A Thousand Splendid Suns Magazine

OMID ISSUE NO. 1

DECEMBER 2019

A STORY OF HOPE, DESPAIR, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN

MULTI-GENRE PORTFOLIO

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TABLE OF CONTENTS LETTER TO THE READER (Chitiprolu) DESPAIR (Wei) A STRENGTH IN PRESENCE (Chitiprolu) HOW TO BE A GOOD MUSLIM WOMAN (Garlapati) WHICH CHARACTER ARE YOU FROM A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS? WE'LL TELL YOU BASED ON YOUR ANSWERS (Wei) FANTASY (Yuan) THE CHOPPED-UP GARDEN (Yuan) COLLAGE OF SYMBOLS (Boyapati) ME IN 300 WORDS (Chitiprolu) WORDS FOR A LOVED ONE (Boyapati) LETTER TO LAILA (Wei) COUPLE GOALS (Garlapati) THE STRUGGLE OF WOMANHOOD (Boyapati) TOGETHER (Garlapati)

4 6 7 8 9

9 10 12 14 16 17 18 20 21

EVERY STREET OF KABUL

IS ENTHRALLING TO THE EYE. SAIB TABRIZI

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LETTER TO THE READER ADITHI CHITIPROLU A Thousand Splendid Suns, written by Khaled Hosseni, is a novel published in 2007, set in Afghanistan. Hosseni wrote the book based on his own personal experiences, incorporating memories of his childhood into the text. The characters’ conflict is derived from a visit in Afghanistan in 2003, where he recorded the stories of women living under the Taliban rule.

The Taliban ruled Afghanistan in the late 20th century to the early 2000’s and created harsh and unforgiving environments for the women living there. Basic rights like public speech and wardrobe choice were revoked, causing many women to be forced into marriages or worse, commit suicide. The story is set in Kabul, one of the large cities the Taliban controlled, allowing the readers to see the extent to which they held power and harassed the locals.

The book begins in Herat, home to Mariam, a girl who has known nothing but the confinement her kolba. Her mother, a cripple and her status as an illegitimate and her father’s mistake, cause her to become isolated from society where Mariam fantasizes about the city and all is wonders. Her curiosity is the beginning of a series of unfortunate events, ending with her marriage to Rasheed and her arrival in Kabul.

Rasheed, a conservative man, takes pride in terrorizing his wife, a habit which progressively worsens as the story sympathy

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continues. His archaic views on women's rights evoke feelings of anger and sympathy from the reader as he corners the women in his life making them feel as if they have nowhere left to go.

The story transitions 15 years into the future, to Laila, a girl born and raised in Kabul. She grew up in a loving family surrounded by friends and was able to receive a good education, a situation Mariam could only dream of. Her reverie was broken when Kabul submerged into violence. Her story intertwines with Mariam’s when she is brought into Rasheed’s household. The two women build an everlasting relationship and support each other through the struggles faced by Afghani women in the 20th century.

The novel explores topics like love, opportunity and innocence as well as depression, imbalanced gender roles and grief. These ideas are shown through contradictions embodied by the characters.

The characters either represent the good or bad nature of humanity. For example, Tariq and Hakim represent the ideal, good-natured people who imbue hope in others, while Rasheed and Jalil represent deceit and despair. By incorporating these ideas into the characters’ depiction, Hosseini is able to create a sense of depth and illustrate the different aspects of humanity.

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DESPAIR KELLY WEI

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THE STRENGTH OF PRESENCE ADITHI CHITIPROLU

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HOW TO BE A GOOD MUSLIM WOMAN PRANAVI GARLAPATI

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WHICH CHARACTER ARE YOU FROM A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS? WE'LL TELL YOU BASED ON YOUR ANSWERS KELLY WEI

Scan the QR code or click here to take the quiz!

FANTASY ANGELA YUAN O, if she had a single wish to make, She’d ask to be a princess with a prince.

Her heart was wary, tolerance would break, She’d lost her lover, felt a numbing since.

Her prince would come in, stallion all white, And cause a once thought lost phenomenon.

Her lips could rise just slightly, for they

might Make love to each other until the dawn.

