Blog Post # 6: Character Symbols..."And the Mountains Echoed #2"

The prompt I chose to write about was this week was one that I never thought I would actually write about: Determine a symbol for each of your characters. What tangible item can represent something abstract about them? Explain your reason for your selection.

However, upon reviewing the list of blogging prompts I could write about, I immediately chose this one.

Now you must be wondering...Why on Earth I chose to write about a list of symbols associate with characters? For the reason being that this specific novel, unlike any other novel, contains various different characters, each with a unique aspects and thus unique symbols that could represent each of them.

For each character I will begin by giving you a background of their role in the novel and then give you the symbol that best represents them along with a brief explanation as to why the I chose the character symbol I chose. However do note that the inanimate objects I chose to represent each character may be a bit abstract, so please do pay close attention to my explanations.

Character # 1: Abdullah is the brother of Pari, taking care of her until she was sold by their father to a wealthy family. He ends up leaving Afghanistan for America and becomes an owner of a restaurant. He marries and only has one child, a girl, which he names Pari in honor of his sister. Eventually his wife dies and he becomes diagnosed with dementia, not able to remember the sister he so longed to see again. The symbol most closely associated with Abdullah would be a concrete wall because Abdullah acts as a wall between Pari and the outside world, by protecting her from it as best as possible.

Character #2: Pari is the daughter of Saboor. She is raised primarily by Abdullah as a child and they become extremely close. However she is sold to a wealthy couple at the age of three. She lives a life of luxury, and when her mother dies she begins to wonder if she was adopted. She then becomes a mathematician and marries, having three children. She is unknowingly affected by her removal of herself from her siblings, feeling empty and not whole. It wasn't until her letter from her uncle, Nabi, that the truth is revealed. The symbol most closely associated with Pari would be a flower because the seasonal cycles of a flower represents the different cycles of Pari's life.

Character #3: Saboor is the father of Pari and Abdullah. He sells Pari to a wealthy family in hopes of her living a better life and to also make ends meet for his family. The symbol most closely associated with Saboor is would be a lightbulb. Saboor constantly provides for his family whenever he is there but eventually loses the "light of his life" when he decides to sell Pari to the Wahdatis.

Character #4: Parwana is the stepmother of Pari and Abdullah. She marries Saboor after her twin sister becomes paralyzed in an accident that Parwana caused. Parwana was jealous of how beautiful Masooma was and pushed her off a swing in a jealous fit. She later took care of Masooma until Masooma told Parwana to leave her in the desert and marry the man Masooma was supposed to marry, Saboor. The symbol most closely associated with Parwanna would be a glass of murky water because Pawana has committed terrible actions against even her loved ones (Masooma) thus muddying the waters but ultimately realized her true priorities and was able to purify herself to become a devoted mother to Pari and Abdullah.

Character #5: Nabi is the older brother of Parwana and Masooma and uncle of Pari and Abdullah. He works for a wealthy couple, Nila and Suleiman Wahdati, and connects them with Saboor and his family to help them adopt a child. He arranges this adoption under selfish circumstances however, hoping that he would become Nila's lover in the future. When Suleiman suffers a stroke, Nila and Pari leave for Paris and Nabi realizes how foolish and selfish he was for thinking his idea would work. He stays as a caregiver for Suleiman until helping with his employer's suicide. The symbol most closely associated with Nabi is a ladder. Nabi provides opporunities for other to achieve great things and is always willing to help others.

Character #6: Nila Wahdati is a poet who is unaccustomed to her new life, narcissistic, morally conflicted, extremely beautiful, discontent. She became infertile because of complications during a surgery so she and her husband adopt Pari. When her husband suffers a stroke, she takes Pari with her to Paris to live a "free" and "bohemian" life, later committing suicide because of her discontent with herself and the world around her. The symbol most closely associated with Nila would be a boat because Nila moves far away from their homeland in Afghanistan to Europe and takes her daughter Pari with her, enabling Pari to achieve greater success in her career.

Character #7: Suleiman Wahdati is a wealthy businessman who adopts Pari. After some time he suffers a stroke and is labeled useless. Nabi finds sketchbooks of his filled with drawings of Nabi, revealing a possible obsession with him, but Nabi stays and takes care of him. Eventually Suleiman commits suicide with Nabi's help, almost 50 years later and leaves his life's fortunes to Nabi. The symbol most closely associated with Suleiman Wahdati is a pallet of colors. Mr.Wahdati has many different facets to his personality and ultimately when Nabi slowly discovered all of Mr.Wahdati's different aspects, he was able to 

Character #8: Timir Bashiri is the brash neighbor that lived down the street from the Wahdati's. He and his family move to America because of the Russian invasion but he later returns with his cousin to his homeland to visit. He makes sure to make a big deal of handing money to beggars. The symobl most closely associated with Timir is an ATM machine. Timir dispenses money to the people of Afghanistan, and people become heavily reliant on his financial support to make meet ends.

