A Thousand Splendid Suns: Week 7, Post A

VOCAB

Babaloo: (362) Prayers spoken by the family, generally said by head of house (father).
Rickshaw: (363) A small, covered, two-wheeled vehicle, for one passenger.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

"But mostly, Mariam is in Laila's own heart, where she shines with the burning radiance of a thousand splendid suns" (366). Actually, I'm not 100% sure what this is...it's kinda a personification, because Mariam is dead, and obviously can't shine anywhere.

"A woman who will be like a rock in a riverbed, enduring without complaint" (355). This is a simile, because it compares Mariam to a rock, something strong and unwavering.

"Her way of keeping Mariam close awhile yet before time has its way, before it snatches Mariam from the garden of her memory like a weed pulled by its roots" (362). This is also a simile, because it compares Laila forgetting Mariam to a weed being ripped from its garden.

QUOTE

"Because, if it's a girl, Laila has already named her" (367). This line, the last of the book, shows us the deep respect Laila has for Mariam, amazing considering that only a handful of year ago, they wouldn't even talk. This is a great quote, and a fitting end to a good book.

THEME

Love is a powerful force, because love compels Laila to go on with her life, to help at the orphanage, and to move her family back to Kabul.