She’d seen her prince’s face some place before, The same fake leg and untidy hairstyle And found her lover entering through the door, Yes, it was only him that made her smile.

Her fantasy would waver, fade to black Because her lover never would come back.

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THE CHOPPED-UP GARDEN ANGELA YUAN Once upon a time, there lived a young wildflower. The wildflower lived with her jaded mother underneath a small glass dome, safe and secluded from the dangerous outside her mother often warned her about. She took pleasure in her day-to-day life, and she loved the sunlight more than anything.

Secretly, however, the wildflower always longed for more. She wanted to live and mingle with all of the other flowers in the world. And then, one day, a crack appeared in the dome.

“Leave it alone,” her mother told her.

“The glass protects us.”

But the wildflower did not want it to leave it alone. She felt the outside world right within her grasp, and she could not, would not.

Her mother became angry. “You stupid little harami. I am all you have in the world. If you leave me, I will die.” She became desperate. “Don’t go. Please don’t go. Please.”

But no amount of begging could curb the wildflower’s longing, and she finally broke open the crack and left.

The outside world was vast and grand and most importantly, beautiful, and she loved it for all of a day.

Finding out that her frail mother had died from the windchill the broken globe exposed her to might have been poetic in its own way, looking back. However, in the moment, it was not.

For the first time, she was all alone in the world. She was barely able to grieve before she was sent to live with a kudzu.

The kudzu would block her from the sunlight she once loved. The kudzu would suffocate her. The kudzu would climb on her even when she said no and smother her screams.

With the kudzu, her petals began to fall, and her leaves began to droop.

But the wildflower lived on, not because she wanted to, but because she had no other choice. She did so for years, not once wanting anything for herself.

And then one day, another flower came along. She was lovely, this new one, with layers of small, yellow petals. She was a dahlia, but the wildflower thought her more a dandelion. So many years ago, the

wildflower had already been stripped of everything, and now, this dahlia was taking away the only thing she had left her kudzu. Yes, the dahlia pulled him away like water to a weed root.

And soon, the kudzu began to climb towards the dahlia, and finally, the wildflower had just a little room for sunlight to shine on her sole leaf, just a little room to breathe.

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But the wildflower was still lonely, until one day, she angered the kudzu. She thought the kudzu might pull off her fragile petals, tug at her delicate sepals.

And when he tried to, the dahlia would not allow it. The dahlia pried at his vines, pulling them off the wildflower. And from that day forward, the wildflower found a friend, an ally in the dahlia; she found something, someone to live for.

The dahlia brought her own gifts - a young tulip, a curly sprout - and the wildflower found love in them as well.

Her life was a chopped-up garden of little plants she loved, all tangled in a vine she didn’t. The wildflower would wake up with leaves threatening to kill her.

One day, they almost did. That day, the dahlia had gone too far and had done something she shouldn’t have. The kudzu

was very close to strangling her, but the wildflower would not let him take away the few things in life she had left. He had already taken everything else, after all.

The dahlia was near dead when the wildflower snapped one of his vines.

The kudzu backed off from the dahlia for a moment, but the wildflower saw only murderous intention in the veins of his leaves, the coils of his vines. She ripped off another vine, and then another, as he tried to strangle them both.

When the wildflower was out of vines to rip, she wrapped her whole stem around the kudzu and pulled up with all of her strength. She felt a small snap as she uprooted him, ending his abuse for once and for all.

“Let’s get out of this place,” the dahlia said once she came to.

“You should,” the wildflower said gravely.

“I’m not leaving without you.”

“You will.” The wildflower showed the dahlia where her stem had snapped in her effort to uproot the kudzu.

“Will you be okay?” the dahlia asked.

“No,” said the wildflower solemnly, “but you will.”

The wildflower could not live on, but the dahlia could. The dahlia took the tulip and sprout and respectfully left the wildflower to live her final moments in peace. The wildflower did not know what happened to the dahlia afterward, but she imagined that she would raise a family that might grow into a beautiful tree, strong and proud.

Her chopped-up garden of death and love and vine and blossom disintegrated into the wind and spiraled through the air.

In the center of it all was a single wildflower.

