A Thousand Splendid Suns Questions

How old is Mariam at the beginning of chapter 1?

5 years

Describe Nana’s reaction to Mariam breaking the bowl.

Her mother’s face flushed red and her upper lip shivered, and her eyes, both the lazy one and the good settled on Mariam in a flat, unblinking way. Her mother holds her close and through gritted teeth calls her a china breaking harami.

Why does the speaker assert that the harami is innocent?

She doesn’t ask to be a harami. She didn’t ask to be born. It isn’t her fault.

How does Nana react after Jalil told Mariam about the pistachio tree?

She told Mariam that everything he said was lies and at he actually thinks nothing of Mariam and Nana.

Describe Jalil’s family business life.

He is very well off and has an ice cream stand and cinnema.

What happened to Nana after she became pregnant with Mariam?

She was blamed for the pregnancy and kicked out of the house, meaning she could no longer be their maid.

What does Nana wish her father had done?

Done the “merciful” thing and killed her.

Nana tells Mariam, “Like a compass needle that points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman. Always. You remember that, Mariam.” What does this mean?

A man will always pin his problems/troubles on a woman.

Why had Nana refused to live in Herat?

She wouldn’t live with her father.

When Nana was 15 she almost got married. Why was her wedding called off?

She had a seizure and people she was possessed.

According to Nana, why did Jalil build her and Mariam’s house instead of hiring workers?

Jalil’s idea of penance was building a house for them.

Contrast Nana’s and Jalil’s versions of Mariam’s birth.

Nana’s: painful, burial, long, no

Jalil’s:

What chores do Nana and Mariam enjoy together?

Who is Mullah Faizullah?

Koran tutor and family friend, kind of a father figure to Mariam.

What in this section indicates that Mariam and Mullah Faizullah have a close relationship? (chapter 3)

What does Mariam tell Mullah Faizullah she wants?

When Mullah Faizullah asks Nana to permit Mariam to attend school, she says to Mariam, “What’s the sense schooling a girl like you? It’s like shining a spittoon.”

What does Nana’s simile mean?

Nana compares Mariam to a spittoon. Spittoons are used to spit in, and to spit on something is seen as disrespectful, or degrading, showing that Mariam is not a respected person. When Nana says that sending her to school is like shining a spittoon, she is stating that there is no point to it, because shining a spittoon means that once its polished, it will get spat on again.

to summarize; it’s pointless.

Describe the anxiety Mariam feels as Jalil’s visit approaches.

What characteristics of Jalil indicate that he is of a different socio-economic class than Mariam?

When Jalil tosses Mariam in the air, Nana says that one day he will drop her. What does this imply about Nana’s feelings for Jalil?

He is deceitful. He does not hold to his promises.

Why do you think Nana behaves civilly when Jalil visits?

At the beginning of Chapter 5, how old is Mariam?

15 years

What tactics does Nana use to keep Mariam from going to visit Jalil?

Manipulation, saying she will die if she leaves, that Mariam is all she has,

After Nana’s emotional outburst, Mariam wishes she could tell her mother certain things. What does she want to tell her, but does not?

What does Mariam assume when Jalil does not arrive on time and what does she do instead of waiting for him?

Describe what happens when Jalil’s driver tries to get Mariam to get into the car.

The driver returns Mariam to her house, but at the last second he yells, “Go back! No. Don’t look now.”

What is he referring to?

After the death of her mother, how do Mariam’s feelings for Jalil change?

Her admiration for him is depleted. She no longer puts him on a pedestal.

Mariam watches the “comings and goings of Jalil’s dail life” from her bedroom window, what is this?

Mariam feels guilty about her mother’s death. Why and how does Mullah Faizullah try to comfort her?

What shocking news do Jalil’s wives tell Mariam at the beginning of Chapter 7?

Describe Rasheed.

Find and list three similes in this chapter

Describe the process of marriage

Re-read the part describing Mariam and Rasheed’s hurried wedding. Find and list one example of foreshadowing. What event do you think is being foreshadowed?

How does Mariam respond when Jalil tells her he will visit her in Kabul? How does Jalil react to her response?

Why does Mariam have difficulty understanding Rasheed?

Why does Mariam start to cry in the middle of the living room?

In chapter 10 how much time has gone by and how has Mariam responded to her new home?

What does Mariam do the day after Rasheed tells her he expects her to “start beaving like a wife”?

What does Mariam hear some of the other wives saying about their husbands?

Why does Mariam hear some of the other wives saying about their husbands?

Why does Mariam first begin to get nervous while standing in line?

When the women approach and encircle Mariam, they do so out of curiosity and a welcoming spirit. Why do you think Mariam panics?

Mariam feels “a flare of pride” when Rasheed compliments her cooking. Why does this surprise her?

What does Rasheed say about Fariba and the other women who do not wear burqas and who look him in the eye?

Standing on Chicken Street, Mariam sees many “modern” women. Describe these women and how they make Mariam feel about herself.

How do Mariam and Rasheed observe Ramadan differently?

What does Mariam remember about Ramadan back home at Gul Daman?

Why does Mariam deny knowing Fariba when Rasheed asks her?

Why does Mariam wish Nana could see the fireworks?

Rasheed has friends over and tells Mariam to stay in her room. Why is Mariam flattered by this demand?

Mariam finds herself in Rasheed’s room. What does she find when she opens the drawers of the dresser?

Why does Mariam feel Rasheed is a hypocrite for having the magazines?

Later, why does Mariam regret snooping in Rasheed’s belongings?

Why does Mariam now feel “a kinship” with Rasheed?

Why does Mariam see bright colors on the ride home from the doctor?

Why do you think Rasheed wants so badly for the baby to be a boy?

Why is Rasheed worried about the stairs, the knives, and the stove?

Describe how Mariam feels when she thinks about the baby.

What happens to Mariam at the bathhouse?

Rasheed covers Mariam in a “stiff, perfunctory” way and complains about the doctor’s explanation — “God’s will.”

How is Rasheed feeling at this point?

How has Mariam’s mood changed by the end of the chapter? (chapter 13)

Mariam grieves for her unborn baby. Describe the different beliefs and emotions she feels during this time.

How has Rasheed changed since the loss of the baby?

How does Rasheed react when Mariam suggests having a burial service for the baby, what does she do?

How long has it been since the last chapter?

How does Rasheed treat Mariam when she asks questions about MIr Akbar Khyber?

Of what does Mariam live in fear?

How many babies has Mariam miscarried?

Why is cooking “an exercise in heightened anxiety” for Mariam?

What happens to Daoud Khan, and what is the result according to Abdul Qader?

Describe what happens at the end of the chapter with the pebbles.

who is Muhsin and Ramin?

Mariam’s half sibilings

who is Jalil?

Mariam’s Father

who is Nana?

Mariam’s Mother

who is Hasina?

childhood friend of Lalia

who is Giti?

childhood friend of Lalia

who is Mammy/Fariba?

Laila’s Mother

who is Babi/Hakim?

Laila’s Father

who is Khadim?

Laila’s Bully

who is Zaman?

Kabul Orphanage Director

who is Hamza?

Mullah Faizullah’s kid

who is Salim?

old man who befriended Tariq in Pakistan

Why does Laila wash herself thoroughly after the boys squirt?

because he sprayed pee at her