Today I am just piecing together my blog and all of my information i have collected. I didn't realize how much work really goes into making an Independant study, its a lot. I did some research on Khaled Hosseini and his personal life, and I found a website that he created. It is a non-profit organization and the donations go towards helping children, men and women, in refugee families who need support. I think what Khaled is doing is very VERY proactive, he wants to be a part of the change in the future, and for that I admire him. He is not just a storyteller, he incorperates raw fact into his stories, making them lifelike, and giving the reader the impression that these things really do happen in real life. Things like poverty and abuse has hit close to home for Khaled, because some of his family went missing during the rule of the Taliban, similar to what happens in the book. He bases the book off of very personal experiences, which greatly impacts the reader.
Monday May 25
Today I worked for 3 hours, trying to figure out how this electronic blog works. I played around with the colors and backgrounds, and I chose a photo that symbolizes the meaning of the story for my home page. I chose to include the quote, because it is also significant (you will see in my essay). I did some research on the Taliban and rules they have imposed on Afghanistan. Thoughts
The title of the novel reflects the ultimate conclusion of the novel, Laila and Thariq decide that Kabul is where they want to spend the rest of their lives, despite the horrible memories, there were some good too, and many more good memories were yet to come. Kabul, to the characters, is like a storm. From afar, the storm looks devastatingly dangerous and unpleasant, but when you get to the eye of the storm, it is calm and peaceful, you look out and see the world around you, you find tranquility love and happiness after overcoming the violent winds. I will always remember this novel for its life meanings, the struggles we endure only make us stronger, the friends we meet will always have our back, and to pursue love, it may take a beating or two, but it can't stop you. Never give up, never settle for less, and by no means let the hardships of life push you down. Life is a rollercoaster, there will be ups and downs, but you may find after enduring the difficult parts, it will only make you stronger and more apt to surviving.
XL-LI
Laila is at home with Mariam, when a man arrives at the door, he was missing a leg, and looked much like Thariq. It was Thariq! Rasheed had hired a man off the street to come and tell Laila that her beloved Thariq had been killed in the war, so that way she would not attempt to run away to him. His conniving acts lead the women to even more hate that that had before towards him. One night Rasheed begins to beat Laila with a belt, and begins choking her to death. Mariam's response was to bash his skull in before he killed her best friend, and that she did. Rasheed lay dead on the floor, blood everywhere. The girls had finally escaped Rasheed, but will have to live with the consequence for the rest of their lives. The police had caught on to Rasheed's missing in action, and automatically suspected these women. There was no sense in lying, so Mariam took the blame for his murder. She had lived a hard, yet pleasent life since she met Laila. She loved her with all of her heart, and spares herself for the sake of Laila. Mariam was beheaded for the murder of Rasheed. This act of redemption is what I had been waiting for throughout the whole novel. I know its not right to kill anybody, but Rasheed was such an evil man, that the only way of escaping his cruelty was by death. With Rasheed out of the picture, everything is all better, and the sacrifice Mariam made for Laila, was really the turning point in Laila's life. I was filled with joy and sadness, joy because Laila can be free and run away with Thariq and her children, sadness because Mariam, who had endured a life of beating, of being a nobody, ended in her actually being a somebody. She was Laila's best friend, and she died Laila's best friend, she died a hero. Thariq and Laila moved to Pakistan along with Aziza and Zalmai, however, Pakistan was not home to them, home was Kabul. After all of the fighting and the Taliban had been overthrown, Thariq, Laila, Aziza, and Zalmai moved back to the country they loved most, the city where they had their first kiss, played their first prank, made friends, lost friends, and endured the most difficult adversities. This was home.
