Reflections on A Thousand Splendid Suns

For my lit circle book, I chose to read A Thousand Splendid Suns. This book has exposed me to numerous atrocities in the Afghanistan culture. First of all, I was unaware that there was a progressive movement occurring in the Middle Eastern country. Through Hakim’s family, the author shows how some so-called “modern” families are allowing their women more freedom of dress and education. This was very shocking to me because I had formerly believed that all women were expected to cover all parts of their body. In addition, I never realized that many husbands physically and mentally tortured their wives. In one scene in the book, Mariam’s husband Rasheed forces her to chew on rocks to teach her a lesson. Later, Rasheed further hurts Mariam by taking a much younger second wife. The amount that these women endure is shocking. However, because I know that the work is a piece of fiction, I wonder how accurate the author truly is. It would be very interesting to compare the experiences of real women during the rise of the Taliban to the experiences of the women in this novel.
Another interesting aspect of this book is the prominence of the color green. It is a common color in furniture as well as a common wedding color. Upon doing a little research, I realized that green was part of the Afghanistan flag. The green stripe stood for independence and future prosperity when the Majuhideen came to power. Thus, it is ironic that this color of “independence” appears often in Mariam’s oppressed life.
This week, as I was working on my literature circle duties, I struggled with finding motifs in the novel. For one, I have never fully understood the definition of a motif; however a little research showed that it is a reoccurring element in the novel. One motif I saw the Buddha statue visit. One day, Laila’s dad took her and Tariq to see two large statues of Buddha. The day was very peaceful and remained forever imprinted in Laila’s mind. When she encounters difficulties, she forces her mind to recall that scene and the tranquility that came with it. That trip represents innocence to Laila. During that trip, Tariq and her father were still alive. She saw her father’s true love for her mother. She was able to spend a day free from the troubles of war. Thus, she associates that time with the innocence of childhood and uses the recollections to purify her from the difficulties of adulthood.
Rasheed is another interesting character in this novel. He appears to be very static, consistently using the same tricks to achieve the same means. With Marian, he bought her gifts and treated her very gently as to try to get her to bear him a son. When he realized that she was infertile, he quickly became abusive and emotionless. Similarly, when Laila comes along, he is very sweet and caring towards her, eventually revealing that he would like to marry her. Thus, he is only using this sweet façade to get what he really wants –a son. Because Rasheed has such a desire to have a son, I question whether his wife actually died or if he murdered her. If there was an accident and the wife survived but the son did not, Rasheed would most likely become incredibly abusive like he did with Mariam after she miscarried his other children. I am not sure if this is the case, but it will be interesting to see what the rest of the book reveals.

We never know how high we are--poetry analysis

With the extra time this past weekend, I began researching some poetry to put in my poetry journal. I’m picky about my poetry, so I scrutinized each and every poem, choosing only a select few for the journal. In the end, one of the best ones I found was written by Emily Dickinson. Characteristic of Emily Dickinson, the poem has no title; however, it goes something like this,

“We never know how high we are
Till we are called to rise;
And then, if we are true to plan,
Our statures touch the skies—

The Heroism we recite
Would be a daily thing,
Did not ourselves the Cubits warp
For fear to be a King—“

Not only did love the message of the poem, but it also boasts many interesting characteristics. The first thing that caught my eye was “Cubits,” a word I have never heard used in the English language. According to answers.com, a cubit is “an ancient unit of linear measure, originally equal to the length of the forearm from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow, or about 17 to 22 inches (43 to 56 centimeters).”
If Cubit is a unit of measurement, a warped Cubit would be an inaccurate measurement. Used in this context, the speaker is saying that we are mismeasuring ourselves (“Did not ourselves the Cubits warp”) and thus undercutting our abilities because we are too afraid to live up to our full potential.
Another important thing to look at in this poem is the tone change between the first and second stanza. In the first four lines, the speaker boasts of humanity’s ability to “touch the skies,” using a proud and hopeful tone. However, in an abrupt switch, the speaker then discusses how humanity cannot live up to its full potential because it undercuts its abilities. In these last four lines the tone is much more pessimistic and upsetting.
I think it’s important to consider what causes this change. Why would Dickinson’s tone change so abruptly between the first and second stanzas?
It appears that the speaker makes this transition to juxtapose the two different fates humanity can choose. On one hand, as shown in the first stanza, people who choose to plan and believe can fulfill their dreams. On the opposing end, those who undercut their abilities, fail to touch the sky “for fear to be a king.” The rapid transition shows the stark discrepancies between the two fates. The structure of the poem also helps portray its meaning. Each line starts far to the left, and the next line is slightly indented. This structure makes the lines appear as if they are falling to the right. In the same manner, people who underestimate their abilities fall from their thrown because they do not believe they have the capabilities to handle such responsibilities. Thus, the “falling” structure of the poem parallels humanities fall from excellence.
In the end, it was the message that really drew me to the poem. Through her complex structure and wording, Dickinson tells the world that it can do anything, if only everyone believes. To me, that is a very refreshing sentiment.

Today, our essay on summer reading was due. I did my essay on the musical imagery in The Picture of Dorian Gray which parallels the fall of Dorian Gray due to the influence of Lord Henry. While most students struggle with analysis in their essay, the hardest part for me is writing the conclusion. In elementary and middle school, teachers encourage you to restate the ideas of your essay in your conclusion; however, everyone knows this is boring and does little to contribute to the overall meaning of the essay. In AP Literature, we are supposed to write a conclusion that analyzes the significance of the subject of our essay. For me, I would have to analyze the "so what?" for musical imagery in The Picture of Dorian Gray.
When I began thinking about writing my conclusion, I had a difficult time deciding what to put in the last paragraph. In following the format described in class, I discussed the overall meaning of musical imagery at the end of each significant point; thus I felt like I had already covered "so what?" of musical imagery. However, I soon came to discover that I had only discussed the significance of musical imagery with regards to the novel. Instead, I needed to discuss the greater significance of the musical imagery with how it relates to other works of literature and with how it relates to life.
This discovery led me down an entirely new path. I began asking questions such as How does the theme of the fall from grace due to influence relate to other works of literature? How is this theme applicable to life? How long has this theme been present in literature? Is musical imagery used in a similar manner in other novels? Is this novel's theme an exact copy of other novels' themes or is it original and unique?
By asking these questions, I began to connect my essay to other literary works and to life. I realized that the theme of the fall from grace is an age-old Biblical allusion dating back to the story of Adam and Eve. Just like Eve, Dorian Gray was manipulated by an outside force; in his case, Lord Henry changed the course of his life while the devil in snake form changed the course of Eve’s life. Because of this influence, Dorian Gray fell from grace and was forced to live a life of sin. By making this connection to the Biblical allusion, I recognized that the theme of the novel has been used in many other novels throughout time. For example, in Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio, his chapter titled “Respectability” makes a reference to Adam and Eve. The wife in the chapter destroys her husband, just as Eve forced Adam into sin. Also, the wife is ashamed to be naked, just as Adam and Eve were ashamed to be naked after they ate from the tree of knowledge.
This thought train allowed be to discover the greater meaning of the theme of the novel because I was able to connect it with life and previous literary works.