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COLLAGE OF SYMBOLS ANU BOYAPATI

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ME IN 300 WORDS ADITHI CHITIPROLU

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WORDS FOR A LOVED ONE ANU BOYAPATI

<Mosque> Laila breathes in and breathes out.

Imam: We ask that Laila Jan speak a few words.

Laila stands up, dusts off her dress, and walks up to the podium. She lays her papers down and takes a deep breath. The crown whispers silently in anticipation.

Laila: To many of you, you believed that the bonding of Tariq and I to be something more. You frowned upon it to the point where I couldn't even see my best friend freely anymore. Now he is dead, though a part of him will always be with me.

The crowd goes still in respect.

Laila: He was the last piece of my childhood left, the only man who could bring back my happiness. He was my family before I even realized it. After after Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d lost my blood, he was my hope. Yet fate strikes again, destroying the plans I had made in my friend. He was loved, and he will be loved forever. To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return.

Crowd: To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return.

Laila: He always stood up for me, no matter what. He protected me even with his mechanical leg. He kept me safe, laughed at my jokes, and took revenge upon my behalf, even when I said no. He was like a- a big brother to me. He was missed, and he will be missed forever. To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return.

Crowd: To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return.

Laila: (in hushed whisper, turned around) I shouldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve said yes. For you and for them.

Now, I have nothing to live for. How can I survive now?

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LETTER TO LAILA KELLY WEI

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COUPLE GOALS PRANAVI GARLAPATI

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THE STRUGGLES OF WOMANHOOD ANU BOYAPATI

14 April 1974

21 August 1984

Dear Diary, It’s Mariam Jo’s birthday today.

That man, Jalil, came to visit her.

All he ever tells her are lies. I mean, when has Jalil ever taken Mariam jo to Herat.

Dear Diary, I feel as though a stake pierced through my cracked heart. My sons that I've loved so deeply are gone...

Ahmad and Noor.

Mariam has told me she will be going to Herat to the cinema with Jalil. I have done everything for her.

Everything! And she left me. I have nothing left in this world if Mariam jo does not care for me. That harami.

She doesn’t understand the truth of men. I have told her time and time again that men are not to be trusted.

I hated my father, I hate Jalil.

There is not any man that can be trusted.

I told her that I would not survive if she leaves me. But to her, her father is everything. The lies he feeds her turned her against me. Her own mother who raised her and fed her is now her enemy. I have nothing left in this world. So I bid my farewell.

I blame my husband. Of course, I love him, for he’s all I have. But he let them go, and that is not acceptable.

Because of him, they are dead.

Laila came up to me today, asking to give me water. She does not understand that I cannot think knowing they are dead.

I know Hakim wants to move. I know he thinks it for the sake of Laila’s safety. But my sons have sacrificed themselves for our freedom. Leaving Afghanistan is disrespectful to Ahmad and Noor... How can they even begin to think that?

Until I see the parade with my own two eyes will I only rest. I must live to see it.

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TOGETHER PRANAVI GARLAPATI

i am a harami a mistake

i am a forgotten object

thrust upon my father

tossed aside to make

and mother like a

place for my brothers

burden

forgotten by my mother

we were neglected

i am a survivor, yet all

i am a remnant of what i

the things I held close to

used to be, broken,

my heart are gone, and I

timid and lost in a world

fear for the future

of loneliness we are alone

i am a punching bag, steady and still, ready to

i am a fighter, I will

endure, to overcome, to

punch back and I won't

bounce back

stand for the abuse we are abused

I would die to take care i would commit crimes

of my children through

to protect my family in

the obstacles in our

these times of grief

lives we are mothers

THERE IS ONLY ONE SKILL A WOMAN LIKE YOU AND ME NEEDS IN LIFE, AND IT'S THIS:

ENDURE.