Character #9: Idris is the soft-spoken, introspective cousin of Timir that becomes close to and tries to take care of an Afghan girl, Roshi, who suffers injuries and has no family. He makes sure that she can get the proper surgery but then distances himself and goes back to America. He meets her again several years later when she is signing books of her best-selling memoir, which she dedicated to him and her adopted mother.  The symbol most closely associated with Idris is a bandaid. He helps Roshi heal her mental and physical wounds and then is discarded, when Roshi no longer requires his support.

Character # 10: Pari is the daughter of Abdullah, named after his lost sister. After her mother dies and her father begins to succumb to dementia, she decides to put off art school and help her father reconnect with the woman she was named after. The symbol most closely associated with Pari is a caterpillar. Pari has to slowly evolve as she faces various obstacles in her life, and each of these different hardships help her become a stronger character, until she finally is the person who Hosseini hoped she would become.

To learn more about these characters and explore themes, motifs and other aspects of And the Mountains Echoed click on the following link:

http://andthemountainsechoedatsevern.wikispaces.com/Home+Page

Hosseini's choice in characters throughout his novel is seemingly erratic, to learn more about Hosseini's character choices view the following link:

Each of these different characters has a unique role and perspective in the novel, however through symbolically representing of the characters with a variety of different objects, I hope I have been able to help you, the prospective reader of this sensational novel, easily distinguish the different characters and their individual qualities.

To learn more about each induvidual character in the novel view the following link:

http://andthemountainsechoedatsevern.wikispaces.com/Character+List+and+Analysis?responseToken=45f1c3c6e0745bd49f0374987564a048

Blog Post #5 Semester 2: Best Things About..."And the Mountains Echoed #1"

Book Cover Page

From reading the first 2 books from Khaled Hosseini's trilogy, I have been amazed.

Never before have I read a novel that makes me feel as though I was actually experiencing the novel and that the characters were my own projections.

It was the first novel that made me feel as though I was not just reading the words on the page but rather viewing a motion picture. Originally Hosseini's purpose in writing was to illustrate a relationship between a parent and his/her child, but what Hosseini has done in And the Mountains Echoed, has made his other books seem quite simple.

Hosseini accomplished something that no other author has ever even attempted before: Masterfully utilize 9 short stories, each told from a different and completely unique perspective, to show the relationship between a 10-year old boy named Abdullah and his three-year old-sister Pari.

Which brings me to the exact prompt for this blog post: At any point while reading the book explain the best thing about your book (could also be flipped to the worst things about your book).

The best thing about my book...hmmm...it would be quite hard to pick one specific aspect of this novel that I found to be the best. However, if I truly had to pick just one aspect of this novel that I found to be the best it would have to be how effective Hosseini was in merging the different stories of each character to ultimately relate to the original story in order to illustrate an resolute relationship between a pair of siblings, even after being forcefully separated during their childhood.

Character Map

In summary, the novel opens in the year 1952 where Saboor, an impoverished farmer from the village of Shadbagh, decides to sell his three-year old daughter Pari to a wealthy, childless couple in Kabul. The choice devastates his ten-year-old son, Abdullah, who raised Pari following their mother's death. Subsequent chapters expound on how the arrangement came to be: the children's stepmother grew up as the less-favored child, so one day in a flash of jealousy, she caused her sister to suffer a devastating injury that resulted in her marrying her sister's to-be-husband. Her older brother, Nabi, left to work for a wealthy man in Kabul, and became infatuated with his wife, Nila. After Nila expressed her dismay to have children Nabi arranged for Pari to be sold to the couple. In the ensuing years, Adbullah leaves Afghanistan, Mr.Wahdati suffers a stroke prompting his wife to move away with Pari, Nabi stays back to care for Mr.Wahdati for 50 years.

It's simple isn't it?

Wrong.

The seemingly simple summarized plot is actually quite tortuous. The summarized plot is actually a compounding story in which each chapter is from the point of view of a new character, yet each of their stories interlink. In a powerful way. The organization of this novel helps the reader realize the importance of all their relationships with both family and friends. The plot extends beyond the scope of just this novel.

However, even the best things about this book, seemed it work against itself. Into this outstanding plot Hosseini incorporated a plethora of unique characters. But incorporating so many characters comes at a cost. As soon as the author introduces a brand new character and the reader falls in love with him/her, Hosseini immediately goes on to another character but has to start again from scratch. Introduce. Story. Next character. Additionally, the resolutions to the multiple conflicts are not resolved till the very last page, which leaves the endings of the characters still left standing (yes, Hosseini is notorious for not having those sappy endings that we as readers love) up to imagination. And trust me, having to come up with your own ending to an awesome book, just doesn't cut it.

