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.