Deekshitha Balaji

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Literary Criticism

Finding criticism for my book was really easy since my book and author are well known. However, I had difficulty in finding sources that had similar topics and when I did, comprehending them was tough. Since I had not been exposed to such high quality writing, I had to re-read each page at least 5 times to get the minimal understanding of the authors’ thoughts. I have written the literary criticism portion of the project, but I am not confident in submitting it yet because I am still unsure on how to properly make a connection between 2 articles.

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A Thousand Splendid Suns #8

In my opinion, I think there are a couple things that Hosseini could have changed to make the book even more intereseting. 

Even though the ending of the book showed the true connection between Mariam and Laila, I wished it would have ended differently. It made sense that Mariam was not able to escape with Laila, since she killed Rasheed and wanted to protect Laila by taking all the blame, but I wish that the author could have included an ending with Mariam since she was the sole character who helped Laila escape and live with Tariq in Pakistan. 

He also could have added a little background and clearer explanation on the Taliban, especially for readers who may not know the Soviet Union invasion and the reasons why the Afghan government became conservative. It also would have given these readers a better perspective on how the characters changed throughout the book. 

Like Mariam and Laila, Hosseini could have also given a separate section for Rasheed, or any male character with his views on the Taliban and women, to show how he gained these perspectives. It also would have given the reader a better interpretation on Hosseini’s perspective on woman and the Afghan government.

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A Thousand Splendid Suns #7

“Look at me, Mariam”.

Reluctantly, Mariam did.

Nana said, “Learn this now and learn it well, my daughter: Like a compass needle that points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman. Always. You remember that, Mariam.

In this book, I noticed women are blamed for anything and everything, even their mere existence. For example, Mariam and her mother, Nana, were seen as a burden on Jalil by his 3 other wives - he freed himself by telling his wife that is was her fault for their affair - and Mariam was seen as a burden on Rasheed because she could not give him a son and had 7 miscarrages. Hosseini even included the Burqa as a sign of oppression and male domination. Afghan men saw that the Burqa discards women as a sex object by covering her body whereas in reality, the Burqa eliminated a woman as a human being. It limited the woman to nothing but a sex object, a source of seduction and shame that should be covered. Under the Taliban, women and girls were discriminated against in many ways, for the ‘crime’ of being born a girl. 

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A Thousand Splendid Suns #6

More than the plot of the book, I think the narration and detailed description of each minute event bring the devastating feeling to the reader. 

When I talked to a couple people about this book, including Ms.Jarema, I thought that this book would be only about war. However, when I began reading this book, I noticed it includes many real-life aspects including abuse, war, death, suicide, family, sacrifice, and many more. Even though I have read The Kite Runner, I thought this book would be written completely differently but the detailed narration is the same. It is so specific that it is really easy for the reader to depict each moment in the book which not only helps the plot, but also gives the reader a deeper understanding of the book. For example, Hosseini writes, “He caught her, threw her up against the wall, and struck her with the belt again and again, the buckle slamming against her chest, her shoulder, her raised arms, her fingers, drawing blood wherever it struck” (Hosseini 309). If this was not included in the book, Rasheed would not be seen as such a fearful and dominant character. It also would not help Hosseini accomplish his task in making readers walk away from this book with a feeling of pity towards all Afghan women.

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A Thousand Splendid Suns #5

In one of his interview’s Hosseini explains the differences of how Americans view America vs. Afghans. He explained how on the one hand, America is seen as a bastion of hope for Afghanistan. The notion of the American troops packing up and leaving strikes fear into the hearts of many Afghans. On the other hand, there is also some sense of disappointment and disillusionment because they feel they were abandoned by the West, America in particular, when the Soviets left. 

This comparison can be observed very easily in the book. When the war started, many Afghans saw either Iran or Pakistan as a safe haven and tried their best to seek refuge in these countries. They saw Iran and Pakistan as a gateway to security, freedom, and a new life. But many hated moving because they had to leave their memories, friends, family, etc. behind to secure their own future. 