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RATIONALES COVER/DESIGN (Angela Yuan) The portfolio is designed to be a magazine called OMID, which is Persian for 'hope', that shares stories about hope and despair (such as Mariam's and Laila's). The cover is a white feather on a black background, referencing the famous Emily Dickinson quote, "'hope' is the thing with feathers". Entries that contrast and complement each other are placed right next to each other in one spread of pages (such as "Despair" and "A Strength in Presence", as magazines should be read two pages at a time (excluding cover and back). With the exception of "Me in 300 Words", each two-page spread of contrasting hope and despair has despair on the left side and hope on the right side. This is intended to represent the idea that hope often comes after or in despair. Spreads are ordered to first present cultural and historical context, then mostly by chronology of story events. In addition to addressing context, Letter to the Reader has a visual component of a woman reading and drinking coffee from a table with technology on it, establishing the modern, feminist Kabul as the setting. The first quote is meant to ironically establish the war-wrecked side of Kabul.

Other than page order, contrast is also executed through symbols, like ravens and cypress branches representing despair, and colours, like pink and white representing hope.

DESPAIR (sketch, Kelly Wei) This artwork represents the loss of hope as two hands are reaching for each other but do not touch. The two hands represent Laila and Mariam as they try not to let go of each other and of hope. The background is of everything that was once destroyed by the different government forces in Afghanistan. With the losses of family and religious landmarks, most of Afghanistan had already lost hope. Without their freedom of expression, Mariam and Laila also lost the colors in their life, hence why the picture is in black and white. The color scheme is dark and black to represent a gloomy and painful theme. The streak of red represents the last streak of hope that they have, but red symbolizes violence, danger, and anger. Even with the bit of hope, it isn’t a bright bit with blood and hardships. This piece contrasts the one of Laila and Mariam as they are holding hands while in this one they are out of reach from each other. The streak of red connects with the streak of gray as that streak shows the pieces of despair despite their hope.

THE STRENGTH OF PRESENCE (drawing, Adithi Chitiprolu) The drawing, titled the strength of presence, is semi-realistic using harsh lines as well as soft shading. The artwork is filled with such contrasts, for example, the dullness of Mariam’s colors versus the radiance of the ones used to draw Laila. In the novel, Laila fills Mariam with hope, this is shown through the gradual change in hue. Mariam’s character is depicted using dull and monotonous colors, as the eye is drawn across the piece the colors become more vibrant depicting the idea that Mariam draws her hope form Laila’s radiance and strength. The drawing depicts Mariam as fatigued, showing how the character felt throughout the story. Laila’s character has a somber expression and is sitting up, representing the idea that Laila is still strong in the face of adversity. This piece contrasts with Kelly’s artwork as well, showing the two characters holding hands while Kelly’s depicts two hands just out of reach of one another. Before Laila came into Mariam’s life, she felt bleak and was in a constant state of despair. Upon Laila’s arrival, Mariam was filled with a foreign feeling, hope. The image depicts the contrast between hope and despair by pairing with Kelly’s showing how the two lost souls find strength and hope within one another shifting their unmotivated survival to a state of living underlined with a promising

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future.

HOW TO BE A GOOD MUSLIM WOMAN (WikiHow article, Pranavi Garlapati) The entire article shows the double standards women face in a society ruled by the Taliban. The article is there to show the lack of freedom that women face in everyday life because of the Taliban. The step by step instructions are there to show how thorough the Taliban was with each of its rules against women, and how each step shares the same threat. The Taliban were so conservative that they were willing to beat women if they didn’t follow the Taliban’s rules. Each step is also accompanied with a colorful image to contrast how easily the Taliban took advantage of womens’ helplessness in a male dominated society. All of the steps are actual rules that the Taliban imposed on women, and each of the steps emphasizes that. In some of the rules, the sexism is as clear as water when they say to not laugh or it might “excite a man” almost if females are a distraction to the all-knowing, powerful males. The overall contrast in the WikiHow article is how the Taliban treated men opposed to women. While it may be true that they wanted to abide by sharia law, it was blown out of proportions the way they treated women by beating them. On multiple occasions, Laila was beaten for going out to see Aziza without a male accompanying her. The Taliban added to the oppression that Laila and Mariam already faced in the house by Rasheed and added to their despair.

WHICH CHARACTER ARE YOU FROM A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS? WE'LL TELL YOU BASED ON YOUR ANSWERS (BuzzFeed Quiz, Kelly Wei) A BuzzFeed quiz usually isn’t very accurate nor does it give a lot of information, but this one was used to show the contrasting personalities between the characters. While Laila is known to be strong and young while Mariam is weaker and older. While Tariq is a loving and kind husband, Rasheed is cold and mean when he didn’t get what he wants. Aziza and Zalmai were also opposites as one was wise while the other was childish. The questions may seem completely random, but they demonstrate the personality traits of the characters.

