A Thousand Splendid Suns

Today the class did its literature circles for about half the class period. Unfortunately, one member was absent, and as a result, our discussion could not be full-proof. The point of the roles in each lit. circle is to have the widest arrange of discussion possible, but since a vital role was absent, we could not take part in that area of discussion. However, our group continued on, even though it was only for about 15 minutes.
The group had multiple things to talk about and questions that we had. Some were answered, but some could not be answered due to time restraints. For example, I extremely desired to ask why the chapter titles exchanged between Mariam and Laila every other chapter. I saw that the perspective of each chapter changed, but is that all that it is significant for? I am quite sure that there is a higher meaning for this. One topic that our group was able to go a little deeper into was the gender roles with this novel. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini, in many instances, had strange examples depicting the male dominance or superiority over women. We all see the beatings that Mariam and Laila take, but these examples are not the type that I am discussing about. On p. 280, when Aziza is being left at an orphanage, Zalmai does something very strange. “When Aziza was led away, Zalmai began wailing, crying, Ziza! Ziza! He squirmed and kicked in his father’s arms, called for his sister, until his attention was diverted by an organ-grinder’s monkey across the street.” Who would believe that a crying brother who is about to lose his sister would become distracted by a random monkey? Furthermore, why is Rasheed so overly obsessive over his wives? He does not seem to care much for them, yet when they have committed a wrong, Rasheed pulls a belt on them. On p. 271, Rasheed has lost business, and as a result, they are selling everything. “Rasheed’s watch too was sold, his old transistor radio, his pair of neckties, his shoes, and his wedding ring.” To include the “wedding ring” in this list of insignificant items makes it seem as though the marriage is also unimportant. This act shows that Rasheed cannot truly care about his marriage with Laila or Mariam.
Another subject that our lit. circle discussed was the parallel between the Titanic and the characters in this novel. I believe that Mariam accurately represents Jack, because she sacrifices herself to save Laila and the rest of her family just as Jack had with Rose. Also, the ship itself could have been seen through the marriage that it was bound to sink the way it was heading. Rose, on the other hand, is seen through multiple characters, because more than one need saving. This included Laila and her whole family and possibly even Mariam through her redemption. Mariam is her own Jack.