One survival factor that was key to Salva’s survival was Marial. Conversely, Marial was there to make Salva feel better and to give him something to look forward to when the war was hopefully over. When life was at the hardest for Salva. In Southern Sudan in 1985, the group that Salva was in, was getting larger as the days passed.
“But in Rasheed’s eyes she saw murder for them both. And so Mariam raised the shovel high, raised it as high as she could, arching it so it touched the small of her back.” (349). This quote was the moment before Mariam’s life would end, she killed Rasheed to save the people she loved which was Laila, Aziza, and Zalmai. But, Mariam’s action would have conscious she knew that she would have to admit to the police.
But even though the consequences are harsh, Mariam knows that she has to follow through with it, for if she does not, Rasheed would kill Laila. She does not wish to kill Rasheed but Laila is one of the only true friends Mariam has ever had. Mariam does also not want to have one of the few people that bring her happiness, to be taken from her. These two acts demonstrate what it truly means to have courage, even in the hardest of times. Caring is something that seems to come rather naturally for both Laila and Mariam.
When Laila’s parents were killed and she was injured, Mariam took her in and sacrificed her time and space in order to take care of Laila (199). Mariam didn’t have kids of her own, yet took care of Laila as if she were her own daughter. She cared enough for the young girl’s well being to take her in and show her kindness. When Rasheed is about to kill Laila, Mariam hits Rasheed with a shovel so hard that it kills him (349). She viewed Laila as her own daughter, and she wasn’t going to let anyone hurt her daughter.
In this chapter, Foster discusses the importance of viewing a story from the perspective of the character. This accounts for fully understanding the character’s background and weighing that with the current occurrences. After taking into account Laila’s familial and religious background along with her new situation with Rasheed, this passage has a lot more weight. In the situation Laila is in right now, she likely feels repressed and alone. Because of this, she confides in her memories with Tariq.
In the novel Mariam sacrifices her life for Laila and also her freedom for Jalil. Like Jesus, Mariam willingly sacrificed herself and when she descended from the truck to be killed, her “legs did not buckle. Her arms did not flail. She did not have to be dragged. ”(369).
Twelve maybe thirteen years old, I held a piece of glass to his throat and took his blanket from him. I gave it to my mother””. The ultimate love filled sacrifice would be Mariam. Mariam’s sacrifice was made for the protection of Laila, Aziza, Zalmai, and Tariq. She knew what the punishment would be if she killed Rasheed, but she had to in order to keep him from killing Laila.
Mariam longed to place a ruler on a page and draw important-looking lines”(Hosseini ). Mariam is an example of how women are banned from an education and whose life could have been changed by education. Instead of being educated, she is sheltered by her mother and lives the rest of her life without high expectations of herself. Nana teaches her that an Afghan woman has to endure the life that is chosen for her because she does not have a say. Nana even says "There is only one, only one skill a woman like you and me needs in life, and they don't teach it in school.
Hosseini 104).When Rasheed forces Mariam to eat pebbles, he represents the corrupted person, or vampire, who only perceives his wife as an object that seeks to serve him and his relentless demands. After a while, Rasheed begins to look at Mariam as a burden that needs to be lifted off of his shoulders, so he tortures and abuses her, turning himself into a monster in the process. Furthermore, Rasheed does the same thing to his other wife, Laila, and his daughter. When Laila and Aziza attempt to escape, Rasheed is outraged, so he asserts his power when, “ [He] had not given them any food, and worse, no water. That day, a thick, suffocating heat fell on them.
The theme that present in The Odyssey after searching past the ice on the windshield was an internal conflict, or test within oneself. Odysseus must undergo very intense and terrible forces. Throughout the story, there is still only one main goal no matter how many problems arose between him and it. Odysseus’s main goal was to get back to Penelope after he fought against Troy, which lasted 10 years. After defeating Troy, Odysseus was stranded on an island accompanied by Calypso who tries to turn him away from his wife, however he doesn't give in, until he is forced to be with her.
Rasheed blames Mariam many times such as her inability to become pregnant and for her bad cooking. It’s not her fault that she can’t have a baby and she tries to make good food for her husband but it could an excuse to hit or abuse her. When Rasheed is angry about this, he takes his anger on Mariam by beating her or such as forcing her to try to chew on rocks.
“Survival can be summed up in three words - never give up. That's the heart of it really. Just keep trying.”(B.Grylls) The Odyssey is an epic poem written by Homer, about a man, Odysseus, who went to serve in the Trojan war, but undergoes a very arduous travel back home to his island, Ithaca. The Most Dangerous Game is a short story on Rainsford who swam up on shore of a island, and is hunted in return to go home.
When Mariam unexpectedly killed Rasheed, Laila was terrified by what had happened and Mariam “had Laila lie down, and, as she
Written by Homer, The Iliad, portrays the life of Achilles, and how the Greek Hero allowed anger to overwhelm his decision making. Complications arise when anger leads to hate, pride, or suffering, and Achilles life illustrates the results of anger. Throughout the book anger slowly consumes Achilles and significantly changes results of the Trojan War. Causing him to act foolishly, Achilles’ anger brought harm upon many Greek people. Also, The Iliad teaches that anger caused a downfall to Achilles’ life.
Rasheed however asks her to wear a burqa before going out. He makes it very clear to Mariam and later on to Laila, that a “woman 's face is her husband 's business only”. However when Mariam fails to bear a child, after several miscarriages, Rasheed begins to torture her both physically and mentally. Rasheed also becomes cross on Laila when she gives birth to a girl child. Later on Laila gives birth to a boy, but this does not improve her status in front of Rasheed.
