Literary Devices

Simile

“Like a compass needle that points north, a man’s accusing finger will always find a woman”

Page 7

Metaphor

“Unlike weeds, I had to be replanted, you see, given food and water”

Page 8

Irony

“May God grant you a long and prosperous life, my daughter.  May God give you many healthy and beautiful children." 

Page 360

Symbolism

“Each snowflake was a sigh heaved by an aggrieved woman somewhere in the world.”

Page 82

Allusion

“And I’m Moshe Dayan”

Page 67

Repetition

“Its normal, isn’t it?  Isn’t it?  Isn’t it normal?”

Page 81

Alliteration

“Brief little bursts of blinding light”

Page 312

Hyperbole

“Regret…..When it comes to you, Mariam Jo, I have oceans of it”

Page 359

Consonance

“Casually….it acknowledged their connection, crystallized it.”

Page 153

Imagery
"Mariam had her first glimpse of Rasheed: the big, square, ruddy face; the hooked nose; the flushed cheeks that gave the impression of sly cheerfulness; the watery, bloodshot eyes; the crowded teeth, the front two pushed together like a gabled roof; the impossibly low hairline, barely two finger widths above the bushy eyebrows; the wall of thick, coarse salt-and-pepper hair."
Page 49

Morality Inherent? Try Entrenched.

            Altruism, affection, assiduity; these are some positive innate traits in humans.  Avarice, apathy, rapacity; these are some negative innate traits in humans.  There is a stark difference between these traits and yet, they share one thing in common: both are inherent in humans.  Morality, on the other hand, is something that must be entrenched into humans.  Entering the world as a child, humans are utterly vulnerable and totally dependent on others.  They are completely naïve and gullible, lacking common sense and simplistic in their view of human beings.  As a child, they will struggle with performing fundamental tasks such as walking, talking, and going to the washroom.  How can you expect them to know about morality if they cannot even achieve those tasks?  All these foundations must be embedded into humans.  However, one question emerges: who are the selfless individuals who are responsible for implanting these fundamentals?  The answer is simple – who else but our sacrificial parents who teach us an immense amount of knowledge about life.  The principles of right and wrong are also imbibed in the very same manner.  When their children are able to walk and talk properly, parents will use a perennially popular method of teaching their kids, this method being very similar to a way a dog is taught.  For example, if the child does an admirable act like returning a lost object, they will be rewarded and praised; however, if they commit a callous act such as bullying another child who is timid, they will ultimately be punished and admonished.  By using this method, children will be able to differentiate between right and wrong.  They will continuously do splendid acts because they know they will be applauded and they will stray away from doing misdeeds because they know they will be berated.  In addition to using this efficacious technique, parents have one more method to help teach their children.  Children often look up to their parents with pride and reverence and exhibit a desire to emulate their parents.  Aware of this very fact, parents will strive to be impeccable, hoping that their children will follow in their footsteps.  More than often, children will copy their parents’ actions as children consider their parents to be role models.  This is yet another example of how morals are implanted into human beings.  This method is actually closely related to the idea of children being nurtured by the environment around them.  If children are accustomed to seeing the people around them commit evil deeds, they will be under the illusion that heinous acts are acceptable.  Yet, if they are accustomed to seeing the people around them be benevolent and personable, they will realize what is morally correct.  Even something like a superhero show which always depicts the notorious villain falling to the selfless hero will help children to discern between right and wrong.

Arachnephobia

            Paraskevidekatriaphobia is the fear of Friday the thirteenth.  Triskadekaphobia – the fear of the number thirteen.  Ablutophobia: the fear of baths.  Arachnephobia - the fear of spiders.  The list goes on and on.  Simply put, there are lots of fears in this world as fear is an innate human emotion.  It plays a pivotal role in our lives as it may either help us to develop our strength of character or impel us to make impetuous decisions.  No matter what gullible and naïve people may say, fear is an unavoidable emotion and a person will inevitably confront their fear sooner or later in their lives.  For me, I would have to say that I am arachnophobic.

            Spiders.  The very mention of the word makes me shiver and shudder.  Vampire-like venomous creatures, spiders terrify me, their heads small yet sinister-looking while their abdomen looks as if it contains potent poisons.  However, there is one part of a spider that leaves the most indelible impression: their legs.  Abnormally long and lanky compared to the rest of the body, a spider’s legs exude an eerie aura as it gingerly moves the spider towards its prey.  These legs, eight in total, are the defining characteristic of a spider.  In fact, as I am writing this blog right now, there is actually a spider on the outside of my window and I am appalled by the shape and size of its legs as it enlarges the actual size of the spider.