XXXVI-XL
It has been 6 years now that Laila and Mariam have been living together. Laila now has a little girl named Aziza. The fighting and jealousy has come to an end, and it has been replaced with a sisterly friendship. The two become more and more dependent on one another, and find happiness in their friendship. They make a plan to run away from Rasheed together, but this plan fails, and the police take the girls back home to Rasheed. He finds out of their attempted escape and unleashes on the women. He beats Laila and locks her in a hot dark room, and beats Mariam and locks her in a toolshed. The girls were without food and water for two days. How Khaled illustrates this scene is rather graphic and mortifying, the thought of this ever happening to anyone is shocking, and the helplessness of these women makes the reader emotionally attached and sympathetic towards the women. I really do NOT like Rasheed, he is the most discusting creature on this planet, his physical appearance goes hand in hand with his ugly personality, making him THE MOST UNFAVORABLE CHARACTER EVER. Laila is pregnant yet again, except this time with Rasheed's offspring. The Taliban has complete control over afghanistan, there are no schools for women, and no hospitals for women, when Laila gives birth to her second child it is done with hardly any surgical utencils, and without any pain medication. She gives birth to a boy named Zalmai.XXVIII-XXXV
Chapters 28 through 35. A strange man appears at Mariams home, asking to speak with Laila. He informs her that he has spent the past few months in the hospital with Thariq, and that he had died after being ambushed while crossing the border with his family. This news devastates Laila, she no longer has anything, not a single thing. Her home gone, family gone, and the most important thing in the world to her had been taken away by the cruelty of war. Rasheed asks Laila to marry him (yes, in Afghanistan polygamy is legal). With Laila having no other choice, she says "yes". What Khaled Hosseini is portraying is for the reader to sympathize yet further for Laila, but all of this devastation foreshadows an act of redemption. Mariam has been ostracized by Rasheed, due to the "newest" family member. Fights of jealousy break out between Laila and Mariam, but one night this all changed. Rasheed's typical obnoxious and self-righteous behavior lead to another fight between Mariam and himself, he strikes Mariam, and Laila stands up for her. This was the first act of kindness and redemption Laila has imposed on Mariam. Laila realizes that she is pregnant, but not with Rasheed's child, so she decides to play it as if it were Rasheed who impregnated her. If he were to ever find out about this child, he would most definitely kill her.XX-XXVII
Chapters 20 through 27. Seventeen days after Thariq's departure, Laila's mother Fariba, finally decides to leave Afghanistan. The violence and the destruction is at its peak, destroying homes and killing of the innocent is too much to bear. Just as Laila's family packs their things, and leaves for freedom, a detonation goes off on their home, Laila is the only one who escaped. Her father and mother were dead, and Laila wakes up under a pile of rubble, shocked and confused. Mariam, Laila's neighbor, comes to her rescue along Rasheed's side. At this point the two protagonists fates are tied together. The narrative switches after the explosion, to the point of view of Mariam. Rasheed and Mariam take in Laila "temporarily" until a decision were to be made.XIX-XXV
Chapters 19-25. Just as things are becoming worse, Laila's friends are being consumed by the war one by one. The funerals she attends, the pain she endures from these losses is unbearable, and the reader sympathizes for Laila. I thought to myself, things can't possibly get any worse, I spoke too soon. Thariq's father becomes too ill to live in Kabul, so him and his family decide to cross the border to Pakistan. Thariq is Laila's one and only love, and this news devistates her. Swept up in their love for one another, Thariq and Laila sleep together. He begs her to marry him and come along to Pakistan, but Laila knows she cannot leave her family behind. At this point in the story, I shed a few tears. Because Laila has endured so much, and the one person she loves most (aside from her parents) is leaving, and they may never see each other again.XV-XVIII
In chapter 15 we are introduced to Laila. The narrative switches to being told in the perspective of Laila's eyes. She is the only girl, and youngest of 3 children, she has two older brothers who have been sent to war fighting for Afghanistan. Laila is described to be a beautiful girl with blonde hair and green eyes, all of the boys at school are attracted to her, but only one boy catches her eye. His name is Thariq. Laila and Thariq have been best friends since she can remember, they can not live without each other. At this point the war and destruction is getting worse and worse, friends of Laila have been killed in bombings in Kabul. Laila's character is quite favorable, she is a kind and generous young girl who means well. An Afghan milita man shows up at Laila's house bearing the news that her two brothers have perished in the jihad. This news destroys Laila's mother, from then on she would stay in her room, she showed no emotion, she did not eat nor socialize, she was a ghost. Laila and Thariq get older, years have passed, and they become less of friends, but more like lovers. Teenagers deny these sorts of things but everyone in the town knew that Laila and Thariq were meant for each other. A scene of two men fighting breaks out at a barbeque, this foreshadows the events of which are about to occur in Afghanistan. The Work Begins
