Pieces

Letter to the Read…[er]–

Imagine yourself, pushed against a wall, with strong hands clamping at your neck. You are unable to breathe, speak, and cry. You have no energy left. You assume death feels better than this. When you look up to the face that the hands belong to, you see that it is none other than your husband. Shocking, right? For you, yes, it may be appalling. But for Mariam and Laila, this is none but a daily ritual.

Mariam is a harami, an illegitimate child. She is uneducated and has lacked concrete support her entire life. She is constantly betrayed and has seen death claim ones close to her. On the other hand, Laila is a confident and outgoing girl who aspires to positively impact the world through education. These two individuals, who seem as complete opposites, are really very different. However, destiny unites the two, and they must battle against their greatest foe. This is extremely hard, as they are women living in the war-torn country of Saudi Arabia, where women represent silence and oppression. The culture of this novel is bound to resonate with you, and at a time of war, family is hard to exist.

In these literary works, we have compiled much of the pressing events in the novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini. Through many of our pieces, we stress the main ideas of the novel, especially the status of women in several Middle Eastern countries (in this case, Saudi Arabia). You can see that the last two letters in each title have not been found, thus there are brackets, assuming the following letters. This represents the unfinished stories of the characters in the novel. We also include suns in our works, which are representative of the Saudi culture and women in the country. Additionally, in each piece, there are two columns. The left column is the written in the point of view of the “original” author (character), while the column to the right includes revisions that Laila has made. It is Laila who does so, due to the fact that she is the last character of the trio to survive, and thus, she is the sole keeper of the events that happened in Kabul. The order of the pieces is in the way they appear in the book; some of the works are overarching while others highlight specific parts of the book. 

We hope you enjoy reading our works and the novel just as much as we did!

Until next time,

The Team of A Thousand Splendid Suns

“Mariam, Laila, Tar…[iq]”

“Women Empowerment Lesson Pl…[an]”

Lesson title: Women Empowerment

Lecturer- Hakim

Subject: English

Duration: 60 minutes

Summary: 60 minute lecture over the importance of equality between women and men. Make sure to include the points of…

  • women are just as strong as men
  • Women can do the same things men can
  • Use personal example of daughter Laila and how she is raised compared to the other girls in Afghanistan

Objectives:

  • Female students will realize their worth and stop acting inferior to men
  • Male students will treat women with the respect they deserve

Activities:

“Rock Fo…[od]”

Journal Entry #32

I never thought I would end up in this situation. I thought Rasheed thought I was a good wife and the miscarriage may have turned him to his original ways. Today, I cooked dinner for Rasheed and I thought I did a pretty good job and I thought he did too. When I am cleaning the rest of the kitchen sounds of anger are coming from Rasheed’s direction. I wonder what is going through his mind before he spits out the rice and goes out into the front yard. Thoughts are moving around in my brain faster than you can imagine. After a long time in the front yard and contemplating what is about to happen Rasheed walks in with extreme irritation. He has something in his fists and I wonder what it might be. He then yells at me about the food that I had cooked and how terribly disgusting it tasted. He opens his fist that is occupied by a handful of rocks. I don’t know what pain I might encounter so I wait. He tells me to eat the rocks because that is how my food tasted. He yelled at me to chew until I felt like all my teeth were about to fall out. This pain in my mouth I have never felt before. That night it was miserable, having broken molars and still bleeding. 

“War Zo…[ne]”

1900-1990 Afghanistan 

As one walks into the city of Afghanistan things seem corrupt and uncontrolled. The government isn’t controlling anything and is almost turned into an anarchy. You hear the sounds of gun fires, explosions, and fast moving feet across the rocky roads. Scared, are the citizens that are forced within the country. They are afraid to leave their house and their families otherwise they are extremely vulnerable. All you see is buildings broken down into dust, smoke blinding your vision, and people rushing to safe areas. Nowhere is really a safe zone for the citizens, scared to death, waves of terrorists and army men come cross your path and your life flashes before your eyes; you might think that you would never leave this place alive. Every day you go to bed with fear of losing your own life or one of your family’s. It’s a war zone outside your home and there isn’t a safer place to escape to without losing something.

“Sorry, I’m Leavi…[ng]–,  Laila and Tariq”

Sorry I'm leaving. I didn't think I would ever leave you *tears* 
Everyone is leaving me, even you.
Come with me Laila, "Sometimes...I feel like you're all I have" 
I really want to live a magical and untroubled life with you Tariq.....but I can't 
Don't say that Laila, you are my only love, I wouldn't fall for any other girl, only you
I'm sorry...I'm all my family has left, I'm sorry

With raging sadness the door slams with authority and tears
The door shakes with the force by the fists of vexation 
I'll come back my love....I promise
The sounds of the footsteps started to fade until all that was left were the sounds of gunfire,
my heart, my eyes, and my bones

I would go with Tariq, my only love, but everyone in my family is vunerable and I’m all they have. I really hope he will come back for me to save me from the horrors of the war that I’m enclosed in. 

Note: Scroll right to see more of the poem

“No Matter Whe…[re]”

“Saudi M…[an]–, by Rasheed”

Since the dawn of time, why have Saudi men been seen as the oppressors of women, enemies to their wives? I am a man. I am a Saudi man. I am a Saudi man who has been accused by both his wives to have abused them.

