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Done with Finding Criticisms

I found two valid criticisms in the last two days. The first is a journal article that deals with how subalterns, or "subordinate" characters, are used to teach readers about cultural history and social standards in The Kite Runner. My book is a different work by the same author, and it deals with how Laila and Mariam's subordinate relationship with Rasheed is used to teach readers about women's status in Afghanistan and the way outside takeover of the country only worsened their status. My other criticism is about women's oppression in A Thousand Splendid Suns, so it should be fairly easy to incorporate into my research. I hope to finish the abstracts for these two and move on to the annotations right away. 

(Dorian Gray before visiting Basil's home, before being negatively influenced by Lord Henry)

Hello, I am Dorian Gray. Here in London, people often call me handsome, but I think they are exaggerating. I hope to one day do good in this world, but right now, I'm not very sure what my role is. I do like to keep up with the modern fashion trends in England, however, sometimes I wish my looks did not set me apart from everyone else around me. Even my best friend, Basil Hallward, was too afraid to talk to me at Lady Brandon's party because my appearance terrified him. Luckily, I did get to meet him, because he is very loyal, which I consider vital to a friendship. In fact, I visit his home daily to see the progress he is making on a portrait of me. He is such a skilled artist and I am happy for his success. Every now and then, his words will annoy me and I end up insulting him. After time passes, I come to regret the nasty words I hurled at him because he has never betrayed me. At the same time, I know that no matter what I say, he won't leave me. I hate to boast, but he is lucky to have a friend as well-respected and wealthy as me. I believe myself to be a good man, so I would never use these materialistic qualities against him. Our friendship is more valuable than that. Personally, my philosophy is to be good to everyone around me. I feel that people respect me and I should respect them back. I really don't have many other views on the world. Hopefully in the near future, I can learn more about my role in this society and how to fit into it. 

Researching Process 2

Mr. Kreinbring has denied two out of my three publications that I got at Oakland University. As a result, I had to go back and look for more. It is difficult to find literary criticism that comes from a scholar for this book, since it was very recently published. I found two articles, this time from a different database. They seemed to be valid, one from an The English Journal, the other from The Journal of Commonwealth Literature. After showing them to our teacher, he said only the latter was worth keeping. Since articles are so scarce, I think I will try finding criticism on The Kiterunner, and relate it back to my book.

Researching Process 1

I started at the Oakland University library, with Jordan E. and Geoff. There was a help desk at the front dealing with primarily research. There, a helpful woman gave us instructions on how to use Oakland's catalog to find criticisms from a variety of different publications. I found three different articles, which I'm not sure about. They are: Looking for home in the Islamic diaspora of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Azar Nafisi, and Khaled Hosseini, by Rachel Blumenthal, Strategies of language appropriation in Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Muhammad Awan, and A Thousand Splintered Hopes, by Linda Null. Hopefully, all three are valid criticisms, or I'll need to return to find more. 

Reading Observations 7: Final Destination

The last few chapters of A Thousand Splendid Suns lead to a conclusion filled with story-changing surprises. This book had one of the best endings I have ever read, filled with both extreme happiness and sadness. It starts with the revelation that Tariq is still alive. Tariq comes to Kabul and finds Laila, filling her with joy and anger. She realizes that the man who told her Tariq was dead was set up by Rasheed, who wanted to ensure that she would marry him. They sit down and talk about their life stories. When Rasheed hears about Tariq's arrival, he bursts in anger. He begins to pound Laila until she is in a puddle of blood and does not stop. Miriam, not strong enough to pull him off, runs and gets a shovel. I think at this point, Miriam's resentment of Rasheed came to its maximum level, because instead of just getting Rasheed off Laila, she stabs him with the shovel until he dies. N

ow with Rasheed dead, they are trapped in the house. They cannot leave because the Taliban requires a man to accompany them and they would be returned home, where Rasheed's death would be discovered. At this point, Miriam tells Laila to escape to Pakistan with Tariq and take her children. Miriam says that Laila was better than any daughter she could have and her children fulfilled her role as a grandmother. Miriam takes the blame as Rasheed's sole murderer and is executed.

