year ago, [Laila] would have gladly given an
arm to get out of Kabul . But in the last few months, she has found
herself missing the city of her childhood” (344-345). Not until he has Laila leave her original,
dreaded home does she realize the need she has for it. On the way back to her home, however, she
also stops by Mariam’s first home, the kolba,
because she realizes that sometimes home is not a place, but a person, and
Mariam was a part of her home. Maybe
Hosseini did this unintentionally, or maybe he did it intentionally, but the
places where Mariam and Laila first grew up in started with the letter K. Whether or not Hosseini did this on purpose
or not, in doing so, the reader can believe that in doing so, the two girls are
tied even more because of another commonality they have between them.
Foster
writes about the importance of season within literature. He writes that authors can either use the
seasons for their intended meaning or they can use them with irony, which many
modern writers do. The original meaning
behind the seasons are: spring meaning youth, fertility, and innocence, summer
meaning passion, love, and adulthood, autumn symbolizing tiredness, harvest,
and decline, and winter meaning old age, anger, resentment, and death. Writers can also use the seasons’ original
meanings with a sense of irony to accentuate a certain characteristic or point
during the novel. The novel A Thousand Splendid Suns skips between
seasons and years quite frequently and rapidly to the point that sometimes it
is difficult to pinpoint what time of year it is in the novel. However, Hosseini does try to help the
problem by writing either the month or the actual season throughout the
novel. Laila and Tariq’s love life
follow the seasons. They first start
their love affair in June of 1992, in which “Laila thought of Tariq’s hands,
squeezing her breast, sliding down the small of her back, as the two of them
kissed and kissed” (160). By having the
two of them come together during the summer, the season of love and passion,
Hosseini uses the season to parallel what is happening in Laila’s life. However, it is not until August of that same
year do the two lovers consummate their love for one another and Tariq asks her
to marry him. August is much closer to
autumn than June is, so by having the two come together at the end of summer,
bordering on autumn, Hosseini once again uses the seasons to parallel Laila’s
life. Laila is not able to leave with
Tariq because of her father, but Hosseini also uses the time of the year, the
end of summer, to demonstrate that the passion and the love between the two is
slowly coming to an end, which it does because Tariq leaves the very next day. Hosseini also uses spring in the beginning of
the novel to parallel Mariam’s life, although somewhat ironically. At first, having Mariam’s fifteenth birthday
in spring parallels her youthfulness and her innocence. However, the use of spring is ironic because
she discovers Jalil’s true nature and when she gets home, “…Mariam caught a
glimpse of what was beneath the tree: the straight-backed chair,
overturned. The rope dropping from a
high branch. Nana dangling at the end of
it” (34). Therefore there is a sense of
irony with the use of the seasons as well since spring is supposed to mean a
time of fertility and innocence, but instead there is a cold awakening to the
truth and a death.
Foster
teaches readers that in order to fully grasp and understand a piece of
literature, one must read not with his own eyes, but of someone understanding
of the time period and culture of the novel.
The reader should not look at most works of literature from the
perspective of a twenty-first century person living in a first world country
but instead with the eyes of someone either during that time period. By doing so, the reader can look beyond the
surface of the novel to try to understand the message the author is trying to
make by using a different social, historical, or cultural background. A
Thousand Splendid Suns takes place in Afghanistan and requires readers to
understand that even during a time of war, these are still people who have
families and aspirations. Americans in
particular have to read with the eyes of someone who was born and raised in Afghanistan and
have learned that Americans are the enemy.
Americans should not take offense when Hosseini writes about America being
evil and being the enemy. In addition,
the reader should read with the eyes of not a feminist of the twenty first
century, in which women should be equal to men, for throughout the novel, time
and again the idea that women are less than men is presented. Instead, the reader should read with an open
mind and an understanding about the culture of Afghanistan . During the time, women married young, with
little girls knowing the harsh truth, such as with the case of Hasina, one of
Laila’s friends during childhood.
Although Hasina and Laila are not even teenagers at the time, “…in two or
three years [Hasina’s father] would certainly give her away. Hasina had told Laila, in one of her
infrequent serious moments, that it had already been decided that she would
marry a first cousin who was twenty years older than her” (104). In America in the twenty first
century, it is highly looked down upon to marry a relative, whether the
relative be a first or second cousin. In
addition, there is an unspoken rule in many cultures about the right age for
people to become married and for the age difference between a couple. Therefore, instead of seeing the novel
through a twenty first century American, one must read the novel from the
perspective of someone from Afghanistan
during the 1990’s and early 2000’s.
During that time period, it was normal for young girls to have an
arranged marriage to a much older gentleman.
Once again, the audience should not read from the eyes of a feminist,
from almost any country because during the time period of the novel, women had
pretty much no rights at all. When the
Taliban had taken over, the reader must understand that women were inferior to
men and that there was pretty much nothing that the reader can do to change
that ideology. Hosseini writes some of
the rules that women must follow, which include “You will not speak unless spoken to. You will not make eye contact
with men,” as well as “Girls are
forbidden from attending school…Women are forbidden from working”
(248-249). Women had little to no rights
at all during the time period that the novel was placed in. Hosseini does ask a lot out of modern day men
and women to understand the cultural and historical background of the novel,
but in doing so, the novel becomes that much more meaningful and heartbreaking
as the reader grows alongside Mariam and Laila.
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