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A Thousand Splendid Suns #4

I researched a bit on Hosseini’s influences for the book. One of the main themes in the book is war and how it causes a country and its people to split and also struggle. When Hosseini was young, his family had to relocate to Paris because of the invasion of the Soviet Union. He uses this in his book to write Laila’s story and how she was forced to marry Rasheed because her parents died when her house was bombed and she had nowhere to go. He also wrote the book in hope to make readers walk away with a sense of empathy for Afghans, and more specifically for Afghan women, on whom the effects of war and extremism have been devastating. The book and the title are both mainly based on a poem by Saib-e-Tabrizi, a seventeenth-century Persian poet.

Poem : 

Ah! How beautiful is Kabul encircled by her arid mountains And Rose, of the trails of thorns she envies Her gusts of powdered soil, slightly sting my eyes But I love her, for knowing and loving are born of this same dust My song exhalts her dazzling tulips And at the beauty of her trees, I blush How sparkling the water flows from Pul-I-Bastaan! May Allah protect such beauty from the evil eye of man! Khizr chose the path to Kabul in order to reach Paradise For her mountains brought him close to the delights of heaven From the fort with sprawling walls, A Dragon of protection Each stone is there more precious than the treasure of Shayagan Every street of Kabul is enthralling to the eye Through the bazaars, caravans of Egypt pass One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs And the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls Her laughter of mornings has the gaiety of flowers Her nights of darkness, the reflections of lustrous hair Her melodious nightingales, with passion sing their songs Ardent tunes, as leaves enflamed, cascading from their throats And I, I sing in the gardens of Jahanara, of Sharbara And even the trumpets of heaven envy their green pastures

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A Thousand Splendid Suns #3

I did not expect this book to have so many depressing events. It really upset me that the two main characters are only 15 and 12 and are the ones who go through the most treacherous events. Mariam, 15, had to live through her mother’s death, marry Rasheed, a man 30 years her senior after her father cheated her, and was continuously abused by the her husband for having seven miscarriages. Laila, 12, had to live through her brother’s death, her best friend’s death, and was abused by her husband, the same man who abused Mariam. Through these events, it is easy to see that the two characters are indirectly connected to each other through the first two parts of the book. 

I also noticed that this book is very similar to the Kite Runner. For example, the themes and the narration of both the books are similar to each other.

Summary of Part 2: 

In the same neighborhood as Mariam lived a girl named Laila and a boy named Tariq, who are close friends, but careful of social boundaries. War comes to Afghanistan, and Kabul is bombed. Tariq's family decides to leave the city, and the emotional farewell between Laila and Tariq ends with them sleeping together. Laila's family also decides to leave Kabul, but as they are packing a rocket destroys the house, kills her parents, and severely injures Laila. She is then taken in by Mariam and Rasheed.

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A Thousand Splendid Suns #2

The novel is divided into four parts. The first part focuses exclusively on Mariam, the second and fourth parts focus on Laila, and the third part switches focus between Mariam and Laila with each chapter.

In the first couple chapters, it really goes in depth into Mariam’s past before explaining her life with Rasheed. Mariam goes through many depressing and torturous events in her life since childhood. Mariam lives in a kolba on the outskirts of Herat with her mother. Jalil, her father, is a wealthy man who lives in town with three wives and nine children. Because Mariam is his illegitimate daughter, she cannot live with them, but Jalil visits her every Thursday. On her fifteenth birthday, Mariam wants her father to take her to see Pinocchio at his movie theater. However, he refuses to take her, and she walks to his house where she ends up sleeping on the porch. In the morning, Mariam returns home to find that her mother has hanged herself out of fear that her daughter has deserted her. Mariam is then taken to live in her father's house. Jalil arranges for her to be married to Rasheed, a shoemaker from Kabul who is thirty years older than her. In Kabul, Mariam becomes pregnant seven successive times, but has many miscarrages, and Rasheed gradually becomes more abusive. 

