Week 6 Post B

For this week I decided to write about an event that has always happened to me but was never brought to my at attention until I read A Thousand Splendid Suns. The two main characters, who are in love, are watching a romantic movie together.

"On the screen, Alyona and her new husband locked lips. Watching the kiss, Laila felt strangely conspicuous all at once. She became intensely aware of her heart thumping, of the blood thudding in her ears, of the shape of Tariq beside her, tightening up, becoming still."(141)

I think that this has happened to almost everybody at one point in their life or another. Personally, this has happened to me when watching movies with my friends. Everybody knows that there has to be at least one romantic scene in a movie and when it finally comes, everybody is too afraid to make even the slightest movements. Even being the person that I am, jokes never seem appropriate during a make out scene in a movie.

Week 6 Post A

Definitions

For this week, I came across many words that I didn't know.
Conspicuous (141)-attracting special attention, as by outstanding qualities or eccentricities
Anew (144)-over again; again; once more
indomitable (144)-that cannot be subdued or overcome, as persons, will, or courage; unconquerable
Circuitous (146)-roundabout; not direct
Cretinous (153)-a person suffering from cretinism.

Figurative Language

"Tariq napped beneath a tree on the banks of a gurgling stream"(137). The gurgling stream is an example of personification. The human trait of gurgling gives the stream a characteristic that all readers can picture in their head.

"The children tearing after each other around the house"(149). I thought that this quote was unique because just one word can give the reader an idea of what the party was like. The word tearing, although not used for its literal meaning, implies a sense of chaos and screaming from the children even though the author never directly states it.

"The city held its breath"(155). This is describing right after the first bombings take place in Kabul. This could be a type of personification but most of all, it gives a "big picture" to the reader so they can keep track of what is happening.

Quote

"The Mujahideen, armed to the teeth but now lacking a common enemy, had found the enemy in each other"(155) This goes along with my topic for my research paper as gun control. It is clear that when any group of people have a stockpile of guns, their most likely going to use them in one way or another. Besides my paper, this creates the main conflict in the story and Laila's life seems to be dictated by the war that is happening around her, as her life is slowly spinning out of control.

Theme

Laila finds a new relationship with a man named Tariq and in times of the chaos and violence that takes place all around them, their love is the one constant that they can count on.

Week 5 Post B

Letter to the author:

Dear Khaled Hosseini,

I am only half way through your book but I am amazed at your use of imagery to describe such wonderful features of the main characters' lives. Everything from the floor that they walk on, to the statues that they visit, are all described very well. What sets this book apart from others is that you have a way of keeping the description and details interesting rather then putting details in the book because you have to. The details are just as much a part of the book as the diolauge is. One thing that I felt could have been better was the transition from Mariam to Laila. There was nothing to warn the reader and when the transition happened I got very confused. I had to read very carefully and sometimes read it twice just to get who you were talking about. I can not wait to finish this book and I hope you come out with another book very soon!

Week 5 Post A

Definitions

Flaccid(p112)- lacking force; weak

Admonishing(p115)- To counsel (another) against something to be avoided; caution.

Figurative Language

"...The carcasses of burned-out Soviet tanks and wrecked helicopters"(p132). This is a good use of imagery because it forces the reader to recall previous know and images that they see in magazines and newspapers. It gives the reader a better connection between the book and the current events happening in their everyday lives.

"The fields were bordered by poplars and crisscrossed by streams and irrigation ditches, on the banks of which tiny female figures squatted and washed clothes. Babi pointed to rice paddies and barley fields draping the slopes"(p134). This quote has a little bit of every type of figurative language. First off, there is lots of imagery that gives the reader a vivid account of exactly what Laila is seeing. Second, there is also some alliteration which makes this quote unique. I don't know if Hosseini intended to put it in there but when he says, "bordered by poplars and crisscrossed by streams" it sounds like alliteration because of the repetition of the vowel sounds.

"A hand emerged, like a submarine periscope breaking surface, and dropped"(p110). This is a good example of a simile because it uses the world "like" to compare the mother's arm to a submarine periscope.

Quote

"Mammy lay in bed most days. She wore black... The ailments that would hound Mammy for the rest of her days began. Chest pains and headaches, joint aches and night sweats, paralyzing pains in her ears, lumps no one else could feel."(p126).

I think that the mother has to man up and accept her sons deaths. Sure deaths are very hard to deal with, but she has got a family to run and she isn't dealing with her problems. All she is doing is putting them off and forcing the rest of the family to take care of her. She's dead weight. Emotionally-concious people like Amy, would argue that she can't help feeling sad for the deaths of her two sons, and she would be right except the mother's constant 24-7 mourning has caused Laila (the daughter) to be less focused in school, their house is a mess, their marriage is in trouble, and the father and Laila want to leave the mom behind! In other words, the mother is a waste of a human life!

Theme

As we see more and more of the mother's uselessness, we learn to not mourn a loved one for too long. It is best for you and everybody around you if it does not affect your everyday life.

Week 4 Post B

"She was always scowling, and walking with her books pressed to her chest, like a sheild"(p.102)

I have noticed that in Edina, girls and boys carry their books and notebooks very differently. The most apparent difference can be seen at Southview Middle School. For some unexplained reason, girls carry their books against their chests, almost "hugging" their books whereas guys, carry their books by their side, using one arm and their hip. Even more striking, is that every single guy and girl follows the trends for their gender. So why do guys and girls carry their books so differently if they all have the same books? The answer may suggest male strength superiority. Guys generally have more upper body strength in the shoulders and triceps which allows them to carry their books with most of the weight on the upper portion of the arm. Girls however, place their books on their hips, which carry most of the weight and use their arm to balance the book. At EHS, most people walk around with their backpacks which takes away this difference. I wrote this mostly as a thought provoking and entertaining paragraph. Please do not take the things I said as facts. Male strength superiority is just one theory why guys and girls carry their books differently.

Week 4 Post A

Definitions

Mundane(p.89)- common; ordinary; banal; unimaginative
Indomitable(p.98)- that cannot be subdued or overcome, as persons, will, or courage; unconquerable

Figurative language

"his glasses perched on the tip of his nose."(p.89-99) This is an example of alliteration. His glasses, which are an inanimate object, are given human characteristics (or in this case bird characteristics). This gives the reader a sense of what the glasses looked like, how big they were, and what his face looked like all in one short sentence.

"Giti said she ran like a sewing machine."(p.102) I don't really know how someone runs like a sewing machine especially since sewing machines don't move. This is an example of a simile because it uses the word "like" to compare two completely different things. This quote adds uniqueness to the main character and gives the reader something to remember her by.

"Where he labored amid the heat and the humming machinery stoking the massive ovens and mill grains all day."(p.103) Once again, the machinery is given the human characteristic of "humming." This alliteration gives the reader a better sense of the father's background as well as keeping the reader entertained.

Quote

"Through the mouthful of grit and pebbles, Mariam mumbled a plea. Tears were leaking out of the corners of her eyes.
'CHEW!' he bellowed...
Mariam chewed. Something in the back of her mouth cracked.
'Good, now you know what your rice tastes like.'
Then he was gone, leaving Mariam to spit out pebbles, blood, and the fragments of two broken molars."(p.94)

Here is one example of the spouse abuse that Mariam, the main character, has to put up with. She tries desperately to fix the problem but she has no family of friends she can turn to, to help her with her problem.

Theme

Spouse abuse seems to be an important theme. Khaled Hosseini uses the subject of abuse as the main conflict. Mariam is constantly put down by her husband and is beaten too. Hosseini also uses spouse abuse to create a side-theme about the strength and equality of women.