A Thousand Splendid Suns Triangulation

Stephen West & Libby Fisher

2001Let the Triangulation begin……

Chapter 45 “Had she been a deceitful wife? She asked herself. A

complacent wife? A dishonorable woman?...What harmful thing had she willfully done to this man to warrant his malice, his continual assaults, the relish with which he tormented her?” (Hosseini 346-347)

PBSUnder the group's rule, government forces in the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice patrolled the streets enforcing a conservative interpretation of Islamic law.

BBCThe Taliban's promise - in Pashtun areas straddling Pakistan and Afghanistan - was to restore peace and security and enforce their own austere version of Sharia, or Islamic law, once in power.

CNNAfghan women have had seen their status rise and fall repeatedly over the past three decades, before the strictly Islamic Taliban muscled their way to power and forced women to again wear the burqa and stay out of school.

Historically Accurate?

Question ( السؤال)

Is this an “awakening” in the novel for Mariam, in which she realizes that she deserves better than the treatment she receives from Rasheed?

Chapter 46 “‘They chop off hands for stealing bread.’

Mariam said. ‘What do you think they’ll do when they find a dead husband and twos missing wives?’” (Hosseini 357)

PBS BBC CNNPBSUnder the group's rule, government forces in the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice patrolled the streets enforcing a conservative interpretation of Islamic law.

BBCThe Taliban's promise - in Pashtun areas straddling Pakistan and Afghanistan - was to restore peace and security and enforce their own austere version of Sharia, or Islamic law, once in power.

CNNAfghan women have had seen their status rise and fall repeatedly over the past three decades, before the strictly Islamic Taliban muscled their way to power and forced women to again wear the burqa and stay out of school.

repeated

Question ( السؤال)

Does Mariam choose to turn herself as a means to save Lailla or save herself?

Chapter 47 “She thought of her entry into this world, the harami

child of a lowly villager…A weed. And yet she was leaving the world as a woman who had loved and been loved back…This was a legitimate end to a life of illegitimate beginnings.” (Hosseini 370)

PBSThe punishments were severe: thieves had their arms or legs amputated, adulterers were stoned to death and drinking liquor resulted in lashings.

BBCthe Taleban seem determined to drag Afghan women back from the twenty-first century to somewhere nearer the thirteenth.

CNN Still traumatized, she recounts the events that led her to a safe house in Kabul.She was raped and nearly stabbed to death by her husband just seven days before we met her.Her lips are quivering and her eyes full of fear.

Historically Accurate?

Question ( السؤال)

By the end of the novel do you feel Mariam has broken away from the status of harami which plagued her as a child?

Part Four

Chapter 48 “She likes the souvenir shops, and the various

hotels that house tourists, even as the locals bemoan the constant construction…Laila finds it off that people should lament the building of buildings. In Kabul, they would celebrate it.” (Hosseini )

PBSThe Afghan government estimates it will need $27.5 billion through 2010 to continue rebuilding the rest of the country's infrastructure.

BBCTrade with key economic partners in the region - Pakistan, China and Iran - has grown and neighbouring countries have helped rebuild Afghanistan's infrastructure - from roads to schools..

CNNAid workers say tourism is one of the greatest economic hopes for reviving this isolated, yet visually -- and archaeologically -- stunning part of Afghanistan, a region that has seen little infrastructure development

Historically Accurate?

Question ( السؤال)

What effect will improved infrastructure in order to promote tourism have on Afghanistan?

Chapter 49 “Back home, bombs are falling once

again, this time American bombs.” (Hosseini 385)

PBSU.S. and British forces launch airstrikes against targets in Afghanistan. American warplanes start to bomb Taliban targets and bases reportedly belonging to the al-Qaida network. The Taliban proclaim they are ready for jihad.

BBCUS, Britain launch air strikes against Afghanistan after Taliban refuse to hand over Osama bin Laden, held responsible for the September 11 attacks on America.

CNNAfter the Taliban refuse repeated demands by the United States to turn over Osama Bin Laden, the United States and Britain begin retaliatory bombing of targets in Afghanistan.

Historically Accurate?

Question ( السؤال)

Do you think the Afghani people were understanding of American attacks against terrorists being harbored in their homeland?

Chapter 50 “I want to see my sons’ dreams come true. I

want to be there when I happens, when Afghanistan is free, so the boys see it too. They’ll see it through my eyes.” (Hosseini 389)

PBSTwo days later, Taliban leaders surrender the group's final Afghan territory, the province of Zabul. The move leads the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press to declare "the rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan has totally ended."

BBCTaliban finally give up last stronghold of Kandahar, but Mullah Omar remains at large.

CNNTaliban forces flee their lone remaining stronghold, Kandhar, solidifying the incoming governments grip on power.

Historically Accurate?

Question ( السؤال)

Does Laila’s trip to Herat in honor of Mariam add a new dimension to their relationship?

President Karzai

2003

Chapter 51 “The hallway’s walls (of the orphanage) are covered

not with posters, of dinosaurs, cartoon characters, the Buddha's of Bamiyan, and displays of artwork by the orphans. Many of the drawings depict tanks running over huts, men brandishing AK-47s, refugee camp tents, scenes of jihad.”(Hosseini 412)

PBS"I want my children to become doctors, engineers, and teachers," she says. "They must go to school." After a month in power in Kabul, the United Front claims life is improving for Afghans. Major public works programs are already underway.

BBCBoth sides in the long running civil war prefer to spend money on fighting. One school near Kabul survives through development agency aid and local community support.

CNNIntelligence estimates range from 22 to 32 million people. There has been no census since 1959. The Ministry of Education has no idea how many kids are in schools. Most likely, more than 75 percent of the population is under 30 years old and has only known civil war their entire lives.

Historically Accurate?

How was the

book?

Good or bad?

Were you happy

with the ending?

A Thousand Splendid Suns Triangulation

Stephen West & Libby Fisher