A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini - Essay Example

9 December Assignment The sun is fiery on a hot summer morning in Kabul as people start ambling towards their day’s deals and work. Tariq wakes up with a soft yawn as Laila continues sleeping next to him on the bed. Their home is small but very comfortable and cozy. It has a wonderful feel to it because of the love that went into maintaining and creating it. Aziza and Zalmai sleep soundly in the next room trying to hide under the blanket and catch a few extra minutes. Laila soon stirs in her bed and turns towards Tariq and her arms brushed against him slightly. “Good morning, Lai,” he whispers softly with a smile and touches her pregnant belly. Since their escape to Afghanistan, the two were living a happy life in each other’s arms, content with their children. Laila taught at a local orphanage and tried to help young girls understand the importance of education. She was soon to deliver her baby, almost three weeks into the month. All kind of fear had been swept away from their minds, the family felt free and charged to bring up a new generation of young people that were aware of their rights. Tariq worked at odd jobs throughout the day, trying to make ends meet, however they lived fairly comfortably. Laila got out of bed and opened the blinds as she stopped to smile at her husband. He held her hand and tried to bring her back to the bed as she giggled and gave in to him. “Just a few more minutes and then we’ll be up,” he whispered. Soon they could hear the children stirring in their beds and as the clock struck 7:30, they got out of bed to go about another day of earning bread and keeping a smile on each other’s faces. Laila washed up and helped the children get ready as she sent them to their classes. As she prepared eggs for her family, Tariq sidled by her and gave her a peck on her cheek. “Don’t go to the orphanage today, take some rest! They anyway over work you because you’re so good.” “I can’t give it a miss Tariq, you know me. I’ll take rest when it’s required, and anyway, I feel good today. The baby will come soon, healthy and hearty because of all the love that you give it everyday.” Tariq quickly got ready for fear of being late, and went away to his first job as a shopkeeper’s assistant where he was treated well and enjoyed himself because of the constant continuity of the customers that kept pouring in and out of the shop. He knew almost all of them from the old man that came in to buy his daily six eggs and the woman with the child in her arms, whom he particularly was fond of probably because of his new paternal instincts, who often came in to buy milk. Something however felt different as Tariq walked to work that day; on his way, he saw the neighborhood children playing with the family poultry though not with high spirits as always. Soon along the way, he also witnessed a goat being slaughtered, a normal sight, but not a normal cry this time. He shrugged the thoughts away by telling himself he had imagined it. Everything was the same, the village, its people and the manner in which everyone lived every single day. Nothing had changed, at least not for the worse. Laila felt the same cramps as she walked to the orphanage that morning; nothing unusual, she told herself. She took a painkiller to be on the safe side and reminded herself of her lesson plan for the day – she wanted to prepare two of the girls, Malala and Nysha, to talk to one of the helpers in the orphanage regarding the idea of marriage and how they should not pressure the girls at the young age of only 13 and 14 respectively. Laila’s aim was simple, she wanted to educate as many young women as she could, and help them find love in other things like reading and having a mind of their own. At the very least, she thought, if these girls were to be married forcefully at a young age, they would have the guts to raise their voice and question the actions of their husband. She walked into the orphanage with her head held high and a bright smile figuring on her face as some of the girls ran in to give her a big hug. Laila walked through the sea of happy faces; she peeped into her favourite arts and crafts area. A young girl with dotty cheeks walked up to her with a blanket, “I finished sewing this motif see, Laila!” she said cheerily as Laila held it and blessed the girl. She then walked into the classroom and sat with Malala and Nysha as they started talking to her. “Girls, I don’t think you should feel sorry for yourselves. Being adopted into the orphanage and given a home to live in is your right. I will talk to these women and ask them what they would do if they had to sacrifice the happiness of their daughters,” she said. “But then, what about the money that they spend on us? They have new children everyday to take care of.” Nysha said with a face turned upside down. “Don’t worry child, I understand this issue of money is what is keeping parents from allowing their daughters to live peacefully sometimes, but we can always talk to people and try.” Laila often wondered how