A Thousand Splendid Suns Journey

This intriguing story is set on the outskirts of the city Herat situated in Afghanistan where a young girl Mariam is born. The story is later moved on to the capital city, Kabul where another young girl Laila is given birth to. Hosseini depicts an image of women’s suffrage that is truly heart filled and effectively shows the inner strength, courage and bravery women had in order to survive and live to fulfill their many hopes and dreams. The author does this through the effective use of characterization, narrative style, the themes and issues portrayed within the text, relationships and emotions. Khaled Hosseini has used strong characterization and use of the technique narrative style in order to depict Mariam and Laila who are the two main characters in Hosseini’s inspiring yet heartbreaking story a thousand Splendid Suns. Hosseini has written this story through the technique of third person in order to effectively show the true feelings of the characters Mariam and Laila. The strong use of third person as the narrative style is a very important part of this text as it clearly emphasizes the emotions and feelings that Mariam and Laila experience whilst they face the many hardships placed upon them. She lived in fear of his shifting moods, his volatile temperament, his insistence on steering even mundane exchanges down a confrontational path that, on occasion, he would resolve with punches, slaps, kicks, and sometimes try to make amends for with polluted apologies, and sometimes not. †Mariam’s thoughts are so clearly depicted in the above lines that it giv es the reader a full insight on how she fears each and every day as to how and what her husband’s mood will be when he arrives home and according to that how she will be treated. This illustrates the unjust behaviour she faces in her married life. The narrative style also is an excellent feature that engages the reader as it is a truly inspiring experience to be able to understand and comprehend what a woman is going through and how many things endlessly roam a mind when overcoming issues in life that we would never even think of let alone need to face in our lifetimes. A Thousand Splendid Suns also incorporates many themes and issues in Afghan society that effect women up until the present day. Hosseini shows the harsh reality of many women whose lives are filled with injustice and cruelty. He illustrates the cultural distinction between marriage and true love. The marriages in the novel are forced arranged marriages that have no likelihood to love. Mariam’s mother, tells her child that marriage cannot hold love, that men are cold heartless creatures, yet later after Nana’s unexpected death Mariam’s first instinct when she was being forcefully married to an elderly man Rasheed, thirty years her senior was of despise but later she thought with an open mind and knew she wouldn’t want to be a burden on anyone as a young unmarried women. Mariam therefore had hope that her marriage would lead to contentment and possible love, but unfortunately the marriage delves into abuse and oppression. At this time she remembers her mother’s words â€Å"A man’s heart is a wreched, wreched thing. It is not like a mother’s womb, it will not bleed for you, it will not stretch to make room for you† these words fill her mind with truth as she looks upon her one sided, disastrous marriage filled with hate and inequity. Another aspect that is shown quite clearly in Hosseini’s text is that of multiple marriages. In this novel Mariam’s husband finds young Laila buried under rubble after a torpedo strikes her street and instantly kills her family. He takes her home and says to his wife to care for her. Once she is recovered he gives her an ultimatum that in order for him to take care of her and live with them she must marry him as she has no other way to live in such a war torn city. She agrees and later in time joins the oppression, abuse and injustice placed on Mariam. Hosseini illustrates the true colors of what these women go through and how life itself becomes a nightmare for them. There are many relationships displayed in Hosseini’s novel, relationships of hate, love, youth, friendships, siblings, marriages and family, but there is one very unique bond formed in this text. Hosseini at first portrays the obvious jealousy Mariam has towards the young girl Laila, as she must share her husband with such competition. Rasheed, husband to two, purposely points all of Mariam’s flaws out to his new wife. He tells her all of Mariam’s deep secrets, and most importantly that she is a harami (illegitimate child) and that she is of no respect in society. Hosseini illustrates the hurt and pain Mariam endures when she realizes all those years of slaving endlessly to please her husband were of no use as he disrespects her in such a demeaning manner. Although Mariam tries her hardest to despise Laila, she realizes that Laila endures the same pain, oppression and hardships she does. Therefore Laila and Mariam begin to bond, share