So the next time you decide to read a realistic fiction novel, consider reading And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini, it's sure to amaze you. But watch out, you will be waiting for more of his books once you finish this one.

So sit back, relax and read it slowly.

Blog Post #3 of Semester 2: Most important Quotation from The Kite Runner

     As many of you may already know, The Kite Runner is the first novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini published 12 years ago. The Kite Runner tells the story of Amir, a young boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul, whose closest friend is Hassan, his family's young Hazara (lower caste in the Afghan society) servant. The story is set in a period of tumultuous events, ranging from the fall of Afghanistan's monarchy through the Soviet military intervention, the exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the rise of the Taliban regime. Hosseini commented that he considers The Kite Runner to be father-son story this emphasizing aspects of family in the novel, aspects that he continues to use throughout his trilogy. And perhaps most importantly The Kite Runner primarily highlights themes of  redemption and guilt related to a life-changing scene depicting an act of violence against Hassan that Amir doesn't prevent.

Remains of Amir's City 26 years since he last saw it     At the commencement of the novel Khaled Hosseini says a quote that is revered to be one of the most powerful quotes in the world, "That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years"(Hosseinei 2). This quote essentially summarizes the novel and informs the reader about what Amir will soon tell us about in The Kite Runner.      The plot develops from this very line because this fact sets the stage for the novel's plot through referencing the time that has passed, "twenty six years". From this quote Khaled Hosseini has been able to put in context the format and timeline of the novel proven by the fact that the novel then goes on to start from Amir's and Hassan's very beginning and leads up to the moment when Amir says the quote above in the beginning of Chapter 1. This quote happens to be so important because the quote highlights and exemplifies the quality of guilt, that is developed through the course of the novel by the descriptions of the events that cause Hassan to remember the fateful memories of his past.

To view other important quotations and their accompanying explanations from The Kite Runner view the following link:

http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/3295919-the-kite-runner

Blog Post #4 of Semester 2: Fahrenheit 451 Theme 3 Handout

Theme #3: In the Wrong Hands, Technology can

Negatively Impact our Relationships and/or Communities

Group Members: Rishi Mehta, Gabi Renshaw, Kelly Tibbetts, Sam Cannava and Suhas Kolli

Timeline of Events:

Quote from Part I: “Wasn’t there an old joke about the wife who talked so much on the telephone that her desperate husband ran out to the nearest store and telephoned her to ask what was for dinner?” (Bradbury, 39)

Explanation: This quote represents Montag’s current situation with his own wife. Technology has ultimately led to the degradation of their relationship in the sense that Montag and Mildred would most probably communicate through technology rather than actual face-to-face conversations. Similistic technology in Fahrenheit 451 affects the relationships and communities due to the fact that they have almost completely disregarded social interaction and made technology their main means of communications even when social interaction is possible.

Quote from Part II: “It’s perpetual motion; the thing man wanted to invent but never did...it’s a mystery…Its really beauty is that it destroys responsibility and consequences...clean, quick, sure; nothing to rot later. Antibiotic, aesthetic, practical” (Bradbury, 109).

Explanation: In this passage, Beatty muses to Montag about the mystical nature of fire before he was burned alive by Montag. Fire in this passage represents Montag’s subjugation and his liberation. Montag who had been accused by Beatty, was told about how he wasn’t considering the consequences of his actions. Beatty then defines the beauty of fire and how it will destroy responsibilities and consequences.

Quote from Part III: “The sun burnt every day. It burnt Time….Time was busy burning the years and the people away, without any help from him. So if he burnt things with the firemen and the sun burnt time, that meant that everything burnt!” (Bradbury, 134).

Explanation: In this passage, Montag escapes the city and floats down the river in “Burning Bright.” Montag muses at the sun while he escapes. For the first time, he finally enjoys the leisure that Faber told him so he can regain his life back. Montag for the first time sees the stars. He starts considering that the sun is constant to time and burns with its own fire. He then considered the moon, which gets its light from the sun. He and the firemen will burn everything since the sun burns time, meaning it burns away the people and years. Bradbury repeats the word “burning” to tell the audience how Montag experiences and how he now must redefine his conceptions of the burning and fire and also identity and purpose.

Theme Explanations:

This theme is important to our understanding of the story because it helps us realize that we need to appreciate what we have and be weary of new advancements, as they may,ironically contribute to both the rise and fall of society.

This theme connects to our modern-day society and how we see it play out in our lives and in society today by helping us realize that importance and significance of books while also highlighting the negative outcomes technology may potentially pose on both communities and relationships.

