PART 1: A Thousand Splendid Suns
1) HISTORICAL OVERVIEW & TIMELINE (Ongoing Activity)
It is beneficial to develop an understanding of the history and rich culture of Afghanistan. Throughout the novel, Hosseini weaves a history of Afghanistan throughout the novel, starting in chapter 4 when Mariam’s father tells her about the bloodless coup of King Zahir Shah who had ruled for forty years. Begin to keep a timeline of these political/historical facts. You will note the historic event at the top of the chart and the personal events of the main characters underneath. In this way you will begin to see how the personal events in the lives of the two women are affected by the events taking place in the wider world. One reliable source is the CIA World Fact Book, which provides a great overview of Afghanistan.
Also, Google maps provide an excellent map of the country, such that you are able to select terrain and satellite views to observe the borders and land features. During reading, trace the journey of Mariam when she leaves Herat, the city where she was born, to Kabul.
BUILDING TIMELINES: Top Free Online Timeline Makers
Also, Google maps provide an excellent map of the country, such that you are able to select terrain and satellite views to observe the borders and land features. During reading, trace the journey of Mariam when she leaves Herat, the city where she was born, to Kabul.
BUILDING TIMELINES: Top Free Online Timeline Makers
2) Before Reading A Thousand Splendid Suns: Poetry Activity
The novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns takes its title from a poem by the 17th century Persian poet Saib-e-Tabrizi
This poem is an ode, or a poem of praise usually addressing a particular person or thing. An ode uses hyperbole and inflated language to glorify and enhance the subject and to create feelings of appreciation in the listener. In the poem "Kabul" the poet praises the city of Kabul.
In order to develop an understanding of an ode, read the odes of the Romantic Poets, John Keats, or P.B. Shelley's “Ode to the West Wind” or modern odes such as, "Praise Song for the Day" by Elizabeth Alexander or "Ode to a Dressmaker's Dummy," by Donald Justice.
Imagery Activity:
Read: read the poem, "Kabul" and make a list of the images the poet uses to praise the city of Kabul.
Discuss: What is your favorite image in this poem? What is the poet’s purpose? Does the poet succeed in creating a sense of the beauty of Kabul?
This poem is an ode, or a poem of praise usually addressing a particular person or thing. An ode uses hyperbole and inflated language to glorify and enhance the subject and to create feelings of appreciation in the listener. In the poem "Kabul" the poet praises the city of Kabul.
In order to develop an understanding of an ode, read the odes of the Romantic Poets, John Keats, or P.B. Shelley's “Ode to the West Wind” or modern odes such as, "Praise Song for the Day" by Elizabeth Alexander or "Ode to a Dressmaker's Dummy," by Donald Justice.
Imagery Activity:
Read: read the poem, "Kabul" and make a list of the images the poet uses to praise the city of Kabul.
Discuss: What is your favorite image in this poem? What is the poet’s purpose? Does the poet succeed in creating a sense of the beauty of Kabul?
3) Reading Response~A Four-part Journal Activity
While reading the novel, you will write a four-part journal about the key ideas, themes, characters, and plot from the novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns. I encourage you to use the following questions to engage in thinking about the characters, the plot, and what it means to us as readers. Reader response prompts are open-ended, asking you to articulate your reactions to a scene or development in the plot. Discussion questions generally build on your literal recall of the plot to build up inferences about what these events mean and what they tell the reader about the overall meaning of the narrative. You may go back to the text to identify and analyze key passages as you build meaning and understanding of the story. Use the quotes or choose your own quotes as you read, explaining the meaning of the quote and its significance in your reading journals.
PART 1~Chapters 1-15: Discussion Questions and Prompts
1. The novel opens with a curse word, uttered in frustration when Mariam breaks a treasured heirloom. What does Mariam’s memory of this suggest about her sense of herself and Mariam's relationship with her mother? How does this opening set the tone for the novel?
2. Based on Nana’s and Mariam’s experiences, what can you infer about the lives of women in Afghanistan in the sixties? Why does Nana forbid Mariam to go to school? What does Nana want for her and Mariam? Is Nana’s goal realistic?