            My fear most likely originated from a birthday party I attended when I was a child.  On that day, my friends and I were engaged in playing a perennially popular children’s game of tag when suddenly, I tripped and fell.  Not paying much attention to the matter, I simply picked myself up, completely oblivious to a menacing creature lurking towards me.  Following our game boisterous game of tag, we went back in the host’s house to eat some cake.  I was extremely famished after our enervating activity and was really looking forward to indulging myself in a scrumptious cake.  However, as I was about to take my first bite, my friend’s eyes suddenly widened and he pointed at my chest, his mouth hanging open.  I looked down to where he was pointing and saw a pair of eyes staring right back at me.  What lay on my chest was a spider with the longest legs I ever saw in my life – a daddy long legs spider.  My heart pounding like my drum and my hands damp with sweat, I was stunned by the grotesque nature of the spider – ugly and scary – and could not move at all.  To my utter surprise, one of the birthday boy’s friends actually came over and gave a cry of joy as he held out his hand to allow the spider to move onto his hand.  Thankfully, the spider did move onto his hand.  The problem with the spider on my chest had been resolved but an immensely larger one had emerged at the same time.  Even to this day, I find it extremely ironic how birthday parties are supposed to be a heart-warming occasion and yet, my fear of spiders emerged from this “jubilant” event. 

            While fear may impel others to be impulsive and reckless, I feel that this is not the case for me.  For example, there have been many occasions where I have been called by my sister to “shoo” away or “kill” an unsuspecting spider that has entered her room.  Even though I am scared of them, I realize that my sister is even more terrified and that as the older sibling, I have the responsibility of taking care of her.  Henceforth, every time a spider unwittingly crawls into her room, I have to muster up my courage to pick up the spider with a tissue and toss it outside.  I do not feel that my fear really hinders me in any way as I am able to confront and overcome my fears when it is important. 

Three Quotes

            A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini, is a compelling novel which depicts the episodes and emotions of two Afghanistan women, Mariam and Laila.  Khaled Hosseini brilliantly uses these two characters from his novel to not only symbolize the women of Afghanistan, but also vividly portray to his readers the plight of Afghanistan women.  This heart-wrenching story takes place during the Soviet invasion on Afghanistan and later the Taliban attack. 

           

The quote “Like a compass needle that points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman” reveals how oppressed women were (page 7).  In regards to the general theme of this novel, this quote exquisitely exhibits the plight of Afghanistan women.  During those times, the women were extremely marginalized and at the end of the day, they were always the scapegoats.  All blame would collapse upon the shoulders of the Afghanistan women who could not assert themselves or defend themselves.  Even when their indignation may impel them to speak up at times, their voices of protest and pleas would not be heard as their voices were like silent snowflakes outside the walls of their houses.  The only thing they could do was endure silently and persevere in the face of abject injustice.  In addition to being scapegoats, women were also deprived of a basic life: no rights to education, no rights to having a profession, and no rights to dressing how they wanted.  Women were compelled to stay at home and during the few times they were allowed to go out, they had to wear a burqa, a symbol of their imprisonment.  Men would force their wives to wear a burqa as a form of control and demonstration of ownership. 

            In addition, another significant quote in this story is “Women like us. We endure. It's all we have” which demonstrates the women of Afghanistan’s remarkable strength of character.  Their inner strength is strong beyond belief as they all try to cope in order to survive in an unforgiving time.  Mariam Jo fully embodies all these women.  After being discarded by Jalil, Nana teachers her daughter, Mariam Jo, her view of life: women can do nothing but endure.  Mariam takes this lesson to heart.  Later on in the story, Mariam endures degradation by Jalil’s other wives, she endures an arranged marriage, and she endures her domineering and irate husband who constantly berates and attacks her.  Despite suffering such a tragic life, Mariam Jo never harboured any thoughts of suicide and tries to cope with her grim life.  She is a true paragon of Afghanistan women, exemplifying their ability to persevere, be stoic, and be stout.