In this book, Hosseini writes about many events that are easy to observe in our every day life. For me, this book is really easy to understand and connect to because I know many people who have gone through similar events as Mariam.

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A Thousand Splendid Suns #1

This book uses many of the themes and influences similar to the author’s other book, The Kite Runner. This book tells the story of two Afghan women, Mariam and Laila, depicting their lives as their country experiences two foreign invasions:civil strife, drought and famine. The two serve as influences and representations of the women. These two women have been victimized by most of those in power over that period, mostly the Taliban, whose religious beliefs placed women in a status little better than that of slaves. 

The way that the book is written is somewhat similar to The Handmaid’s Tale. Like Atwood, Hosseini includes many details into his writing. For example, on the first page of the book, he describes Mariam’s house and her mother’s tea set which she really likes. He writes, “Nana cherished each blue-and-white porcelain piece, the graceful curve of the pot’s spout, the hand-painted finches and chrysanthemums, the dragons on the sugar bowl, meant to ward off evil”. His diction and details is, in my opinion, something that really helps grasp the reader’s interest in the book. He also includes many words in Farci, like harami and kolba, which also helps the reader have a better understanding of the plot and characters.

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Ap Lit Final Book

When the class was introduced to the final project a couple weeks ago, I had mixed emotions of nervousness and excitement. It took me a couple days to actually figure out what kind of book I wanted to read since it could be anything related to fiction. For a couple days, I listed out the many fiction books I have read and they were mainly books with fantasy and adventure, like “Hunger Games”, “Harry Potter”, or “The Maze Runner”. This lead me in wanting to choose a book which veered more toward books with historical fiction or realistic fiction. 

In 9th grade for independent reading, I was recommended by one of my former teachers to read “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini. Even though I had not learnt the literary techniques to use while reading a book to figure out the “thing” and “the other thing”, I fell in love with the way the book was written. In many of his writings, including “The Kite Runner” Hosseini uses many literary techniques, including figurative language, and different point of views which allows him to easily grasp the audience by the second chapter. I also noticed that it was easy for me to connect directly to the author and each character because of my ethnic background and the current events. 

While looking for other books written by Hosseini, I came across “A Thousand Splendid Suns”. This book immediately captivated me because of its plot and the same storytelling instinct used as “The Kite Runner”

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Indie Write #1

The last time I remember reading poetry was in 10th grade and I had written a poetry about moving to America and I did not know much about any culture outside of India. I submitted my poem to a competition that Ms.Allan recommended, and my poem got published in the monthly book. 

Link if anyone is interested :) http://www.poetrynation.com/poem.php?id=69718

As a poet, I would like to write about ideas such as my childhood or something that others can relate to, because those are the kinds of poems that speak to me. I also like poems that use a lot of metaphors because I like to think about the ideas and meaning behind the writing. I think part of the reason I never really felt that much of a connection to poetry is because many times I do not understand the meaning of poems or I do not relate to poems. I hope by studying Clementine von Radics, I will grow a liking towards poetry and also use her techniques as a guide to create my own poems. I have read some of her poems, and many people can relate to the because they are mostly about things that we experience, like love, loss, uncertainties, etc.

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Denby Post

Passengers, released in 2016, is a science fiction movie about two passengers, sleeping in suspended animation, awakened 90 years too early when their ship malfunctions. This movie not only utilizes science fiction to explain the story, but it also uses some values that we have. In this movie, it begins by showing one person waking up too early who tries to survive on his own in the big ship, but he risks another persons life to survive. One value that is shown is the risks we put on other people to take the easy path to survive. The first person begins to feel lonely in the ship after some time, so he wakes up another to be able to make time go by faster. Another value that is shown is also that relationships are necessary to survive. Being with that other person allowed the first one to easily pass time. It shows that in most cases, other people are needed to survive. 

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Violence Blog # 4

“When we finally got to the top of the hill, one kid was all upset because his buddy from the same town was killed. The buddy had just made second lieutenant and had been killed in the landing. He went up and fired into several beat bodies to a bloody pulp with his weapon.”

