A Thousand Splendid Suns LRB #1

"A Thousand Splendid Suns", by Khaled Hosseini, is divided up into four parts. The first part of the book, labeled as part one, is told from the point of a view of the main character Mariam, and consists of the first one hundred and fifty three pages. The story starts by introducing the girl, and the author gives small bits of background history as you read more about her. Part one begins in the city of Herat, Afghanistan and then ends later in Kabul, Afghanistan. Mariam lives with her mother in a small shack of a building that is called a kolba. Her father's name is Jalil, although I prefer to call him her sperm donor. He has three other wives, however, that seems to not be enough for him. Mariam's mother Nana worked as a housekeeper for Jalil, and that is how the two met. When she began to show, the wives demanded that something be done about it. Hence how the two got to the kola. Jalil didn't want to throw her out, but he couldn't have her in his house, bringing shame to his name. That stupid name of his. It is funny because there is three of them, and now they want to be jealous. Like why? So anyway Mariam thinks the world of her father, and in her eyes he can do no wrong. Nana tries to warn her, but the poor child refuses to listen. When Mariam turns 15, she decides she wants to go to the cinema that her father owns and watch a movie. She waits and wait and waits for him, but he never comes. Then she travels from her kola, that is in the middle of the nowhere, and goes to Herat. She finds his house, and he is home, however he refuses to come out. They let Mariam sleep outside on the sidewalk and refuse to let her in. Then the next day the driver tells her that she must go home, so he takes her. When they get there Nana is hanging from a tree by a rope. She killed herself. So Mariam is forced to live with her father, who lets his wives convince him to marry her off to a man named Rasheed from Kabul. That's how she gets there. He makes her wear a burqa. She does all of the housework and cooking. He makes shoes for a living. She gets pregnant and has a miscarriage. That ends up happening like seven times. Then he gets mean because he wants a son to replace the one that he lost, and at one point in the story he makes her eat rocks, and it breaks several of her teeth. That's how part one ends.

A Thousand Splendid Suns LRB #2

"A Thousand Splendid Suns", by Khaled Hosseini, is centered in the country of Afghanistan. In the second part of the book, ranging from pages 153 to 272, the books centers around a girl by the name of Laila. Part two begins with Laila as a young girl. Her best friend Tariq is out of town, and she is worried sick about him returning safely. Then he comes back. The story continues on as the child grows older. Sometimes there is even small mentions of Mariam. However, she is not the focus right now. When Laila reaches the ago of fourteen, Tariq is sixteen, the two decide to have a secret fling. It is a romance that makes your heart skip a beat. It's so cute. They meet in alleys and sneak around. Tariq even tells Laila that he only has eyes for her. How precious! So anyway the two are doing their own little thing, but Tariq is hiding a secret from Laila. His family is leaving Kabul because of all of the fighting. When he finally tells Laila it's after the two have already made love to each other. Which is so sad. He tries to get her to go with him, but she refuses. She can't leave her father. So she stays and he leaves. The saddest thing ever. Two weeks after he leaves her mother agrees to leave. They are packing up their things, when a stray missile hits her house. It kills her father and her mother, and almost kills her. Did I mention that her mother is crazy? Well she is. Also, her brothers are dead. So anyway she gets hit by junk, and she is in rough shape. Then comes Rasheed and Mariam to the rescue. They take her in, and begin nursing her back to health. End of part two.

Questions for Inner and Outer Circle

I don't remember my original questions, so I came up with a few new ones.

Do you find it ironic that Assef considers Amir and his father traitors for leaving Afghanistan, when his parents left, and he doesn't consider them to be traitors?

Do you think that Amir and Soraya not being able to have kids is punishment for him not standing up for Hassan when he was raped?

How do you feel about Baba not being more upfront about being Hasan's father? Why do you think he didn't openly admit it?

Do you think that Ali knew that Hassan wasn't his son?

How do you feel about Hassan's mother coming back? What do you think is the significance of her returning ugly, or not as physically attractive, as she was when she left?

The Kite Runner Time Writing

1. Examine the rubric closely. What score do you deserve based on that rubric? Justify why by giving examples. 

If it was up to me, I would give myself a 5. My analysis was thinly developed, however it was on the verge of being developed. The essay contained some plot summary, however, there was some good analysis. Although the pivotal moment that was saw as the actual pivotal moment was not used, I still picked a pivotal moment and attempted to analyze it. My analysis just fell short of the bar. I understood the effect of the pivotal moment, I just didn't get the words out on the page. 

2. Read the student performance "Common errors" section. What common errors did you commit? If you were going to do this prompt over again, how would you correct these errors?

I made the mistake of using the words meaning of the work as a whole in my paper. Also I didn't just restate the prompt in my introduction, I practically wrote the entire prompt in my introduction. I didn't just throw in some of the phrases from it. I didn't use enough details. All I done was talk about the pivotal moment, not how it affected the protagonist. If I could do it over, then I would change the phrases, and reword my introduction. Also, I would try to focus on my analysis more.

3. After reading the student response examples what have you learned? Is there anything specifically you would change in your own paper?

I would change the pivotal moment that I used. I realized that my moment was pivotal, but it was not the best option. I have learned that I need to practice analyzing and not just summarizing. I also realized that I don't need to simply restate the prompt as my thesis. I need to state the prompt, but develop my own thesis. 

4. What aspect of timed writings do you feel you need the most help on? What do you suggest we do in class to help with this?

I just hate timed writing. I hate them with a passion. I can do ok picking something to write about. I just think it's the pressure of doing a timed writing. On the AP Exam I can take as much time as I want, although I know I am being timed. In class, I am being graded and it kills me. I take time to write. I have a hard time with my introduction. I hate introductions.