            The last quote “Mariam could see herself too, reflected in the brown of Jalil's eyes: Her hair billowing, her face blazing excitement with excitement” contributes to another theme of the story: love (page 21).  Although A Thousand Splendid Suns may be replete with hardships and pathos, there is a theme of love – maternally, fraternally, friendships, and lovers – expressed throughout the story.  This quote reveals how madly devoted Mariam was towards her father.  Even though he left them to live in a shack-like home isolated from society, she still loves him and would eagerly await the days he would come to visit.  Such an act could only be done by a person who adores their father dearly.  During the beginning of the story, it appears that Jalil was very fond of Mariam as well but unfortunately, he is an abject coward who can could not stand up to his wives when they insist that he marry off Mariam. 

r U "behind the grind?"

            English has always been a perplexing language and will probably remain the same for coming decades due to a lack of consensus and basic understanding.  What people do not comprehend is English’s dominant quality - the gift to evolve and adapt, similar to Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection.  In my opinion, the English language is ever-changing and instead of trying to keep it static, we, as humans, should ignore the innate scepticism in ourselves and learn to accept the inherent changes of the English language. 

            About 1000 years ago, the English language was completely incomparable to what it is today.  Grammar did not exist and certain symbols were used to represent what we call today the “alphabet.”  Back then, it would have been preposterous to propose changing “ae,” which equates to the modern day “a,” to a simple “a.”  The mere notion of adjusting something that functions so well would have been viewed with contempt and scoffed at.  Yet, fast-forward one thousand years into the future, and here we are, equipped with a vastly different alphabet and vocabulary that resembles nothing like it did in the past.  In fact, many agree that this change was actually beneficial for the English language.  This is a clear example of how change was helpful for the English language and how people should embrace change.  However, despite this apparent fact, we are still cynical of the impending changes that English is currently confronting.  Educators are concerned about the relentless stream of sentence fragments, abbreviations and emoticons.  Scholars fear of the decline in spelling, word choice, and writing complexity.  All in all, they are advocating one axiom: that the grammar of English right now is impeccable and anything else is inappropriate and degrading.  What makes the current type of grammar legitimate while this new form, called “textism,” is erroneous?  Is it the fact that the current one is “just right” or the fact that it is because many people adhere to this current form of grammar?  Humans, in nature, are naïve and capricious creatures.  They all tend to follow the herd as they are under the illusion that the majority are always right.  The same could be said of the situation right now.  People should learn to embrace this change as it will be efficacious like it was in the past.  In addition, it will also help to upgrade our language and usher in a new era, teaching many the values of sentence structure and being concise.  Therefore, I believe we should welcome this change of abbreviation and computer language as it will help English and teach many adolescents and adults alike the values of English such as succinctness and syntax. 

The Tragic Life of Mariam Jo

            My first impression of Mariam Jo, the protagonist of Khaled Hosseini’s story, A Thousand Splendid Suns, is that she is a naïve yet stoic girl.  The illegitimate child of Jalil, an affluent man in Herat, Mariam lives with her mother in a shacklike house isolated from society.  There, Jalil would faithfully go and visit Mariam every Thursday to spend some time with her.  Her naivety is evident when her love for her father exceeds to the point of idolization as she would “sleep poorly,” and “sit against a wall, eyes glued to the stream, and wait” for her father to arrive (page 19).  She is under the illusion that her father would sacrifice anything for her.  The truth, however, is far different from what she believes.  When Mariam goes to Jalil’s house one day, he gets a chauffeur to tell Mariam that he isn’t home even though she could “see his car” parked outside the house (page 31).  Under Jalil’s orders, the chauffeur also tells Mariam to go home.  Instead, she ends up spending the whole night outside Jalil’s house.  Never does Jalil even consider going outside to see her.  Even in the morning, when she wakes up, Jalil sends the chauffeur back out to forcefully send Mariam home because she was making a scene.  This trip to Herat signals the end of Mariam’s naivety.  Prior to this trip, Mariam was shielded about Jalil's true regard for her. Once Mariam attempts to reach Jalil, however, she is exposed to the truth about his consideration for her as an outsider to his life.  Additionally, despite her naivety, Mariam is actually quite stoical.  For fifteen long years, Mariam has resided in an undersized house made of “sun-dried bricks plastered with mud and handfuls of straws” that only had room for “two sleeping cots, a wooden table, two straight-backed chairs, [and] a window” (page 10).  Yet, despite the cramped environment, Mariam has never grumbled about it or ask to move.  In addition, Mariam never complains about her lot in life.  While Jalil’s other daughters get to live in an ample house as prosperous people, Mariam is confined to living with her overbearing mother in a cot, deprived of luxuries and entertainment.  However, she is never despondent about this and is able to stay significantly optimistic. 

