Outside Reading: A thousand splendid sons

1) "One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs,
Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls" (172 Hosseini)
This quote here is very important because, for instance, the title of the book is in the quote. Also, it shows how this use to be Laila's favorite poem, but she had forgotten it and everything because she was so excited to leave Kabul to be safe and finally be with Tariq. I think the 'she' in the poem, to Laila and Babi, represents Kabul and how she is with her walls and the way she causes things to happen to their beautiful city.

2) "Mm. He smiled sadly. "I still can't believe I'm leaving Kabul. I went to school here, got my first job here, became a father in this town. It's strange to think that I'll be sleeping beneath another city's skies soon" (172 Hosseini).
This quote represents when Babi(Laila's father) if telling Laila of why it feels so strange to him that he is finally leaving Kabul. Babi was raised there and made a life from then until now which was going well for him. Unfortunately with this war going on, he had no choice but to leave for his own and family's safety. It's such a sad thing to hear him describe how he must leave and how he must leave some cherished things behind.

3) "Let me marry you, Laila. Today. We could get married today...Don't say that. I love you" (165-166 Hosseini).
This quote was said by Tariq, Laila's best friend and lover. After they had made love, after Tariq telling her that he was leaving for Pakhistan tomorrow, Tariq asked Laila to marry him. He thought that it would be a great idea because they would always be together. He then told her those big 3 famous words that he finally had said after so long; they both loved each other, but they couldn't bring themselves to say it. Laila then told him that she loved him back too, but that she couldn't leave her parents because she was all that they had left. Tariq could understand where she was coming from, and then like that...he was gone.

4.) "Laila peeked from the top of the stairs. She watched the stranger sit down with her parents. He leaned toward them. Said a few muted words. Then Babi's face was white, and getting whiter, and he was looking at his hands, and Mammy was screaming, screaming and tearing at her hair." (123 Hosseini).
This quote represents when one day, while Babi was teaching Laila math, they received a knock at their door. Quickly, Laila ran up to it and opened it. "I need to speak to your parents" the man said. Then while he was welcomed and in and when Laila made sure she had a good spot to listen, it ended up being information that she did not want to hear. The bad news given to her family was that her 2 older brothers that were in the war were now dead. After the funeral, Laila's mom did not recover from their death for about 5 years!

5.) "I miss the boys too, you know, Babi said. His eyes welled up a tad. His chin trembling. I may not...With your mother, both her joy and sadness are extreme. She can't hide it either. She never could. Me, I suppose I'm different. I tend to...But it broke me too, the boys dying. I miss them too. Not a day passes that I...It's very hard Laila, so very hard. " (135 Hosseini).
This quote represents how Babi doesn't really have a say in things. Fariba (Mammy) is very controlling; in a good way that is. But when her sons died, she had something taken away from her that was rightfully hers; her own. It was very hard fro Babi because Fariba blamed their deaths on him because it was his idea for them to go to war and it was even harder to see the woman he loved in so much deep, hurting, pain.

6.) "Giti was dead. Dead. Blown to pieces. At last, Laila began to weep for her friend. And all the tears that she hadn't been able to shed at her brothers' funeral came pouring out" (161 Hosseini).
This is another important quote because Giti was a close friend to Laila; they went to school together, played together, and talked all the time. One day, Babi told Laila that she could not attend school anymore because it was just too dangerous for her to go. So, Laila was very lucky because that could have been her walking with Giti and the two other classmates. Since Laila couldn't let out her tears at her brothers' funeral, it finally came out when her best friend is now gone to the war that wont end.

7.) "Laila dropped the books to her feet. She looked up to the sky. Shielded her eyes with one hand. Then a giant roar. Behind her, a flash of white. The ground lurched beneath her feet. Something hot and powerful slammed into her from behind. It knocked her out of her sandals. Lifted her up. And now she was flying......." (174 Hosseini).
This is probably the most important quote because it's Laila's first near death experience. While she was loading books outside, getting ready to leave Kabul with her family and be united with Tariq again, she looked up and saw a rocket coming towards her home. Slamming right into her house, the force threw her boy flying in the air with the wood and glass, cutting every inch of her body. After slamming into a wall, she land and get a piece of metal stuck in her shoulder. Then before she lost consciousness, she could see a bloody chunk of what was left of a family member. Its also very important because she survived the rocket into her house!

8.) "Do you know who i am? The Girl's eyes fluttered. Do you know what happened? The girl's mouth quivered. She closed her eyes. Swallowed. Her hand grazed her left cheek. She mouthed something. Mariam leaned in closer. This ear, the girl breathed, I can't hear." (179 Hosseini).
This is when Laila is saved by Rasheed and Mariam and is in good care. The only problem is that she now cannot hear in one of her ears, but she is healing which is very lucky for a girl her age. Ever since the rocket explosion, Laila has been in their home being taken care of very well as if she were their child.

9.) "But I came back, because in the end, i think he would have wanted you to know" (188 Hosseini).
This is when a man named Abdul Sharif came to visit Laila; he had come to tell her that he had met Tariq in the hospital-that Tariq had been in a explosion...and that he lost his other leg. Laila tried to take deep breaths and think happy thoughts from when they were together. Then the man explained to her that one morning he woke up and found out that Tariq had died, but that he wanted the man to tell Laila that he loves her and missed her so much. This of course was more bad news to Laila: First her brothers, then Giti, then her parents, and now the love of her life; all gone.

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