Different colors reveal different physical, mental, and emotional states. We often use adjectives to describe how we feel when we see color. For example, white is associated with purity and youth while black is associated with power, evil, and anger; Aziza is pure and youthful while Rasheed is powerful and feared. Because Laila is a confident and calm person, she is similar to the color blue and its traits like the calm ocean currents. Purple symbolizes royalty and mystery similar to how Zalmai is treated like a prince in the family.

Tariq shows the personality traits of pink as someone who is loving, caring, and romantic.

Mariam is plain like brown while being comforting and enduring. While Rasheed is powerful, he also shows traits of violence and desire that correlate with red.

Food can also show personality traits. Ice cream is sweet and shows youth like Zalmai.

Mariam, again, is plain like bread. Laila, who is similarly plain, is a sandwich that has a little more than bread. Aziza is like rice, she can combine a lot of things and also brings things together. Rasheed is like rocks, hard and something no one wants. Tariq is mushy and easily altered like mashed potatoes.

A castle is spacious and cold, like Rasheed. Tariq is kind and giving, like an airbnb that is open for a lot of people. Mariam, who is like a cabin, is lonely and isolated from a lot of

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people. Zalmai, who is very young and childish, is a pillow fort castle that shows his childish side but also authority. Aziza is a cozy and small condo who acts as a way to keep the family together and connects like a condo. Laila, being a plain women, is like a house.

Animals, similar to humans, also show traits about people. Tigers are strong and majestic like Laila. Lions are kings of the jungle and also stronger than tigers, like Rasheed. Mariam is similar to a porcupine because they are weak on the inside with a strong outer protection layer. Zalmai, being a mysterious child, reminds me of a raccoon. Dogs are loyal and hyper like Tariq is and cats are smart and wise like Aziza.

Because of the amount that Mariam has been through, she is like a history teacher, someone who has a lot of knowledge about the past and the present. Her helpful and loving nature is like a nurse who help the people in need. Rasheed’s rigid attitude and interests in government make him similar to a government or economics teacher. Due to his strong personality and behaviors, he would also probably be like an army lieutenant.

Aziza is really creative person so in a school, she would be an art teacher and an artist outside. Tariq is an active person with an energetic personality of a PE coach and also a police officer. Zalmai is a mystery throughout the novel, while also being a character that everyone likes, similar to lunch where we all like but isn’t an actual course. Being the favored one in the family, he is at the top like the CEO of the family.

Rasheed is like scissors, once he is angered, his mistakes can’t be taken back, his words are sharp like the blades. Aziza highlights the main traits of Mariam and Laila, like a highlighter. Tariq is a ballpoint pen because it is something that everyone needs in their pencil case. Tariq is someone that everyone needs in their life with a great personality and an amazing person. Zalmai being someone who is easily shaped and molded is similar to a kneaded eraser, someone who can also erase and change everyone else. Laila is like a pencil who is plain and can be altered while Mariam is someone who is very firm with decisions that can’t be erased like a permanent marker.

FANTASY (sonnet, Angela Yuan) The sonnet is about the idea of Laila fantasizing about Tariq coming back to her in another world. The story never shows Laila's coping mechanisms when she finds out that Tariq is "dead", and fantasizing is a common one. In the sonnet, she jumps between the hope of her fantasy, in which Tariq is alive, and reality, in which she believes Tariq is dead. In her fantasy, she is a princess. She is seeing a prince, whom she eventually realises is Tariq. When she realizes it is Tariq that she is fantasising over, she stops fantasising and tries to accept the cold, hard truth that Tariq is dead. The sonnet was inspired by the song lyric 'numb, fine; you create a rarity in my genuine smile' from dodie's Intertwined. The princess in her fantasy does not smile except when around her prince, her smile being described as a 'lost phenomenon'. Without Tariq, Laila feels numb and finds it difficult to smile. She feels that her prince is saving her in the story, coming to her on a metaphorical white stallion, which may reflect that Laila wants Tariq to come to Kabul and save her from Rasheed (which he eventually does).