the work load of cleaning and cooking, have an occasional tea together which thus makes them realize that with such a bond anything is possible. Hosseini therefore suggests that women have an extremely strong ability to find strength and support within one another in order to help them overcome the impossible. This bond becomes more than just friendship; to them it seems like an inseparable tie of hope that god created for them through such hardships in life. This relationship effectively gives a positive view on the upcoming events in the novel and illustrates Hosseini’s positive depiction of support in relationships. This novel also shows the emotions used in order to create hope and the reality of which destiny unfolds. The people in this novel strive to believe in hope when going through the harsh realities forced upon them by political and personal oppression. Both Laila and Mariam depend upon somebody in their lives to overcome their problems and give them hope. For Mariam she looks upon the wise and elderly- Mullah Faizullah who taught her every aspect of knowledge of her religion. He never looked down upon her as a harami (illegitimate child) but as a child who was not even in a single way at fault and said to her â€Å"Behind every trial and sorrow that He makes us shoulder, God has a reason. †Ã‚  These simple words gave Mariam the courage to believe and follow her faith as she knew no matter what life threw at her she’d always have her faith. Laila also has her childhood best friend Tariq as her savior, who treats her as his equal. Laila feels that no oppression is laid upon her when she is with Tariq and that he only urges her to follow her hopes and dreams through the roughest of times. When these rough times finally arrive Hosseini shows a cycle where dreams that once were fulfilled are crushed and where hope and success in the near future, which were once visible- began to crumble instantly. In this point of the novel â€Å"Laila has moved on. Because in the end she knows that’s all she can do. That and hope.   This creates suspense and emotional attachment with the characters as those hopes and dreams are flattened in moments just like the Afghan women’s suffrage portrayed through Mariam and Laila’s life, time and time again. As they both raise their hopes and see happiness through all the grim darkness in the war filled Afghanistan, they are only lead to disappointment. Hosseini truly illustr ates the moments of hope and faith in these women’s lives but also gives the reader a thorough depiction on destiny, and how anything can change no matter what hopes and dreams you have. Khaled Hosseini has written a truly heartbreaking yet inspirational novel that any women would be empathetic towards. A thousand Splendid Suns is a story filled with multiple issues that will be present in society forever, it illustrates oppressions placed on women, hardships war-torn countries such as Afghanistan face and the relationships that are torn apart and can never be fixed and are therefore forever estranged. Hosseini truly inspires people to never lose hope even through the worst of times and to hold on to your faith, be true to yourself, think with an open mind and take one step at a time. A Thousand Splendid Suns Journey This intriguing story is set on the outskirts of the city Herat situated in Afghanistan where a young girl Mariam is born. The story is later moved on to the capital city, Kabul where another young girl Laila is given birth to. Hosseini depicts an image of women’s suffrage that is truly heart filled and effectively shows the inner strength, courage and bravery women had in order to survive and live to fulfill their many hopes and dreams. The author does this through the effective use of characterization, narrative style, the themes and issues portrayed within the text, relationships and emotions. Khaled Hosseini has used strong characterization and use of the technique narrative style in order to depict Mariam and Laila who are the two main characters in Hosseini’s inspiring yet heartbreaking story a thousand Splendid Suns. Hosseini has written this story through the technique of third person in order to effectively show the true feelings of the characters Mariam and Laila. The strong use of third person as the narrative style is a very important part of this text as it clearly emphasizes the emotions and feelings that Mariam and Laila experience whilst they face the many hardships placed upon them. She lived in fear of his shifting moods, his volatile temperament, his insistence on steering even mundane exchanges down a confrontational path that, on occasion, he would resolve with punches, slaps, kicks, and sometimes try to make amends for with polluted apologies, and sometimes not. †Mariam’s thoughts are so clearly depicted in the above lines that it giv es the reader a full insight on how she fears each and every day as to how and what her husband’s mood will be when he arrives home and according to that how she will be treated. This illustrates the unjust