Laila is devastated by the loss of Miriam, but starts a new life in Pakistan with Tariq and her children. Several years later, she decides to move back to Kabul, so that she can live where she grew up and where she met Miriam.

A Thousand Splendid Suns was one of the best books I have ever read. Hosseini does an excellent job of capturing the struggles of living in Afghanistan during its warring state and the social inequality women faced. Hosseini essentially captures the sacrifices made by two loving mothers and develops it in the backdrop of recent Afghan history. 

Reading Observations 6: Crossover

Chapters 26-39 deal with the Laila and Miriam meeting for the first time, and the development of their relationship. Right after Laila's house is bombed, she is taken in by Rasheed and given shelter for several weeks. During one of the first few days, an unknown man tells Laila that Tariq died in a bombing on the way to Pakistan, crushing her future hopes of moving there to live with him. After Laila get settled in, Rasheed asks for her hand in marriage and she immediately accepts. This angers Miriam, who thinks Laila is invading her territory and is desperate for attention, but she doesn't know Laila's real motives for accepting so quickly. Laila knows that if she marries Rasheed, her pregnancy will appear to be legitimate. 

A year later, Laila and Miriam's relationship is still that of rivals. Laila gives birth to a girl named Aziza, angering Rasheed, who expected a boy. He turns against Laila like he did to Miriam after she failed to give him a son, and soon they become allies. They both suffer as Rasheed becomes crueler by the day, but they are happier now that they have someone to share the pain with. Aziza also brings Miriam closer to Laila, as she is like the baby  Miriam was never able to have. Laila develops a plan to escape to Pakistan, because she is worried about Aziza's future. However, the Taliban recently came into power and outlawed women from walking the streets alone. They are caught trying to escape and are sent back to Rasheed, who beats them to a bloody pulp. 

This section of the book mostly deals with the theme of women's inferiority in Afgan society. The Taliban, who claim to rescue the country, only make things much worse for women. Laila and Miriam represent the sacrifice of women who have to put up with the cruelty of men due to their Harami status. I feel happy for them, because although they suffer from Rasheed, they develop a loving friendship for each other, after a long period in their lives in which they were alone. 

Reading Observations 5

Chapters 16-26 in A Thousand Splendid Suns are very short in length. This portion of the book introduces us to a 9-year-old girl named Laila, and her early years. She lives with her mother and father in Kabul, while her two brothers are fighting in the war. Her mother does not really love her, focusing more on her brothers. Her father, on the other hand, deeply loves Laila and home-schools her during the war. Her relationship with her mother was similar to Miriam, but in her case, her father loved her and lived with her. This also reminded me of Connie, from Woody Allen's story, because her mother also did not love her as much as her older sibling. 

As she grows older, Laila falls in love with a boy across the street named Tariq. He only has one leg after an explosion during his childhood, but she still thinks he is handsome. As the situtation grows more dangerous, Tariq's family moves to Pakistan. Before they move, Laila and Tariq have sex, which is against both their social and religious code. When news reaches home that her brothers are dead, her mother agrees to move the family to Pakistan as well. So very unluckily, just as the are packing their things, a Soviet bomb hits their home, killing both of her parents and leaving Laila an orphan on the streets of Kabul. Not only is she alone, but she discovers, she is pregnant. 

The childhood stories of Miriam and Laila are full of extremely bad luck. Funnily enough, they remind me of A Series of Unfortunate Events, in which orphans kept experiencing worse luck as their lives went on. Hosseini really captured the despair in Afghanistan caused by the invasion of Soviets. He also connects the Harami theme, with Laila being pregnant with an illegitimate child, while Miriam was born the illegitimate one. I think that this is the part where Laila and Mariam's stories will come together, as they both left off in Kabul during the same time period.

Reading Observations 4

Chapters 11-15 deal with the consequences of Miriam's choice to visit Jalil's home, and they are much greater than I could have imagined. Not only does her mother die, but her stay at Jalil's house was temporary. The whole time she was there, she stayed in the guest room, not even coming out to eat. She never wanted to talk to her father again. She was living an unhappy life, but it was about to get much unhappier. Jalil betrays Miriam once again, but this time, it hurts her much more. 