THE CHOPPED-UP GARDEN (story & photos, Angela Yuan) “The Chopped-Up Garden” is written to resemble scenes in books like “A Broken Family” from dodie’s Secrets For The Mad or the penultimate chapter in Ashley Herring Blake’s Girl Made of Stars. In these scenes, the speaker tells a story about him or herself in the third

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person without using real names, glossing over the details of major events and instead focusing on emotions or moments.

The wildflower represents Mariam. Mariam was raised in a more natural environment than other characters, and wildflowers are grown in more natural environments than other flowers. Kudzu is also known as the vine that ate the south, as there are places in southern states such as Georgia that are absolutely covered in it. It is an invasive species and it is harmful to other plants because it climbs on them and covers them up. Rasheed is represented by a kudzu because he harms the people around him, similar to how kudzu harms the plants around it. The line “The kudzu would climb on her even when she said no” is a double entendre, referencing the tendency of kudzu to climb on other plants, harming them, as well as Rasheed’s marital rape of Mariam. Dahlias are often considered pretty flowers. Dandelions, on the other hand, are deep-rooted, bright yellow weeds that suck up water. Children don’t usually think of dandelions as weeds, however. Laila represents a dahlia because she is pretty, but Mariam thinks Laila resembles a dandelion because Laila is taking her husband from her.

In the first photo, Mariam's mother is in a glass globe made of lined paper. The vertical lines of the lined paper are representative how Mariam feels about the glass globe, resembling the bars of jail cells. Mariam’s mother, Nana (right), has a wrinkled leaf/stem and is missing all her petals, because she is dead. Mariam loses petals later as well, drawing a parallel to Nana’s suffering. The change in lighting between photos represents the changing tone of the story, as well as Mariam’s life. Photos in which Mariam has a happier life have a warmer colour palette, while those with somber tone have colder colours and an emphasis on shadows. The climax of the story is represented by a photo that has more contrast, giving it a more dramatic feel. In the last photo, the photo has a pleasant, pink tone, showing that Mariam is happy with her life and what she has done with it. She is not missing any petals, demonstrating that her suffering is over as she dies.

COLLAGE OF SYMBOLS (Anu Boyapati) The first image is the picture of a Mariam flower surrounded by cracks. The flower explicates not only when Jalil told her why he named her Mariam, but also Mariam and how she forces herself to not have hopes. She calls hope a “poisonous flower,” saying that she destroys it before they ever take root. The cracks symbolize her getting ready to destroy this flower the cracks in the happiness of her childhood. The fourth image is a huge part of Mariam’s childhood; the kolba. While her other relatives live in luxury, Nana and Mariam live in Kolba (a mud house) far away from Herat. The kolba represents the impact of the word harami, as a kolba is a home for the more poorer and secluded families. Even though Mariam enjoys her childhood, the ruining of her relationship with Jalil changes her outlook on how her life truly was. Both the first and fourth drawings are opposite each other (because opposite angles the same angle) due to their relation to Mariam’s childhood.

The second image the image of gun in a case, which represents one of the first hints that Mariam gets as to realizing that not everything is going to always be this happy. However, Mariam reasons with her brain as if to try and protect herself from reality, but instead this makes the blow worse. In the third image, a facade of a good life is conveyed through the brighter color tones of the cracked glass, and the reality of Mariam’s life is displayed

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through the darker tones of blues and navys. The drawing is directly connected to the transition from warm Rasheed, during her pregnancy, to cold Rasheed, after her miscarriages. Since both the second and third images represent false realities, they’re opposite of each other as well.

The fifth image is of Laila reading a white book in a bright room. Laila’s like a normal modern girl as a child with high hopes and dreams. Her hope is built through her love for knowledge (which gives her the ability to differentiate between morally right and wrong) and her love for Tariq. Unlike Mariam, Laila’s able to experience love and education early on, which changes her atmosphere to brighter colors like yellow and orange, rather than Mariam’s cracked atmosphere. Her experiences also give her the will to fight back and to not lose hope, which is displayed when she saves Mariam even after how cold Mariam was to Laila.

