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:
No comments:
Post a Comment