behaviour she faces in her married life. The narrative style also is an excellent feature that engages the reader as it is a truly inspiring experience to be able to understand and comprehend what a woman is going through and how many things endlessly roam a mind when overcoming issues in life that we would never even think of let alone need to face in our lifetimes. A Thousand Splendid Suns also incorporates many themes and issues in Afghan society that effect women up until the present day. Hosseini shows the harsh reality of many women whose lives are filled with injustice and cruelty. He illustrates the cultural distinction between marriage and true love. The marriages in the novel are forced arranged marriages that have no likelihood to love. Mariam’s mother, tells her child that marriage cannot hold love, that men are cold heartless creatures, yet later after Nana’s unexpected death Mariam’s first instinct when she was being forcefully married to an elderly man Rasheed, thirty years her senior was of despise but later she thought with an open mind and knew she wouldn’t want to be a burden on anyone as a young unmarried women. Mariam therefore had hope that her marriage would lead to contentment and possible love, but unfortunately the marriage delves into abuse and oppression. At this time she remembers her mother’s words â€Å"A man’s heart is a wreched, wreched thing. It is not like a mother’s womb, it will not bleed for you, it will not stretch to make room for you† these words fill her mind with truth as she looks upon her one sided, disastrous marriage filled with hate and inequity. Another aspect that is shown quite clearly in Hosseini’s text is that of multiple marriages. In this novel Mariam’s husband finds young Laila buried under rubble after a torpedo strikes her street and instantly kills her family. He takes her home and says to his wife to care for her. Once she is recovered he gives her an ultimatum that in order for him to take care of her and live with them she must marry him as she has no other way to live in such a war torn city. She agrees and later in time joins the oppression, abuse and injustice placed on Mariam. Hosseini illustrates the true colors of what these women go through and how life itself becomes a nightmare for them. There are many relationships displayed in Hosseini’s novel, relationships of hate, love, youth, friendships, siblings, marriages and family, but there is one very unique bond formed in this text. Hosseini at first portrays the obvious jealousy Mariam has towards the young girl Laila, as she must share her husband with such competition. Rasheed, husband to two, purposely points all of Mariam’s flaws out to his new wife. He tells her all of Mariam’s deep secrets, and most importantly that she is a harami (illegitimate child) and that she is of no respect in society. Hosseini illustrates the hurt and pain Mariam endures when she realizes all those years of slaving endlessly to please her husband were of no use as he disrespects her in such a demeaning manner. Although Mariam tries her hardest to despise Laila, she realizes that Laila endures the same pain, oppression and hardships she does. Therefore Laila and Mariam begin to bond, share the work load of cleaning and cooking, have an occasional tea together which thus makes them realize that with such a bond anything is possible. Hosseini therefore suggests that women have an extremely strong ability to find strength and support within one another in order to help them overcome the impossible. This bond becomes more than just friendship; to them it seems like an inseparable tie of hope that god created for them through such hardships in life. This relationship effectively gives a positive view on the upcoming events in the novel and illustrates Hosseini’s positive depiction of support in relationships. This novel also shows the emotions used in order to create hope and the reality of which destiny unfolds. The people in this novel strive to believe in hope when going through the harsh realities forced upon them by political and personal oppression. Both Laila and Mariam depend upon somebody in their lives to overcome their problems and give them hope. For Mariam she looks upon the wise and elderly- Mullah Faizullah who taught her every aspect of knowledge of her religion. He never looked down upon her as a harami (illegitimate child) but as a child who was not even in a single way at fault and said to her â€Å"Behind every trial and sorrow that He makes us shoulder, God has a reason. †Ã‚  These simple words gave Mariam the courage to believe and follow her faith as she knew no matter what life threw at her she’d always have her faith. Laila also has her childhood best friend Tariq as her savior, who treats her as his equal. Laila feels that no oppression is laid upon her when she is with Tariq and that he only urges her to follow her hopes and dreams through the roughest of times. When these rough times finally arrive Hosseini shows a cycle where dreams that once were fulfilled are crushed and where hope and success in the near future, which were once visible- began to crumble instantly. In this point of the novel â€Å"Laila has moved on. Because in the end she knows that’s all she can do. That and hope.   