Priscilla+Kim's+Summer+Reading

**//A Thousand Splendid Suns.// [Khaled Hosseini]

Essay #1**. __**The Blood Sucking Parasite's Clutch.**__ //Tales of vampires, over time have become prominent, but the question lies within the stories' validity. People often regard vampires as mere folklore and fail to regard the blood sucking parasites that loom over them. In Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns, a man more vile and lecherous than the vampires depicted in these legends, is let lose to clutch at the necks of two women.

With Rasheed's possessive and demanding character, his tyrannical nature consumes the lives of his wives. "So you know that woman... Mariam said she didn't" (Hosseini 86). Not only has he secluded Mariam from interacting with the outside world, his conservative principles left her living her life exclusively for his sake. "This shawl, Mariam saw, was a true gift" (81). Rasheed lured her in with phony love that gave him the weird attractiveness of a vampire. At first striving for her affection, only to dispose of her shortly after she has been deemed unworthy. His attitude is quick to change once he realizes her blood is no longer competent in fulfilling his desires. It had been the same with Laila, although she had not suffered in all the ways Mariam had. At first he was all ears, but with the first disappointment, the sneer lingers forever on his face. His abusive aggression finds them time and time again as he tightens his grip.

His cold-hearted nature has called Mariam to take extreme yet inevitable measures, as she takes Rasheed's life. "it occurred to her that this was the first time that she was deciding the course of her own life" (374). Even when they manage to break away, he refuses to loosen his hold. No longer captive, yet still haunted either by memories or death, the aftermath of the vampire's deeds have left Mariam and Laila irreversibly changed.//

The act of communion, according to How to Read Literature Like a Professor, serves as a median between two or more people, where they are stripped of all constraints in order to relate with one another. In Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns, the opposite approach to a communal scene is also utilized in order to depict Mariam, a forlorn child, as a stranger in her father's house. As the act of communion portrays subtle truce, the refusal to engage in this activity shows distance.
 * Essay #2**. **__To Refuse Is To Distance.__**

Grief-stricken from the death of Nana - whose blood seemed to be on her hands - Mariam is taken to a foreign place she well understands that she cannot belong. Still in remorse about her own naiveté, she recapitulates her mother's words while crumbling in humility. The connection Mariam had pictured she would have with her half-siblings had all been severed along with the cold gazes that landed upon her. "He understood a little too readily when Mariam said she preferred to eat alone" (Hosseini 44). The distance and mistrust she now felt to the father she had once held her breath for, is shown in her reluctant attitude towards an offered time of communion.

This is not the only time a character has refused to share a meal. In fact, as Rasheed's attitude towards Mariam turns to one of loathing, his first hostile act is to criticize and scorn her cooking. He discerned the food with such disgust that on some days, he would push away his plate, refusing to eat. "He shook the rice angrily... pushed the plate away," (109).

These moments are always sketched with an uncomfortable atmosphere. A character refusing to eat, and another being rejected. The mood weighs heavy as this time of communion is broken, ripping the characters apart at a distance.

"There is only one, only one skill a woman like you and me need in life... And it's this: tahamul. Endure" (Hosseini 20). These are the words of Nana, at first neglected and doubted by her daughter Mariam. Later on in Khaled Hosseini's //A Thousand Splendid Suns//, the world is revealed in all its unsightliness, making her realize the truth in these words. She lived a life of subjugation as she made no effort to retaliate. However, with the appearance of Laila and her defiance towards Rasheed, Maraim commits an act of violence that releases her suppressed cries.
 * Essay #3**. __**Violence That Breaks Passiveness.**__

In her desperate attempt to pry Rasheed off of Laila, Mariam realizes what her life had become under her husband's tyranny. "Apologetic. Mariam saw now in those same eyes what a fool she had been" (372). Her only intention at first had been to free Laila of his grasp, his determination to murder. As she began to realize her own pathetic situation of simply enduring the injustice, her desire for him to see her pain is shown. And as she slams that shovel across his temple, all that she had endured had lost the need to stay bottled up inside of her.

It was really only at times that threatened Laila's life that Mariam ever held a hand against Rasheed. When taking her own beatings, she had not uttered a single word of protest. "There was no cursing, no screaming, no pleading, no surprised yelps, only the systematic business of beating and being beaten," (287).