The sixth drawing is of a Mercedes Benz, which is a term Rasheed uses to bring up Laila’s stature will also degrade Mariam (who he compares with a Volkswagon). By comparing Mariam and Laila using these two cars, he pulls Laila into a facade of happiness as he did with Mariam.

The seventh drawing is the Titanic sinking since the Titanic movie is a huge symbol in Part III. Laila talks about how “everyone wants Jack” but how “Jack will never come.” In that sentence, she speaks of a savior to bring all women out of the Taliban rule, but she doesn’t believe that it will happen, which is a contrast to her thoughts in her younger years. The eighth drawing is the shovel in the ground, representing the moment that Mariam killed Jalil. Laila believes that Jack will never come, but in the end, Mariam becomes like Jack as she sacrifices herself for Laila’s sake, giving Laila a will to live a better life.

The ninth drawing is the box that Laila gets from Mullah Faizullah’s grandson, which is a symbol for Jalil’s wish of seeing Mariam one more time being destroyed. However, that box is also one of the reasons Laila finally let’s go of Mariam and moves on with her life, telling her to survive and live on since she’ll always have a piece of her.

The tenth and final drawing of a girl with distinct features but the same face. The left side represents Mariam, and the right side is Laila. The girls features are blended together in the center because even though their personalities differ, their experiences are the same.

Also, the sky colors are blended together to emphasize that without hope, despair will cease to exist and vice versa. Without Mariam, Laila wouldn’t be the same person she is at the end of the book.

ME IN 300 WORDS (prose poem, Adithi Chitiprolu) These two poems are written in free verse, as they signify the voice within Laila that is unable to be heard and wishes to be free. The poems describe Laila using metaphors and vague descriptions, providing a broader meaning that may be applied to other characters within the story or characters from other novels. The poems reflect how Laila would describe herself, illustrating how she changes throughout the course of the novel. In the first poem, Laila uses the word girl, signifying that she is still young and out of reach of the claws of adulthood. She recognizes the vast expanse of this world and aspires to see all of it. The poem signifies her yearning for a brighter future, showing that her situation at the moment seems far from ideal in her eyes. Despite this, she is still able to dream of a

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day where all women can be equal to men and believes that the war will end. In the second poem Laila’s descriptions take a drastic turn. She begins talking about how she is unable to find herself, as her life has strayed so far from the future she once dreamt of, depicting how adversity has changed her. Laila describes herself as a woman, despite the fact that she is only a few years older than she was in the previous poem. Her endurance has drained her energy causing her to age well beyond her years, making her feel as though a mere seven years has been a lifetime. The tone of the two poems demonstrate the contrast between hope and despair as one shows promise while the other is written as though she has lost hope.

WORDS FOR A LOVED ONE (obituary, Anu Boyapati) Laila’s only link to her childhood left is Tariq, who’s now supposedly dead. Losing three people she loved with her heart in the span of a couple months takes a toll on her, giving her the dark thoughts conveyed through the last sentences, as well as a deep hatred for society conveyed through the entire speech. Her speech is mostly for herself, trying to tell herself to get back up because she has the baby and their memories together. The baby is the only reason she chooses to live, even though it’s a life filled with dread.

LETTER TO LAILA (coded letter, Kelly Wei) When Laila was given word that Tariq was dead, she felt numb; her future was now like a piece of white paper, unplanned without any directions. In reality, Tariq was still alive, but in jail where he couldn’t really get word to Laila. This letter is an alternative to the obituary written about Tariq’s death. The actual message on the paper is in the first letter of every sentence. Put together, the whole thing says “I’m not dead, wait for me”. This short sentence is very straight forward with its sole meaning to give Laila hope; it’s reassurance from what she was originally told about him. Afghanistan was ruled by the Taliban during the time when Tariq was taken. Because of strict Taliban rules, Tariq’s letter appears as childish in order to escape suspicion of the Taliban soldiers. It was stated in the book that Tariq had a cellmate who drew flamingos in a sketchbook, so it would make sense that Tariq was able to acquire some paper from him. This letter was a personal account to reveal how he felt and really just as a short message to say that he was still alive and to stay hopeful.

