INTRODUCTION:�A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS
BY KHALED HOSSEINI
THE AUTHOR
Born in 1965, Kabul, Afghanistan
Moved to Iran in 70s
Moved to Paris in 76
Returned to Afghanistan 1980
Russians invaded: Asylum in San Jose, Ca.
Graduated from Santa Clara University with a BS in Biology
UC San Diego School of Medicine 1993
First Novel: The Kite Runner
Also wrote A Thousand Splendid Suns , And the Mountains Echoed, & Sea Prayer
Lives in Northern California with his wife & two daughters
SETTING
Afghanistan
Herat
Gul Daman
Kabul
1959-1978 (19 years)
BACKGROUND INFORMATION/�HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
MEET THE CHARACTERS
BOOK 1: 1959-1978
NANA
Had a teenage affair with Jalil (she was his family’s housekeeper)
Mariam’s mother
Single mother—had child out of wedlock
An outcast
She’s strict, bitter, & cynical
Lives outside Herat in Gul Daman
“Like a compass needle that points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman.”
“There is only one, only one skill a woman like you and me needs in life, and they don’t teach it in school . . . Only one skill. And it’s this: tahamul. Endure!”
MARIAM
Protagonist #1
Harami- a bastard child
Born out of wedlock to Nana & Jalil
Longs to meet her siblings & live with her father in Herat
Lives in a kolba (shack) with mother in Gul Daman
Resents her mother
JALIL
Mariam’s father
Former lover of Nana
Wealthy businessman in Herat
Owns a movie theater
Visits Mariam once week
Sends his sons to deliver supplies to Mariam & Nana
Allows the women in his life to control him
MULLAH FAIZULLAH
Mariam’s religious teacher of the Koran
Kind, loving, father figure to Mariam
Tries to counsel Mariam on how to deal with her mother & her situation as a harami.
RASHEED
Widowed shoemaker
First son & wife are deceased
Conservative, cruel, abusive, manipulative
Wants his women to be subservient, obedient, & fertile
Despises modern women
Longs terribly for a son
Jalil arranges his marriage to Mariam when she is 15
THEMES
The inner strength of women among oppressive men
The damaging affects of toxic masculinity
The damaging affects of an abusive patriarchal or theocratic society
The sacrifices of mothers
The human capacity for evil
Loyalty & devotion
A child’s desire for the approval or acceptance of their parents
Unjust double standards for men & women
POINT OF VIEW
3rd person limited
SYMBOLS
Rocks
Burqa
Jalil’s theater
Mariam’s green hijab
The wedding ring
Gun/dirty magazines/the photo
Snow/winter
MEET THE CHARACTERS
BOOK 2:
RUSSIAN INVASION &
THE TALIBAN
SETTING
Kabul, Afghanistan
1978-1983
LAILA
2nd protagonist
Only daughter of Fariba/Mammy & Hakim/Babi
Brothers killed in war
Intelligent/Educated
Loves Tariq
TARIQ
Friend/boyfriend of Laila
Lost leg due to a landmine
Very loyal to Laila
Courageous
Comes from kind parents
FARIBA/�MAMMY
Laila’s mother
Consumed with grief & depression over the loss of her sons
She’s a distant mother to Laila
Used to be a vibrant member of the community before the Russian invasion
HAKIM/BABI
Laila’s father
Bookish & Sensitive
Teacher
Feminist
Loving father and mentor
GITA & HASINA
Laila’s childhood friends
Predict that Laila will be a success
KAHDIM
Cruel, neighborhood bully
AHMAD &�NOOR
Laila’s brothers
Died fighting with the Mujahedeen against the Russians
Mother believed they were destined to be leaders of Kabul
THEMES
The tragic history of Afghanistan
The education of women in the Middle East
The innocence of teenage romance
The destructive nature of the Russian invasion
The cruelty of the Taliban and Sharia Law
The qualities of a positive male/father
The destructive nature of depression & PTSD
Dealing with grief & loss
SYMBOLS
Burqa
Tariq’s leg
The Old Man & the Sea
The Giant Buddhas of Bamiyan
Mujahedeen
Laili & Majnoon/Romeo & Juliet
“One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs,/Or the thousand splendid suns that kind behind her walls.”