One day, one of Jalil's wives comes to Miriam and tells her that she has great news. Ironically, it ends up being the worst news in her life. Jalil is giving her up for marriage to an older man named Rasheed. I think he is still embarrassed at having to house his Harami daughter, so he gets rid of her in any way possible. Miriam refuses, but Jalil and her family force her into the marriage. Soon after the small ceremony, she moves to Kabul with Rasheed, starting a new life.

At first, Rasheed is not a bad husband at all. He takes her to different places in the city and treats her with care. Once Miriam becomes pregnant, he is happy that he can finally have a boy to carry his name. However, Miriam has a miscarriage and his attitude towards her turns to anger. They discover that Miriam is unable to produce any offspring and he begins to treat her like a useless burden that he has to live with. As the Communists begin to take over Afghanistan, Rasheed breaks Miriam's molars in anger over her mediocre cooking that night. The first half of the book is finished here, leaving the reader feeling depressed for Miriam's future and angry at Rasheed's brutal treatment of his wife.

Reading Observations 3- Plot Twist!

Chapters 6-10 in a Thousand Splendid Suns incorporates one of the biggest changes in direction I have ever seen in a story. Miriam asks her father for a visit to his house and he refuses. However, he gives in after Miriam's constant pleading and tells her that he would pick her up the following day. Nana is begging Miriam not to go, telling her that she would rather die than be alone at night. I thought this was an obvious exaggeration  but it was actually foreshadowing of what was soon to come. The next day, Miriam waits happily for Jalil, but he never shows up. She is upset and thinks that he must have been busy, because her loving father would never leave her waiting. In her stubbornness  Miriam takes a taxi to Jalil's neighborhood and finds his house. There, she tries to go in, but Jalil's butler stops her, saying Jalil is not home. She cries in frustration and decides to sleep on his doorstep waiting for him, but he never shows up. The next day, the butler offers to drive her home, and as she is leaving, she sees Jalil peek out of the window.

At this point, I can feel the betrayal Miriam feels in her heart. What kind of a loving father lets his daughter sleep outside? And he was home all along, too ashamed to let Miriam in. Now I sympathize with Nana, because she was right all along. Miriam is ashamed to tell Nana she was right all along, but here is where the twist comes. Nana was not joking about rather dying than being alone, and Miriam finds that she hung herself from a tree. Suddenly, Miriams world is turned upside down and she finds herself at Jalil's house after the funeral. In the end, she ends up visiting his house like she wanted, but not at all like she intended.    

Reading Observations 2

Chapters 4-6 deal with Miriam's relationship with her father. Secretly, she loves her father more than her mother. Her mother constantly insults her and tells her about her outcast status in society. I suspect that her mother is doing because of her own insecurities and in an attempt to keep Miriam with her, because without Miriam, she has no one else. Miriam's father on the other hand, comes to visit her once a week, bringing expensive presents. After a while, Miriam begins to wonder why Jalil never takes her to his home. Her mother tells Miriam that her father is too ashamed to be seen with her, which is why they only meet at Nana's home. I think that Nana may be correct, because Jalil always seems hesitant when talking about his life. Miriam cannot believe this because her father always treats her with love and respect, calling her the "flower in his heart." She brings this up on her 15th birthday, asking for a visit to his house, and this results in an unimaginable plot twist. 

Reading Observations 1

Chapters 1-4 of A Thousand Splendid Suns set up the setting of the book and introduces Miriam as the current main character. Her childhood takes place in rural Afghanistan, in the 1960s. These early chapters also introduce the social norms of the society Miriam lives in. Her mother claims to be ashamed of her for being a Harami, or illegitimate child. The mother and child seem to get most of the blame, because her father, Jalil, lives happily with his multiple wives, in a nice home in the city, while Nana, Miriam's mother, and Miriam struggle to make a living in their small countryside home. Khaled Hosseini already develops a sense of women's inferiority in the country. which will definitely play a bigger role later in the book. 

I Think I Have Found the Winner

As of right now, I am choosing A Thousand Splendid Suns as my book for this research project. Not only does the plot seem interesting, but I found criticism on the book in Oakland's library catalog and none were about a movie, because the book has not been adapted as a movie. I feel that there will be interesting research I can do using the book's topics of mistreatment of women by the Taliban, the history of Afghanistan and the war that takes place, the issue of polygamy, and the bonds of friendship between the book's main characters. 