This story is full of pathos and readers can definitely relate to how depressing Mariam’s life is.  The author chooses to set this book in Afghanistan thirty years ago to vividly portray to the audience how oppressed women were at that time.  Mariam’s life clearly reflects this oppression.  Following the tragic death of Mariam’s mother, Mariam has become the sole responsibility of Jalil who is clearly ashamed of her.  Consequently, Jalil decides to marry off Mariam to a suitor.  At the young age of fifteen, Mariam now has no choice but to marry a corpulent, “square, ruddy [faced]” fourty-five year old man named Rasheed (page 49).  This decision is forced upon her and she clearly has no feelings whatsoever towards Rasheed.  This marriage that the author places in the story alludes to how Afghanistan marriages back then were simply focused on convenience and necessity rather than true love.  It also shows how superior men were and how inferior women were.  Another example that displays the oppression of women is Mariam’s mother, Nana.  When it is discovered that Nana, a common housekeeper, had conceived a baby with Jalil, he immediately decides to desert Nana and force her to live in a small cot outside of the city.  He is even audacious enough to spin a story claiming that Mariam had forced herself onto him.  She had no say in this matter as no one would ever believe her.  To make matters worse, not only does Jalil desert her, but so does her own father.  When her father finds about Mariam’s affair, he severs all ties with her and leaves to Iran, “never to be seen or heard from again” (page 6). 

            As much as I would like a happy ending, I cannot foresee one in this book.  The author is trying to display to his readers how dismaying and harsh life was for women in Afghanistan thirty years ago.  He would not suddenly show a lot of happy moments in Mariam’s life.  Therefore, my prediction of this novel is that Mariam’s relationship with Rasheed will continue to deteriorate.  He will constantly berate her and might even physically attack her in the future.      

How basketball came into my life

Angst.  How many people have succumbed to the innate pessimism that lies in everyone?  Only those who can steel themselves mentally can surmount the challenges that they will inevitably encounter in the twists and turns of life.  For me, my first challenge emerged when I was ten and it was then that I learned the importance of psychological control.

            It was the year 2005.  I was grade five at that time.  Walking to the basketball court at recess one day, I saw two boys playing.  From their demeanour – their actions and deliberations, I could tell immediately that they were pompous and conceited.  As if condescendingly, they invited me to play with them.  Needless to say, I fumbled the ball many times as it was the first time I ever played basketball.  My face red with embarrassment, I could feel my cheeks burning as I continued playing.  As expected, the two boys guffawed each time I made an awkward move while bragging about how well they played.  Infuriated yet composed, I made a resolution: I would practice and become so skilled that I would overthrow the bullies.  Resolutely and rigorously, I toiled for months before I was finally satisfied with my level of play.   

            At recess one day, I challenged the two boys to a game.  Aware of the phenomenal improvement in my skills, I was confident that I could beat them.  Yet, as the battle with the bullies commenced, another one started simultaneously.  I was suddenly fighting two battles.  In one battle, I was playing basketball against the bullies, their shots going swish, swish, and swish while mine went clang, clang, and clang.  In the other battle, I was drowning in a pitch black ocean that contained my negative thoughts instead of water.  I was surrounded by thoughts of humiliation, disappointment, and shame.  All I could think about was what would happen if I were to lose.  My friends would all be in dismay while the bullies would continuously boast and view us contemptuously.  Suddenly, I was transported back to reality.  My knees jittery and my heart pounding like a drum, I collapsed onto the cement floor, gasping for air.  Looking to my right, I saw the bullies towering over me and snickering at me, aware that their victory was imminent.  Looking to my left, I expected to see the despondent looks on my friends’ faces.  Instead, what I saw was hope flashed across their faces, faith that I could defeat the bullies and clinch the victory.  The unflinching support that they gave me was the crucial factor that boosted my morale.  All my negative thoughts were swiftly shattered and all that was left was my drive to win.  Impelled by my newfound confidence and hope, I caught up like a roaring beast, scoring every shot I took.  Everything soon reversed as I became the one cool and composed while the bullies were the ones uneasy and intimidated.  In the end, I did beat the bullies, to ecstatic cheers and applause from my friends who were relieved that that would be the last they would see or hear from the two bullies. 

            As I now journey through life, I realize that this experience has helped to develop my strength of character, teaching me to be resilient and sanguine.  No matter what happens, I should always try to remain phlegmatic when confronting the obstacles that I will encounter in the highway of life.