Blog Assignment #5

Khaled Hosseini uses many literary devices throughout his novel. The use of imagery as well as foreshadowing are two devices the author uses effectively in order to achieve his purpose. In the beginning of the novel Mariam's mother states"What rich lies! Rich man telling rich lies. He never took you to any tree, he betrayed us your beloved father. He cast us out"(pg.5). This piece of evidence proves the effective use of foreshadowing the statement gives Hosseini's audience a small hint of what ends up happening later on in the story. Mariam's heart break caused by her beloved father when he doesn't accept her into his lavish home but instead marries her off to Rasheed. Imagery is another literary device Hosseini incorporates into his novel in order to achieve his purpose, "Sprightly she walked..."gazing at her impassively behind pyramids of cherries and mounds of grapes."(pg.29). The use of imagery helps the reader better comprehend the mixed feelings Marriam was enduring while making the journey to her father's home. The detailed images described in the book help the audience construct an accurate image in their head in order to be able to relate to the character in the story.

Blog assignment #4

In "A Thousand Splendid Suns" Mariam is referred to as a "harami"(a bastard child) a few times throughout the book. "You are a clumsy little harami. This is my reward for everything that I've endured. An heirloom-breaking, clumsy little harami"(pg.4). How do you think the environment Mariam grew up in affected her in the long run? Was it a positive effect or a negative one? Do you think that Mariam was able to grow stronger from the fact that her father wasn't really in her life or did she make herslef the victim from the adversity she was forced to endure?