This creates suspense and emotional attachment with the characters as those hopes and dreams are flattened in moments just like the Afghan women’s suffrage portrayed through Mariam and Laila’s life, time and time again. As they both raise their hopes and see happiness through all the grim darkness in the war filled Afghanistan, they are only lead to disappointment. Hosseini truly illustr ates the moments of hope and faith in these women’s lives but also gives the reader a thorough depiction on destiny, and how anything can change no matter what hopes and dreams you have. Khaled Hosseini has written a truly heartbreaking yet inspirational novel that any women would be empathetic towards. A thousand Splendid Suns is a story filled with multiple issues that will be present in society forever, it illustrates oppressions placed on women, hardships war-torn countries such as Afghanistan face and the relationships that are torn apart and can never be fixed and are therefore forever estranged. Hosseini truly inspires people to never lose hope even through the worst of times and to hold on to your faith, be true to yourself, think with an open mind and take one step at a time.

Content Area Teaching Assignment Research Paper - 1

Content Area Teaching Assignment - Research Paper Example However, this paper aims at stressing the flaws in the education system and teaching practices which contribute to the loss of interest amongst the students. The paper will focus on at least three web lessons, which would then be taken as a reference to explain how the teaching practices can be improved and the students’ motivation increased. One of the most important topics of study in world history is the relations between the superpowers – the relations marked by the cold war; this is an essential course for almost all students enrolled for elementary education level courses. For this reason, a lesson designed for students from Grade 9-12 will be taken as a reference; it has been published by the Oregon Public Broadcasting1. Apparently, the chapter has been designed in a very appealing yet credible manner for the students to become aware of the origins and major concepts relevant to the cold war. The chapter has been effectively divided into headings and subheadings to enhance the interest of the students in the content. The chapter opens with the narration describing how the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which began what is termed as the cold war era. The chapter also in the latter sections stresses the military and strategic dimensions of the motives behind the bombings, and explains how this event was the beginning of the cold war. Moreover, the chapter explains the policy of containment followed by the US in response to the policy of expansionism being pursued by the Soviet Union. It also stresses important dates where several events took place, explains how the concept of iron curtain was introduced and was a sole reason behind the origins of war. Moreover, this chapter sheds light on some of the reports which are crucial in this context. Though this is a well quoted and a well explained chapter, some of the students may find in monotonous and rather boring if not taught

Applying to Northern Ontario School of Medicine Essay

Applying to Northern Ontario School of Medicine - Essay Example 2. How have your academic, work and life experiences prepared you for being a student at Northern Ontario School of Medicine and for studying and working in rural, remote and/or northern urban communities? I was born in Ghana, an under-developed country where majority of the population live in poverty. People had little to no access to resources such as good schools, libraries, computers, tutoring, and activities pertinent to health care. My family migrated to Toronto in 1994 when I was 13. Being a minority my parents had to settle for low income jobs. As the oldest child, I was compelled to work odd jobs to contribute to the household earnings while in high school. We were forced to live in ‘ghettos and remote areas,’ with very poor housing and health care services. Many of my peers dropped out of high school, became pregnant and some turned to selling drugs. While growing up, and to some extent today, I lack the basic resources needed to develop academically and profes sionally. Despite all of this, I acclimatized very well into my environment and have been successful in my educational choices. The hardships that I have overcome have only made me a better person and I would not be here today if it were not the same. With my diverse background I believe I am ready to study and to work at rural communities where I could give back in some way.4. List activities and interests outside academic and work environments not detailed elsewhere in the application.