Today I began more research on Khaled Hosseini. It was difficult to find viable sources because he is considered a newer author. I looked on e-library and he isn't even on it yet, nor is the book A thousand Splendid Suns. So I did some digging and found some good sources and information on his biography. And some interesting facts that lead him to become a writer. His favorite Disney movie is Alice in Wonderland, which surprisingly prompted him to begin writing at a young age. I started putting together my blog, it looks really bad but I hope to fix it up some more.XII-XIV
Chapters 13 through 14 were difficult to read. Rasheed and Mariam find out that Mariam is pregnant, Rasheed hoping for a boy. Months have passed, and Mariam is near her expected due date, however, she miscarriages. I'm sure you can imagine how Rasheed would respond to this horrible tragedy. He had been expecting a boy, buying toys, building cribs, pondering activities him and his future son will share together. All of this was gone, and it wasn't Mariam's fault, although Rasheed believes it was. After the miscarriage, he has never treated Mariam with such incivility, and cruelty. He forces her to chew on pebbles, she spit out pebbles, blood, and fragments of two broken molars. Meanwhile, Mariam and Rasheed's neighbors give birth to a little girl named Laila. Laila is another protagonist of the novel, you will soon see how her birth is significant. XII
I have read up to Chapter 12 now, and we have been introduced to more of Rasheed's character. He is a serious man with very dry humor. Rasheed is actually rather disgusting, he smokes everywhere he pleases, reeks like leather, and is demanding. His bulbous nose and stout figure, along with his personality, makes the reader think of him immediately as an unfavorable character. Towards the end of chapter eleven is slightly disturbing. Rasheed takes young Mariam's virginity. At this point I feel very sympathetic towards Mariam. Everything that has happened thus far in her life hasn't been very happy or hopeful. I would keep thinking "something good will happen, I know it", but life is only becoming more difficult for Mariam. Hosseini develops a strong bond between the reader and Mariam. As we read on, we grow to love her and pray that she finds happiness in her life, he makes it almost as if we really knew Mariam. It's as if she were a real person, a neighbor, even a friend. XI
I'm not much of a reader, but I haven't been able to put this book down. This book has really changed the way I think about developing countries, and about reading in general. It has such a powerful impact. My dad read this book and recommended it, I thought he was lame for even suggesting I read a book. I digress. Mariam was sent to live with her jerk father, she had no other family members so as the law goes, she was "temporarily" taken in by her father Jalil. Mariam's father arranged for a suitor so he did not want to have anything to do with her. This suitors name was Rasheed, he was almost forty and she was merely a child, about 14 years old. I cried by the time Mariam finally said to her father " I used to worship you. I thought about you all the time. I used to pray that you would live to be a hundred years old. I didn't know. I didn't know that you were ashamed of me". I think Khaled Hosseini intended for the audience to sympathize for Mariam, ultimately making Jalil the unfavorable character. III - X
I have read up to about chapter 10 now. It makes me really upset to see how young Mariam lives her life. Although she is a fictional character there are millions of people who live lives similar to hers. My suspicions about Jalil appear to be correct. Nana was right. Jalil does not care about Mariam, the "Harami". She walked by foot to Herat (Jalil did not show up), she waited at his doorsteps until he would come home. The thing is, he never did not come home to see her. He left her at the doorsteps hoping for some kind of acknowledgement, for him to come outside and hold her in his arms. The thing about Jalil, you see, is that he never did care, not even a little bit about Mariam and her mother. To him they were burdens, and life without them would be just the same as if they never existed. Mariam went home and discovered her mother swaying in the trees with a noose wrapped around her neck. At this point i just about lost it. I have never cried while reading a book.I - III
Today I have read up to about chapter 3. Up to this point I have been introduced to Mariam, also known by her mother as a "Harami" (Bastard child). Mariam is the protagonist of this novel and she has been raised in a poor Kolba , a small shack all of her life. Mariam and her mother Nana live outside the town of Herat, Afghanistan, a town of which Mariam has never seen or visited. She stays at home where she works and does chores all day long, and the only thing Mariam looks forward to in her life are thursdays. Thursday is the day her father comes to visit the Kolba with gifts and stories about beautiful pistachio trees, current events, and stories of kings and queens. For Mariam, hearing her fathers stories is an escape from the tiny Kolba and her sheltered life. At first I was curious as to why Mariam has never left her home, then I kept reading. Mariam is the only thing left in Nana's life, she says "I will die if you leave. Don't leave me Mariam Jo". Her mother says that Jalil is a liar and that he doesn't give a care in the world about Mariam, that it is his "duty" to come back and see his daughter every so often. I feel like Nana is telling somewhat of the truth however there seems to be a slight exaggeration. Mariam has decided that she wants to be a part of her fathers life, she wants to go to Herat, to ride in his fancy car, eat delicious meals, go to the theatre like the other kids do. Mariam is plans to run away to spend time with her father for a day, so she waits outside for Jalil to pick her up. The Photo above is a more recent photo of Herat, the city of which Mariam's father lived.