I am a Saudi man who has been accused by both his wives to have abused them, but this is not the truth.

The place of women is at the feet of their zawj, their husband. But I, I protected both my wives. I gave them burqas to wear, to avoid the lude stares of other men. I gave them a shelter! I did not kick them out of my house. Ignoring the reckless rebellion they waged against me, I calmly let them back into my house every single time. For God’s sake, I saved Laila from the claws of death, and I even married her to keep her safe!

Now, some might say: Well, Rasheed, you did hit them sometimes, right? I agree with those who ask the question, but there is a reason behind it. See, some individuals, especially outspoken women, need to be quieted down. Their voices need not be heard. Women are meant to be seen, not heard (but I do not want other men looking at them either, to clarify). Rather than pointing fingers at me, you should see what Mariam and Laila did. I was slapped, betrayed, and bad-mouthed by the two. What did I do in response? Slapped them some, but just to protect myself. One cannot blame me for acting in self-defense against these crazy women.

If anyone were in my place, they would have done the same.

I am not trying to prove myself as innocent, I am already innocent. I am just here to share my story, and unveil the maliciousness hiding underneath  the burqas of these two treacherous women. At least I did not cheat on my wives; first, Laila had an affair with that legless boy, then she births a child (and tries lying to me over the fact if Aziza is my child or not) and second, she continues her relationship with the boy! You might think I am the villain between the so-called, Laila and Majnoon, but I beg to differ. I gave her a choice to marry me, and she chose, herself, to start a faithful relationship.

I was betrayed. But no one is ready to hear that.

I am a Saudi man who has been accused by both his wives to have abused them, but this is not the truth.

Since the dawn of time, why have Saudi men been seen as the oppressors of women, enemies to their wives? I am a man. I am a Saudi man. I am a Saudi man who has been accused by both his wives to have abused them.

I am a Saudi man who has been accused by both his wives to have abused them, but this is not and this is the truth.

The place of women is at the feet of their zawj, their husband. But I, I protected both my wives. I gave them burqas to wear, to avoid the lude stares of other men show them their rightful place. I gave them a shelter! I did not kick them out of my house. Ignoring the reckless rebellion they waged against me, I calmly let them back into my house every single time. For God’s sake, I “saved“ Laila from the claws of death, and I even married her to keep her safe satisfy my sexual desires!

Now, some might say: Well, Rasheed, you did hit them sometimes, right? I agree with those who ask the question, but there is a reason behind it. See, some individuals, especially outspoken women, need to be quieted down. Their voices need not be heard. Women are meant to be seen, not heard (but I do not want other men looking at them either, to clarify). Rather than pointing fingers at me, you should see what Mariam and Laila did. I was slapped, betrayed (oogled at provacative pictures of Western women), and bad-mouthed by the two. What did I do in response? I also slapped them some, but just to protect myself. One cannot I am the one to blame me for acting in self-defense against these crazy women .

If anyone were in my place, they would have done the same.

I am not trying to prove myself as innocent, I am already not innocent. I am just here to share my story, and unveil the maliciousness hiding underneath  the burqas of these two treacherous women my skin. At least I did not cheat on my wives; first, Laila had an affair with that legless boy loved Tariq (and I brought in a man to convince her that her lover was dead), then she births a child (and tries lying to me over the fact if Aziza is my child or not) (but is too scared to tell me the true father of her because I would have beaten her) and second, she continues her relationship with the boy; I just want her to fulfill my sexual desires and thus, she belongs to me! You might think I am the villain between the so-called, Laila and Majnoon, but I beg to differ and I totally agree. I gave her a nochoice to marry me, and she was forced to chose, herself, to start a faithful burdening relationship.

I was betrayed. But no one is ready to hear that.

I am a Saudi man who has been accused by both his wives to have abused them, but and this is, in fact, not the truth.

“I’ll See You Soon, Mariam…[Jo]–, by Laila”

O Mariam! O my sister!

I am stricken beyond belief
Your death leaves me pale
Leaves the tears at the rims of eyes dry
My lips are parched
The color in my hair is fading
I am alive but I am not living
It is better to say that I am dead
I call upon the heavens
To bring you back
Because
Mariam Jo
I really
Really
Miss you.

The evenings we spent 
Sipping chai
The sound of the wind
Whistling between the holes of your teeth
The way you carried us all 
Through the dark
I will never forget
Your sacrifice
You saved me when I thought all was over
You handed yourself to the monster of death
Why Mariam Jo
Why are you so good?

You lived the life of a saint
You died a martyr
I will never forget the sacrifice you made
Your story
Though unfinished
Is one worth to be told
You are an angel.

I will love you always
My sister.

I'll see you soon
Mariam Jo.

Mariam Jo:

I love you, and I miss you dearly. I hope you are doing well in the heavens. I wish I was there by your side in your enth moments, but I would not be able to bear your departure. Your story is one to be told around the world.

إنه لشرف أن تعرفك.

(It is an honor to have ever known you.)

I wonder if I ever knew you fully. Your sacrificed so much, expecting nothing in return.