COUPLE GOALS (Instagram page, Pranavi Garlapati) The 2 couple instagram pages are meant to compare and contrast Rasheed and Laila’s relationship to that of Tariq and Laila’s relationship. While Rasheed and Laila’s relationship was filled with abuse, hatred, and lovelessness, Tariq and Laila were very compatible and loved each other very much. The first instagram page describes Rasheed and Laila’s violent relationship. With hues of black and white, the theme of the page is dark and unsettling much like the relationship itself. The page has themes of violence and male dominance in the pictures just like how Rasheed treats Laila in real life. Each picture is outlined in black showing the underlying tone of despair that Laila faces in a relationship with Rasheed. The number of followers indicated how closed of Rasheed was, and how isolated that Rasheed made Laila. The bio shows, again, how Rasheed manipulated Laila in their relationship by controlling everything. Rasheed was extremely conservative, and slowly he regressed Laila from being a modern girl into a lonely and abused housewife. On the other hand, the couple page for Laila and Tariq is a much more positive interpretation of their relationship. This page has a lot more color and vibrance

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showing the happiness that Laila and Tariq share in their relationship. Most of the pictures are of Laila and Tariq showing that they are equals in their relationship. In addition, all the pictures are lined with a white frame showing the hope and love that Laila experiences while being with Tariq. The bio also shows how in love they are and how doting they are of their children, indicating a perfect relationship despite all the hardships they’ve both faced in their lives. Another difference is how they actually have followers and they follow people representing how Tariq encourages Laila to contact others and follow her passion, like in the book where he moves back to Kabul with her so she can help out in the orphanages. They make many friends and connections there and are wellliked in their community. Overall the 2 pages serve the purpose of contrasting the despair associated with Rasheed and Laila’s relationship to the hope and love that Tariq and Laila share as a couple.

THE STRUGGLES OF WOMANHOOD (diary entry, Anu Boyapati) Nana’s diary entry refers to her feelings of betrayal that cut deep into her due to Mariam’s actions. She feels as though there’s nothing to live for anymore, and she feels as though Mariam is dead to her. Instead of pulling herself out of these thoughts, however, she lets them pull her deeper towards the darkness. She lets the senseless thoughts get to her, and she digs a hole that she can’t leave, helping her make her decision.

Fariba’s diary entry refers to the devastation of her sons deaths. Fariba has been extremely depressed since her sons went off to war, so her despair is quite understandable. However, Fariba pulls herself out of the hole before it gets too big, unlike Nana. She tells herself to watch until her sons dreams come to fruition, until their sacrifices have been deemed useful in her mind.

Nana had nothing to live for in her mind, but Fariba was able to give herself a goal. She was able to give herself a final wish, but Nana had nothing, which explains the reason Nana and Fariba acted differently even with their depression. Fariba had some hope. Nana had none.

TOGETHER (two-voice poem, Pranavi Garlapati) The 2 voice poem comparing Mariam and Laila’s perspectives shows the contrast in their personalities but also the connection that they share with each other. They both found each other at the right time. When Laila lost her parents and Mariam lost her children in a series of miscarriages, they found each other and developed a mother-daughter connection. Beyond that, they were always held inferior because they were girls living in a male-dominated society. In addition to their traumatic past, they also share an abusing husband in the present. The poem serves the purpose of describing Laila and Mariam’s individual experiences and how they connect to each other. The first few stanzas are all about their biggest insecurities in life, and they all represent the despair that they both face. They talk about how they are abandoned and abused. The biggest takeaway, though, lies at the end of the poem, in the last stanza where they say they are mothers. That is their biggest hope in the book. For Laila, she was able to cope with her parents’ death when her daughter Aziza was born and Mariam was able to cope through Rasheed’s violence by taking care of Laila and Laila’s kids. As mothers, they develop the characteristic of endurance getting them through the obstacles they face in life. The poem has a lot of contrast as the unifying element because it shows the perspectives of 2 women and their experiences with hope and despair.

WE'RE LIKE THOSE WALLS UP THERE, BATTERED AND NOTHING PRETTY TO LOOK AT, BUT STILL STANDING.