This also exhibits Mariam's affection towards Laila. That she of all people, a harami, would come to love and be loved by others. To her Laila had become special, a girl whom she wished to display her love. Mariam was living for herself and the people she cared for; she no longer remained passive.

Although not necessarily the hero of the story, and with no evident dispatcher, Jalil lives the life of a wealthy man. His ultimate goal, if there was one, was to be happy, to save face. He was reputable, and norms of society scorned any action that would bring shame to his name. Only when he has his happiness lost does he realize that he should have loved Mariam unconditionally; a little too late though.
 * Essay #4**. **__When You're Too Focused.__**

The bumpy roads met along the way: war striking, his business, even the children he had held dear, he lost it all. As life in the pits goes on, he no longer cares for his former fancies. After all, everyone is too occupied with postponing their deaths that they are not in the state to fret or gossip about other people. Because it is times like these when people focus on what is more important. Jalil's journey came to a finish with no definite end to his objective.

"Regret... When it comes to you Mariam jo, I have oceans of it" (433). Most of the time, the heros would reach realization before its too late. They would be given a chance to live anew with what had dawned upon their life. Before that however, they usually need to set a few things right. Jalil, never got that chance. Only if he had realized sooner, before he sent her off, or perhaps even before it had come to that.

Sometimes the initial objective is never reached, and its okay because the hero has received something of greater importance. But sadly, in this novel, Jalil fails to reach any objective... whatsoever.

"She hears of schools built in Kabul... women returning to work," (Hosseini 415). After the war had ended, the discrimination against women had softened as the Taliban left Kabul. Time and time again, Khaled Hosseini never forgets to emphasize the importance of males in his book A Thousand Splendid Suns. Right from the beginning, with the mislead in the role of men, one is able to see the debasement of Afghan society in more than one factor.
 * Essay #5**. **__Hope Through War. __**

It is not just a coincidence that Jalil had been her target of adoration. From the point that Mariam chose Jalil over Nana, there is a pattern in the relationship between men and women. Women must always be reliant on men, although they may not sense it. As the Taliban took over Kabul, women were stripped of all their rights and needed the company of a man at all times. Even in Mariam and Laila's attempt to escape Kasheed, they sought out for a decent man who was willing to accompany them. "Finding a man suitable to pose with them as a family member" (276).

This portrays the Afghan society and its oppression towards women in every way possible. Laila who saw her dreams of being educated and being somebody fade away, she saw beyond what was her country. There was much corruption with the continuing war and ruthless murder of citizens. She saw what was happening and she knew it. No matter how much she resented this war due to the tragedies and losses she had faced it dawned on her. Although she had refused to admit it, what Tariq had tried to mention was true; she too felt. "Maybe this is necessary. Maybe there will be hope when Bush's bombs stop falling. (413).

 I've actually taken my time to read this book a few years back and although it wasn't the most thrilling of books at the time, I had learned a lot about the period of this book's setting. It was the first time I had been introduced to The Beat Generation, and the things they do really astonish me. But even more than that, I feel as though they're actions are inevitable. This generation was basically born out of the corruption, whether it be government or labor forces. I think its safe to say that if not the inevitable reaction, it was actually the most predictable reaction this generation could have given in return to all the immorality. Who could really blame them for being nonchalant about politics and "what really mattered"? I really doubt anyone could truly scorn them, after all, they are the product of the world they had created. The Beat Generation "is basically a religious generation," most definitely looking for how they should go about life; not knowing what it is they had to do with themselves. They seek, so they're on the road.
 * Comment #1**. **__Jiyoon [Concerning Violence] __**

P.S. Did you know that On the Road was mentioned in one of my practice SAT passages?  I feel that in many novels there are mentions of sexual activities, most often forced upon women. Always, they speak of men's nature and their inane characters to desire after such things. I know some similar stories that deal with a father's sexual abuse of her daughter and it really pains me to see it. It may just be a book, but to realize that beyond such fiction there are actually cases like this out there. I haven't read this book so I don't know the full gist of it, but one thing I know is that I seem to feel a resentment towards this father as well. I don't feel that it being men's inane character is a good enough excuse to exploit women in that manner. Although I've always felt life could be much easier as a guy, when I look upon this I feel relieved to be a girl. Since I'm hoping to find out what happens between these three people, I'll be sure to check this book out later.
 * Comment #2**. **__Alice [Usage of Violence]__**