Blog Post #2 Semester 2: About the Author of the Kite Runner

     I would like to start off this blog post by giving you a brief summary of the first few chapters of The Kite Runner to illustrate Khaled Hosseni's primary style and focus of writing. Hosseni chooses the setting of Wazir Akbar Khan in Kabul, Afghanistan, this instantly highlighting the importance of religion and race in the novel. The story starts off with the narrator, Amir, explaining how he came to be the man he has come to be. Amir then describes his situation with his friend Hassan. In The Kite Runner, Amir and his family are Pashtuns but their servants, Hassan and his father, Ali, are Hazaras. The main problem arises from a social norm: Hazaras and Pashtuns are not supposed to be friends. The novel gyrates around how the small difference between the 2 boys shapes their relationship in a society where race and religion are distinguishing factors. The focus of my blog-post this week will be about the author, Khaled Hosseni, in order to understand what impact Hosseni's personal life had on his personal development and the events detailed in The Kite Runner.

     The oldest of  five children, Khaled Hosseni, was born in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1965 and live there for 5 years until Hosseini's father was posted to Afghanistan's embassy in Tehran, Iran. During the few years the family lived there the monarchy was overthrown and the Hossenis soon found them selves packing up to go to Paris, France where Hosseni's father was assigned. While they were there the Soviet invasion on Afghanistan began in 1979, meaning that moving back to Afghanistan was out of the question. The family then applied and received political asylum in the United States where they lived in San Jose, California. Khaled was 15 years old and knew poor English, but after working hard, he was able to get his undergrad in biology from Santa Clara University and his Doctor of Medicine from UCLA. Hosseni then married and settled in Mountain View, California where he works for Kaiser Permanente. Aside from being a doctor Hosseni dedicates his time and money to the organization he has founded named The Khaled Hosseni Foundation, a nonprofit organization that assists the people of Afghanistan.


     During his medical studies Hosseni wrote many short stories about his time in Kabul before the country was consumed by war and oppression. In 2001, with the encouragement of his wife and father-in-law, Hosseni began to compile his short stories into a novel. With the defeat of the Taliban Hosseni found a stronger urge to tell his story, and so in 2003 he got his book published. The Kite Runner was his debut novel and one of 3 in a series about the impact of society and culture on him home country of Afghanistan. A Thousand Splendid Suns is the second book  he published  in 2007 followed by his recent release of his third book titled And the Mountains Echoed  in 2013. His books have topped the New York Times Bestsellers lists with their powerful stories, the likes of which the world of literature has never seen.

The following link is a CBS interview with Khaled Hosseni regarding his inspiration for the novels he has written along with how he gives back to the Afghan community:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nq7i55hJN5A

Blog Post #1 Semester 2: Setting of The Picture of Dorian Gray

   

      The prompt I chose to explore in the course of this blog post was: Describe the setting of the novel. Include details about the place and time as well as lines from the book that include good imagery. Without a shadow of doubt, this book has been one of the most eye opening novels I have ever read. I am not yet through with this novel, but the dynamic character that Oscar Wilde- the classical author of this novel- has created captivated me. However, one element that adds to the aura of mysteriousness and perfection is undoubtedly the setting of the novel.


     His novel takes place in the pinnacle of the Decadent artistic movement of the latter part of the 1800's. Wilde never explicitly states the any actual dates in the novel but through his inclusion of a book referred to as the "yellow book," researches agree that this must refer to a novel published in 1884, implying that Dorian must be living some time after its publication. Intriguingly enough, the Decadent movement took place in the setting of the Victorian Era, known for its social divisions and judgmental standards. Wilde Highlights the drastic contrasts between the dull middle class and the sins committed by the wealthy (and corrupt) upper-class.

   The novel takes place in London, meaning that in the late 19th century there were 2 major parts of London, the wealthy West End and the dilapidated East End. Dorian lives in the West end where he frequents between his own home, various gentleman's clubs, theaters and symphony halls. In the East End Dorian does what would be frowned down upon by European society: he does drugs.

     The 2 settings are representative Dorian's 2 sided nature. In the West End, he is the dauntless gentleman, aristocratic youth and the one who sets trends. He takes advantage of the best that London society has to offer to satisfy his desires. Conversely, in the East end he becomes a creepy, sulking and just generally an evil, unethical and immoral person. In every way possible the 2 settings represent the 2 sides of Dorian, including the sinful side of Dorian that he tries to hide from society.

   One quote that demonstrates excellent imagery from the novel is, "Where he went he hardly knew. He remembered wandering through dimly lit streets, past gaunt, black-shadowed archways and evil-looking houses. Women with hoarse voices and harsh laughter had called after him. Drunkards had reeled by cursing, and chattering to themselves like monstrous apes. He had seen grotesque children huddled upon doorsteps, and heard shrieks and oaths from gloomy courts" (Wilde 197). This quote vividly described the "hidden" side of Dorian Gray and how it coincided with the East End of London that was previously described.

To find out more about the setting visit the link below:
http://thebestnotes.com/booknotes/Picture_Dorian_Gray/Picture_Of_Dorian_Gray02.html