Looking into The Kiterunner

After looking into The Kiterunner, I feel that I will enjoy reading this book or a similar one. The problem with this book is that someone in our class is already reading it and also, most criticisms seem to be about the movie. I want to choose a book that does not have a movie associated with it so that the criticisms I find are related only to the book. I will look into A Thousand Splendid Suns because it is a similar story by Khaled Hosseini. 

Maybe The Godfather?

The first book the popped into my head when choosing was The Godfather. I checked out the Oakland University library and it seemed that there was more than enough criticism on it. Upon further inspection, it seemed that almost all of them were criticisms about the movie. Another problem is that the book is basically three books in one. I feel it would be better to pick a different book. I will look into The Kiterunner because I saw part of the movie, and it was interesting. 

Sharjil Photo Essay

Glasses: My glasses are both figuratively and literally lightweight. They are crucial to my daily life because I cannot see without them. They are important to me because I picked the design out myself in Bangladesh before my uncle's wedding, which was one of the most fun periods of my life. However, they can easily be replaced by different glasses if broken.

Backpack: My backpack physically weighs about 20 pounds and figuratively, it is very important to my daily life, but it isn't special. Almost every other kid in the school carries a backpack with their schoolwork. For the next six years, my schoolwork will continue to take up most of my time at home. My backpack can be easily replaced new schoolwork is given out everyday. 

Playstation: My Playstation system physically weighs about half a pound, and figuratively, it is light. My free time after homework is usually spent playing PS3, because I can interact with my friends, many of whom live in other states, without even leaving the house. Video games have been a part of my life ever since my dad bought me my first Playstation in kindergarten. 

Bangladeshi Clothes: My traditional Bangladeshi suit is physically lightweight, but has a great burden on my lifestyle. It reminds me that I am both American and Bangladeshi. As the first person in my entire family to be born and raised in the United States, I feel like I need to prove to everyone that this has benefited me. I need to live an American lifestyle and take advantage of the opportunities found here, while I keep my country's cultures alive. That's why, although it may look strange, I wear this traditional suit on holidays, such as today, Eid-al-Adha. 

Computer: My computer weighs about five pounds, but symbolically it is a big part of my life. Ever since I was a boy, I had been interested in computers. In eighth grade, I built my own computer using parts I got for free from some of my dad's friends. I use the computer to stay connected to my friends and family and to learn about the world through the internet. Symbolically, the computer represents my hopes of the near future. I want to become a computer engineer so that I can develop useful software for computers, which a big role of the lives of people around the world. 

My family: My love for my family weighs nothing physically, but their presence in my mind is the biggest emotional burden in my life. I love my family more than anything in my life. They are the most loving and generous people I know. On the flip side, my family sets very high expectations for my education. Every member of my family is successful, either as doctors, engineers, or entrepreneurs. Everyone has gotten either full marks or close to full marks on all of their studies. As the oldest of the new generation, and as the only American, my family expects me to excel over everyone  who has come before me, leaving me a huge role to fulfill.

Boys of Taragon: The memories of the boys I met in Taragon also weigh nothing but have a big emotional burden on me. They were boys who had almost no educational opportunities and they worked all day on their family's farms. However, they were still grateful for everything they had. I want to be a mentor for the children of Taragon and show them, through my success, the possibilities a good education can open up. My ultimate dream is to make this happen by returning to Taragon to open up a public school for all the children. The memories I have of them are a huge part of my life because they motivate me to work harder and to be grateful for everything I have.

Anti-War War Movie

I think The Hurt Locker was a good example of an anti-war war movie. Even though it glorifies the action of the war, the whole movie shows the horror and paranoia associated with being a soldier, and how painful it is to lose a loved one. While these are themes in most anti-war movies, The Hurt Locker adds an interesting reason against war. The movie starts off with the quote "War is a drug." At the end of the movie, the main character decides to go back to Iraq a third time because he cannot feel satisfied in the civilian world anymore. The movie shows that after a while, people can become addicted to the environment of war and their previous lives will feel unnatural to them. It is best not to enter war because all it does is cause pain and suffering.