Thousand Splendid Suns

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

11T: Creative Writing

Today's Lesson

11T: Creative Writing

• read the chapter

• answer open ended questions about language choices made by the author.

• break down the language choices to see how each word is significant.

Success Criteria

Deconstruct and analyse the first chapter of a text.

Learning Intention

But why...

We are learning this because...

Reading effective creative writing provides inspiration for your own work as you learn about the decisions that writers make to engage their readers.

Breaking down the language that writers use also assists with understanding how to write a statement of aims as you analyse your own language choices. ​

Some text here about the topic of discussion

11T: Creative Writing

​But first let's write!

Text Summary ​

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a novel written by the author Khaled Hosseini.

He is probably most famous for writing the novel The Kite Runner which as also been turned into a film.

The book is about the intertwining lives of two young women living in Afghanistan​.

English | Tertiary

11T: Creative Writing

Poll

Have you read The Kite Runner?

• Yes

• No

Poll

Have you read A Thousand Splendid Suns?

• Yes

• No

Reading the text

Today, we are just going to be reading the first chapter of the text. This has been annotated and uploaded as a PDF to your Google Classroom.​

The reason we are focusing on the first chapter is because for your assessment, you are allowed to write the first chapter of a larger story...whatever you choose though, Hosseini's writing is a great model for you!​

English | Tertiary

11T: Creative Writing

Open Ended

What do you think makes an effective opening chapter of a book? What elements do you think an author needs to include?

Let's read!

Locate the chapter on Google Classroom.

You will see that parts of the chapter have been annotated; sometimes this is with key information and metalanguage and sometimes this is with questions to provoke your thought.

Please read from the first page to he end of page 4 and then stop. ​

​

English | Tertiary

11T: Creative Writing

Multiple Choice

Who is the protagonist?

• Nana

• Nana's mother

• Mariam

• Jalil

Open Ended

Why do you think Hosseini would make the choice to use a language unknown to his English speaking audience? What is the effect of using this?

Open Ended

What do the similes "like an insect, like the scurrying cockroaches" suggest about how Mariam feels?

Open Ended

Why would Hosseini make the choice to use asynedeton when he lists "love, family, home, acceptance"? You may like to consider what it suggests about Mariam's character, the themes or message of the novel etc.

Let's read!

We are now going to read from the end of page 4 to the top of page 6.

Once you have completed reading, stop so we can do some more questions. ​

​

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Open Ended

The reader does not truly learn who Jalil is until page 5 - why would Hosseini make this choice?

Khaled Hosseini

"He was one of Herat's wealthiest men."

Let's read!

We are now going to complete reading the chapter.

Once you have completed reading, stop so we can do some more questions. ​

​

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

​- Khaled Hosseini

"Nana had been one of the housekeepers. Until her belly began to swell."

Open Ended

There is an element of foreshadowing in the quotes "this is what it means to be a woman in this world" and "a man's accusing finger always finds a woman." Based on these quotes, make a prediction of what you think will happen in the rest of the book.

Open Ended

Did this chapter fulfil for you what you identified as being an effective first chapter? Why/why not?

Open Ended

What overall theme and message do you think this chapter establishes?

Breaking down the language

Your LA next week is going to be all about breaking down the language choices made by Hosseini in this first chapter.

To prepare you for this, we are going to model this process for you.

You are then going to look at a quotation as a group and break it down. ​

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

​- Khaled Hosseini

"Nana cherished each blue-and-white porcelain piece, the graceful curve of the pot's spout, the hand-painted finches and chrysanthemums, the dragon on the sugar bowl meant to ward off evil."

​Part of the quote	Language break down ​
​Nana cherished	Cherished = verb; shows how much Nana loves the tea set, which seems in direct contrast to how she feels about Mariam.​
​each blue-and-white porcelain piece	Descriptive adjectives attributing colour and material; imagery so reader can imagine the tea set.
​the graceful curve of the pot's spout	The spout is personified here through attributing it with "grace." ​
​the hand-painted finches and chrysanthemums	​The tea set is clearly intricate; the flower chrysanthemums can be very symbolic depending on their colour (neglected love, sorrow, loyalty, love, happiness, longevity, joy); this is left ambiguous.
​the dragon on the sugar bowl meant to ward off evil	​Foreshadowing - what would be the reason for Nana ward off evil?

Overall analysis

This quote is significant as it has many symbolic elements to it. Not only does it allow the reader to imagine Nana's prized tea set, but it also offers a juxtaposition of how Nana feels about the tea set compared to Mariam as well as foreshadowing potential dangers ahead. By personifying the tea set within the imagery, Hosseini is making a comment about Nana's understanding of love and how her circumstances have made her quote bitter towards life.

English | Tertiary

11T: Creative Writing

Group Task: Quote Breakdown

In your groups, complete the following:

• select a quote from the first chapter of A Thousand Splendid Suns

• each group is to use a table in the shared Google Slides presentation to analyse and "break down" their chosen quote.

• If we have time, each group is to share their ​

English | Tertiary

11T: Creative Writing