3. Jalil, Mariam’s father, is a complex character. Does he love his daughter? How does he show his love? How does he show that he does not fully recognize her as his daughter? Why does he treat her as he does?
4. Why does Mariam ask her father to take her to the cinema for her fifteenth birthday present? What does she want?
5. Is Mariam right to feel guilt about the suicide death of her mother?
6. What is the motive of Jalil’s wives in finding a suitor for Mariam? Why does Jalil go along with them in this plan?
7. Why does Mariam finally say yes in the marriage ceremony to Rasheed? What does Mariam finally realize about her father? How does that make her feel? Does this explain why she goes along with the marriage to Rasheed?
8. The beginning of Mariam’s marriage to Rasheed seems to promise happiness. What are signs that this may be short lived?
9. How does Rasheed feel about the westernization of Afghanistan? What shows his ambivalence?
10. What are Rasheed’s reasons for making Mariam wear a burqa and what do they tell us about his ideas about his role as a husband and man and his expectations for Mariam?
11. Mariam learns some of her husband’s history when she looks inside the drawers in his room. Why does she rationalize about what she sees?
12. Why does Rasheed want a boy? How might life have been different for the family if Mariam could have had a baby?
13. Why does Rasheed become abusive?
READER RESPONSE QUOTES:
“She [Mariam] was being sent away because she was the walking, breathing embodiment of their shame.” (p. 48)
“I thought about you all the time. I used to pray that you’d live to be a hundred years old. …I didn’t know that you were ashamed of me.” (p. 55)
“Where I come from, a woman’s face is her husband’s business only.” (p. 70)
“Mariam grieved for this baby, this particular child, who had made her so happy for a while.” (p. 93)
“But after four years of marriage, Mariam saw clearly how much a woman could tolerate when she was afraid.” (p. 98)
1. The novel opens with a curse word, uttered in frustration when Mariam breaks a treasured heirloom. What does Mariam’s memory of this suggest about her sense of herself and Mariam's relationship with her mother? How does this opening set the tone for the novel?
2. Based on Nana’s and Mariam’s experiences, what can you infer about the lives of women in Afghanistan in the sixties? Why does Nana forbid Mariam to go to school? What does Nana want for her and Mariam? Is Nana’s goal realistic?
3. Jalil, Mariam’s father, is a complex character. Does he love his daughter? How does he show his love? How does he show that he does not fully recognize her as his daughter? Why does he treat her as he does?
4. Why does Mariam ask her father to take her to the cinema for her fifteenth birthday present? What does she want?
5. Is Mariam right to feel guilt about the suicide death of her mother?
6. What is the motive of Jalil’s wives in finding a suitor for Mariam? Why does Jalil go along with them in this plan?
7. Why does Mariam finally say yes in the marriage ceremony to Rasheed? What does Mariam finally realize about her father? How does that make her feel? Does this explain why she goes along with the marriage to Rasheed?
8. The beginning of Mariam’s marriage to Rasheed seems to promise happiness. What are signs that this may be short lived?
9. How does Rasheed feel about the westernization of Afghanistan? What shows his ambivalence?
10. What are Rasheed’s reasons for making Mariam wear a burqa and what do they tell us about his ideas about his role as a husband and man and his expectations for Mariam?
11. Mariam learns some of her husband’s history when she looks inside the drawers in his room. Why does she rationalize about what she sees?
12. Why does Rasheed want a boy? How might life have been different for the family if Mariam could have had a baby?
13. Why does Rasheed become abusive?
READER RESPONSE QUOTES:
“She [Mariam] was being sent away because she was the walking, breathing embodiment of their shame.” (p. 48)
“I thought about you all the time. I used to pray that you’d live to be a hundred years old. …I didn’t know that you were ashamed of me.” (p. 55)
“Where I come from, a woman’s face is her husband’s business only.” (p. 70)
“Mariam grieved for this baby, this particular child, who had made her so happy for a while.” (p. 93)
“But after four years of marriage, Mariam saw clearly how much a woman could tolerate when she was afraid.” (p. 98)