different life would have been had Mariam been around. She always wondered if it was she in Mariam’s place, suffering and struggling and wishing every night that she would not wake up the next morning. She wanted to dedicate her life to Mariam’s cause and make something of herself so that if Mariam had been around, she would have told her she was proud of her. Suddenly, she didn’t feel good. “Uh, I think I’m going to cancel for the day and just lie down at home,” she heard herself say to them. She tried to walk around the room thinking it was a minor cramp, but her stomach suddenly started hurting and she sat down, “Call Rabia!” she said softly. “I think Mariam’s coming…” as she said this, her eyes shut and she felt herself blacking out. In the distance she could hear Nysha’s mellifluous voice screaming “Someone pick Laila up! Help!” The helpers picked her up and took her straight to the other room; there was no time to call a doctor because Laila was bleeding terribly. She had to be tended to immediately, but where was Tariq? Surely, he would want to know about her condition? The helpers soon had no choice but to call a doctor, so they did and by the time she came, the screams of a newborn baby were underway. Laila gasped every now and then, beads of sweat falling off her clammy skin, “Save me, help me, I feel very very bad. Call Tariq, someone please!” her cries were drowned by the screams of the baby girl. “Mariam,” Rabia whispered and took the child away as the doctor tended to Laila’s body. “What’s happening?” a helper asked in an upsetting voice, “Why was she bleeding before the baby came out?” The doctor replied in a solemn voice, “I’m afraid, she’s developed a lethal infection in her tract and if the bleeding does not stop, she might lose a lot of blood, and not in the good way.” News had by then reached Tariq as he quickly shut shop for the day and raced across to the orphanage. As he neared, he could hear Laila’s screams. He stopped in his steps to wipe the sweat formed out of anxiety. “Where is she!” he screamed but the helpers stopped him froing going inside. “You will have to wait outside Tariq, you cannot see her right now.” One of the midwives said as she came out of the room, where the doctor was trying her best help Laila, with cloths soaked in crimson. “Where is she Malala, tell me please! And what about… my child?” Tariq asked the young girl. She turned her face down; Malala was not ready to believe that she would not be able to see Laila’s face light up again. She pointed Tariq’s eyes towards Rabia carrying the child. Tariq ran to Rabia, trying clutch the baby out of her hands, “She’s my darling Mariam!” The child was still covered in blood but looked limp and lifeless, and so Rabia tried to keep Tariq away from her. Tariq could still hear Laila’s screams inside the room; they sounded like they were decreasing in volume and will. The doctor stormed out of the room as Tariq wondered whether the battle was over for both mother and child? Was Mariam going to live to see her mother’s smile? Justification of the Chapter: A Thousand Splendid Suns written beautifully against the backdrop of the struggles in Kabul influenced me a great deal; it helped me think about the comforts that we have living in a country that supports our needs and wants as compared to young women living in conservative parts of the world with no rights of their own and no one to listen to their screaming yearns. Personally, I would have loved to read more about the life that Tariq and Laila made for themselves and thus have dedicated a chapter to their lives after the hardships were over and they escaped from Afghanistan. I wanted to add a spin on the life that Laila had promised Mariam she would lead and thus have talked about the importance of her teaching the young women how to live their lives, in the orphanage. Mariam had lived a troubled childhood, and that is why emphasis has been laid on the love that Laila had for the orphaned girls and how she visited them everyday in order to teach them new things about life and help them find the right path to pursuing their dreams, rather than letting them get married off and have a bad life. Laila’s visions become clear, however she soon falls into labor later in the chapter and Tariq has no idea about her whereabouts or what has happened to her. I have ended the chapter abruptly because of the suspense of whether or not Laila lives, or her child Mariam survives, with respect to a pun on the real story that took place years ago in the lives of the two women. I have tried to focus on a different aspect – the test that Laila and Tariq’s love for each other might go through in the following course of the story, as they grew older. Will Laila survive to even live her dreams through her daughter Mariam’s life along with her husband Tariq, finally? Will they ever be able to be together without any hindrances and obstructions in their lives? The gripping tale of exciting events continues with a closer look at the characters’ lives, long after the demise of the brave heart, Mariam. Read More