Passage #1 From Novel (Re-type or photo copy the passage in this column) Rasheed and she took to the

streets. Mariam had never walked amid such liveliness. Undaunted by the chilly weather, families had flooded the city on their frenetic rounds to visit relatives. On their own street, Mariam saw Fariba and her son Noor, who was dressed in a suit. Fariba, wearing a white scarf, walked beside a small-boned, shy-looking man with eyeglasses. Her older son was there too-Mariam somehow remembered Fariba saying his name, Ahmad, at the tandoor that first time. He had deep-set, brooding eyes, and his face was more thoughtful, more solemn, than his younger brothers, a face as suggestive of early maturity as his brothers was of lingering boyishness. Around Ahmads neck was a glittering ALLAH pendant. Fariba must have recognized her, walking in burqa beside Rasheed. She waved, and called out, Eid mubarak! From inside the burqa, Mariam gave a ghost of a nod. So you know that woman, the teachers wife? Rasheed said. Mariam said she didnt. Best you stay away. Shes a nosy gossiper, that one. And the husband fancies himself some kind of educated intellectual. But hes a mouse. Look at him. Doesnt he look like a mouse? They went to Shar-e-Nau, where kids romped about in new shirts and beaded, brightly colored vests and compared Eid gifts. Woman brandished platters of sweets. Mariam saw festive lantern hanging from shop windows, heard music blaring from loudspeakers. Strangers called out Eid mubarak to her as they passed. That night they went to Chaman, and, standing behind Rasheed, Mariam watched fireworks light up the sky, in flashes of green, pink, and yellow. She missed sitting with Mullah Faizullah outside the Kolba, watching the fireworks explode over Herat in the distance, the sudden bursts of color reflected in her tutors soft, cataract-riddled eyes. But, mostly, she missed Nana. Mariam wished her mother were alive to see this. To see her, amid all of it. To see at last that contentment and beauty were not unattainable things. Even for the likes of them. (Hosseini 80-81)

Analysis of Close Reading (Essentially a prose passage or poetry essay; synthesize the texture of the passage to the left.) In Khaled Hosseinis novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Hosseini tells a story that takes place throughout a span of about 40 years. In this novel, Hosseini is able to show all the great changes that are occurring within this time period, like the political, cultural and religious changes. In the first half of the novel, Hosseini shows the readers the liveliness in Kabul before the Taliban took over. He is able to show how peaceful everyones lives were through the use of his interchangeable syntax, the Farsi language and detailed imagery describing Kabul. Hosseini constantly throws in random Farsi words to kind of mix his two cultures together and give the reader a sort of new understanding, Fariba must have recognized her, walking in burqa beside Rasheed. She waved, and called out, Eid mubarak! (Hosseini 80). By including these words, Hosseini grabs the readers attention and gets them more involved into the novel. If the readers do not know what a certain word means, then that kind of forces them to look into the meaning of that word and that causes them to pay more attention to the story. When Hosseini uses Farsi words in novel, that causes the readers to look deeper into the novel to try and understand what those words mean so it gets them more involved in the Afghani culture. The Afghani culture is much more different than most cultures that we see now-a-days and Hosseini does a very good job and describing that culture to his readers throughout the novel. He does not do this by just incorporating Farsi words, he also describes the different traditions they have and the different holidays that they celebrate. In this specific passage, Hosseini is describing the liveliness in Kabul during the holiday of Eid, which is a very important holiday in their culture. Mariam had never walked amid such liveliness. Undaunted by the chilly weather, families had flooded the city on their frenetic rounds to visit relatives (Hosseini 80). Sometimes while reading, it is hard to understand exactly what those Farsi words mean however, Hosseini does a good job at providing many context clues to help clarify the meaning of those Farsi words. When Hosseini uses Farsi words, he usually fits in the translation of what the word or phrase means so the reader can use context clues in order to figure out the meaning of the Farsi word, ...Dear was jan instead of jo, sister became hamshira instead of hamshireh, and so on (Hosseini 79). By doing this, it is not that complicated for the readers to try and understand what Hosseini is trying to say when he incorporates Farsi words in the middle of his sentences. Hosseini constantly shifts the lengths of his sentences which helps his words flow better instead of just constantly using short, choppy sentences or long, detailed sentences. He does a good job with shifting back and forth between the two depending on what he is trying to describe in the novel. When he is describing the setting, he tends to use shorter sentences, . Woman brandished platters of sweets. Mariam saw festive lantern hanging from shop windows, heard music blaring from loudspeakers. Strangers called out Eid mubarak to her as they passed (Hosseini 80). This helps paint a clearer and stronger image in the readers mind and just gets straight to the point. When Hosseini is describing how one of the characters are feeling or what they are thinking, he tends to use longer

sentences to go into more detail, She missed sitting with Mullah Faizullah outside the Kolba, watching the fireworks explode over Herat in the distance, the sudden bursts of color reflected in her tutors soft, cataract-riddled eyes (Hosseini 80). By using much longer sentences to describe how the characters are feeling or what they are thinking during the novel, Hosseini helps the readers emotionally connect with the characters and helps them feel what the characters are feeling. It helps create a better understanding for what the characters are going through at the time. Hosseinis imagery throughout the first half of the novel paints a clear picture about how Kabul was during this time period. Later on in the novel, the readers are able to compare this to how Kabul is at the end of the novel, which is much different. He incorporates a lot of small, minor details which actually incorporating a lot of meaning. That night they went to Chaman, and, standing behind Rasheed, Mariam watched fireworks light up the sky, in flashes of green, pink, and yellow (Hosseini 80). By also including the small detail that Mariam was standing behind Rasheed while watching the fireworks, Hosseini is showing to the readers how much control Rasheed truly has over Mariam. With the use of this detailed imagery, Hosseini is able to paint a vivid image of the Afghani culture during that time period and helps them understand it more clearly. Mariam wished he wouldnt do that, hitch his hopes to its being a boy (Hosseini 87). During that time period, having sons was more favored than having daughters so men would automatically assume they were having boys before the baby was even born. This was a very important part of the Afghani culture because a lot of men believed having a son was far superior to having a daughter and that was a strong part of their culture. Hosseinis shift in sentence structure, imagery and inclusion of Farsi words helps him describe Afghanistan during different time periods throughout the novel. Within the first half, he is setting up the novel and describing the normal lives everyone had during the time period the first half took place in, which was around the 1970s. During the second half of his novel, the time period shifts to the late 1980s. At this point, the Soviets have invaded Afghanistan. He then goes on to describe what Kabul is like after the Soviets invaded. Once the Soviets had left and the Taliban began to take over, in the 1990s, Hosseini then describes the turmoil that begins to emerge in Kabul. So he is constantly describing how Kabul is changing throughout time.