Entry 1, pages 1-25

How is the life of one character from the novel different from your life?

While reading the beginning of the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, I couldn't even begin to understand how sad Mariam's life must be.  Mariam is persecuted for a mistake that wasn't even her own, it was her mother's and Jalil's.  In the United States today, if a child is born out of wedlock it isn't a big deal.  This kind of stuff happens often because sex is turning into a big part of our culture.  Because of being an illegitimate chlid, Mariam has a much harder than life she would have if her parents had been married.
Mariam is home schooled because her mother refuses to send her to a public school, saying "'It's our lot in life, Mariam.  Women like us.  We endure.  It's all we have.  Do you understand?  Besides, they'll laugh at you in school.  They will.  They'll call you harami.  They'll say the most terrible things about you'" (Hosseini 19).  School, to me, just seems like a normal thing that everyone does.  Usually, parents would encourage their child wanting to learn, so it amazes me that Mariam's own mother is holding her back.
Furthermore, Mariam only sees her father once a week for a short period and she cherishes these visits.  "For an hour or two every Thursday, when Jalil came to see her, all smiles and gifts and endearments, Mariam felt deserving of all the beauty and bounty that life had to give" (5).  Every night when I get home, my family eats dinner together.  It seems so strange that a girl could grow up only seeing her father every once in a while.  My dad is the person I go to for advice and help on anything, and Mariam will never be able to have that relationship with her father because his visits are so short and scarce.
The closest friend that Mariam has is her tutor, Mullah Faizullah.  "But Mariams favorite, other than Jalil of course, was Mullah Faizullah" (16).  Mariam confides in Mullah as well as has fun and laughs with him.  It is weird for most people to think that a little girl would grow up having an old man as her best friend.  I played dolls with my friends when I was younger, and though Mullah plays with Mariam she does not have interaction with other girls her age.  She doesn't ever meet anyone to be friends with, due to the fact that she is forced to live in a secluded house and be home schooled.
When you live in a place like the United States you tend to not understand that not everyone is as lucky as we are.  A lot of times, we take things for granted like education, family and friends.  We don't like going to school, although kids in other countries would kill to receive the education we do.  We fight with our families and don't appreciate them as much as we should.  We don't thank our friends enough for supporting us and accepting us, when others may have to grow up so fast they will never get the chance to have childhood friends.  Life is on the complete opposite end of the spectrum between Mariam and I.