War and the amount of pain and dedication the soldiers is not something that many people in the world think/discuss about everyday. This quote stuck out to me because it showed me that the “kid” the author mentions had to suffer with the pain from knowing that his friend had died. It also showed me that these soldiers always are in a situation of life vs. death when serving. No matter the age, these soldiers knowingly give their lives for the protection of others.

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Violence # 3

In Into The Rising Sun, Patrick O’Donnell begins the book by explaining the sacrifices that each soldier makes to the country when in war. They have to momentarily forget all their family associations and only think about winning for the country. The men who fought their way across the Pacific Ocean during WW2 had to possess something more than courage; they had to face cruel enemies in the Japanese army, who were willing to use anything for victory, even if it meant suicide bombings. The main thing that was really interesting is a quote that the author included in the book, which was, “When somebody gets decorated, it’s because a lot of other men died”. This quote was very moving because it means that though they are truly heroes, the surviving soldiers claim no glory for themselves. Most of the credit comes from others who died while in service and who sacrificed their lives to protect the rest of the nation.

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Origami Is High Art

Origami is the art of paper folding which is often associated with Japanese culture. The word "origami" is used as a term for all folding practices. The goal is to transform a flat sheet square of paper into avariety of decorative or representational forms. Each basic origami fold can be combined in a variety of ways to make intricate designs. Similar to oragami, ballet has many aspects to it. It is a classical dance form, demanding grace and precision and employing steps and gestures set in intricate, flowing patterns to create expression through movement. It is considered to be high art. High art is worthy of recognition and respect in a community. It is known to be intricate, have precision, and to be something that is influential or entertaining for an audience. Ballet is considered high art because it is a theatrical entertainment often with scenery and costumes. Each factor is combined to tell a story, establish an emotional atmosphere, and is believed to have deeper meaning to each step and facial expression of each dancer. Similarly, the creators of origami pieces are are more than talented paper folders. They create inspirations and connect to each individual audience through paper. Origami should be considered high art because it requires patience and time, has intricate details, and it tells a story while depicting a deeper meaning.

Ballet is seen as high art for the amount of time and patience it takes to master each step. Similar to ballet, origami also takes time and patience; that is why origami should be high art. Eric Joisel, a French origami artist who specialized in the wet-folding method, agrees when he writes, “Origami is very difficult. When people ask how long it takes me to make a sculpture I say '35 years', because that is how long it's taken me to get to this level”. Joisel explains that it has taken him 35 years of practice and diligence to perfect each skill in origami to create the most complex pieces. In the next few paragraphs, Joisel connects back to this quote by explaining his progress through learning origami.  He discusses how his earliest work centered on animals and later progressed to people, making haunting, atavistic masks and, eventually, entire human forms which show his specialty of origami through years of his experience and dedication to the art form. Joisel is a specialized artist in the wet-folding method and in further articles, he discusses how origami is also like ballet because he explains he put an immense amount of time into perfecting this technique. Since both the artists discuss that their art requires time and dedication of patience to perfect each detail, origami should also be considered as high art.

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There Is No Unmarked Woman

Being a woman, I can deeply relate to Tannen’s opinions and writing when she describes how women are never allowed to escape the judgement they receive by society based on their looks, the way they act, and also their personality. Getting up in the morning, it takes the average woman about 30 minutes to decide what to wear that day, because they know the moment they step out of their bedroom, the marking begins. Unlike women, men are able to wear the same outfit every week days, and not many people would realize or question why they are wearing that particular outfit, whereas women are marked from how their makeup looks to the designs on their nail polish. When Tannen makes the comparison between speech and interpretations of a woman’s character, it is easy for me to understand and connect to how one's speech shows their personality and mood.

[thoughts-memories]

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I consider this as high art because not only did the photographer in this picture use their time to position the camera at the correct angle and also click the button at the exact time, they had to make sure that it came out clear and also that the picture looks composed. Many people may not even be able to take normal pictures of themselves or landscapes, whereas this person took their time and effort to get this perfect picture.