Three Reasons You Should be Teaching A Thousand Splendid Suns
*NOTE: THIS BLOG POST MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
If you have a world literature course, or any upperclassman English course for that matter, A Thousand Splendid Suns should be in your curriculum. Full stop. This is by far and away one of my personal and my students’ favorite novels and if you’re not teaching it, you’re missing out. There are so many things about this novel unit that are perfect for skill-building and ripe for deep, meaningful discussion, but if I had to boil it down to my top three, then here they are:
ONE: THE IMPACT & IMPORTANCE OF RELATIONSHIPS
When we talk about inquiry-driven learning, we are looking for themes and concepts that students feel drawn toward. Relationships, whether they are within a family, romantic, or the bonds of friendship, are something that every student has seen through a variety of lenses. That is one of the strongest common denominators between students and the characters in ATSS. This is why I frame my unit under the essential question: Why do relationships matter?
ATSS has complicated and contrasting family dynamics. Although worlds apart from Afghanistan, my Midwestern, corn-belt students from the US found themselves surprised at how closely their own stories overlapped with Laila and Mariam. From Tariq and Laila’s heart-wrenching love story to the pain of Mariam’s childhood and marriage, there is depth and complexity to explore at every level of difficulty to match what your students are ready for.
One of the activities that I like to do is have students examine Laila’s relationships in a one-page template. This lesson does a great job of summarizing much of the early chapters in Part 2 and helps me see where students are comprehending and where they might be falling off course. The legend asks for students to observe three things: the nature of the relationship, a piece of evidence that showcases that relationship, and an issue, experience, or trauma that connects them. Using the legend, students work in small groups to identify three components of each relationship. I assign each group a different character, give them about 10 minutes to work, then we all come back together to share out and take notes as a whole group.
Using the legend, students work in small groups to identify three components of each relationship. I assign each group a different character, give them about 10 minutes to work, then we all come back together to share out and take notes as a whole group.
We also like to use this question to bring in some supplemental texts from the field of psychology. The impacts of childhood trauma, neglect, war, love, education, abandonment, separation, and bonding moments have a powerful effect on the kind of adult that child will become. We learn a lot about Laila and Mariam when examining The Attachment Theory, and, of course, students learn a lot when they think about this theory in relation to their own upbringing.
TWO: THE STRUCTURE OF CIRCULAR STORYTELLING
Of all the novels in the cannon that I’ve taught and the YA books that make it into our regular lit circle rotation, very few offer the opportunity to teach the narrative structure of circular storytelling. In the past, I’ve used the Disney film Coco to demonstrate this style and it’s a really special moment for students to see OTHER ways for stories to be told. Much of what they read has an exposition, rising actions, a climax, and a resolution far away from where the story began. But in ATSS, the story circles back to the exact place where it began and offers a unique sense of hope and closure that many stories in their experience never have.
This makes for a rich experience in analysis. One of my favorite activities to do toward the end of the novel is have students look at plot events from the beginning and the end of the story and analyze their connection. I start by giving them some movable stickers of important imagery from Part 4 on Google Slides that looks like this:
Then, I have students copy the sticker and past it into the PURPLE circle shown in the diagram below. In the green circle, students (in their own words) describe the connected imagery from the beginning of the novel. Between the two circles, students have space to provide an analysis of the connections - the effect of the circle - in a casual but powerful way. Of course, I start with an example that most would know from a popular movie from their childhood:
We finish this activity by returning to the Essential Question (as always!) and speculate: what does this all have to do with relationships, anyway? What is cyclical about our lives and the relationships that we have? Students have powerful conversations about generational experiences, beginning new stages of life and closing out old ones, and so much more.
THREE: THE POWER OF SETTING & GEOGRAPHY
I can count on one hand the number of students that can name the capital city of Afghanistan. I can also count on one hand the number of students that could point Afghanistan out on a map. Unfortunately, many of my students only have a few connections to Afghanistan — and the majority of those ideas are either stereotypical in nature or abundantly negative in their family’s military experiences.
So what do we do?
A virtual field trip to Afghanistan. Using Google Earth, my students get a two-day virtual tour of Herat, the place of the Buddha statues, Pakistan, and Kabul. Students view maps and videos, listen to interviews with Afghan people, and confront their own biases and stereotypes that they hold about the country. Any chance we get to “leave the walls” of our classroom, even virtually, has always left a lasting and powerful impact on my students (we also do a virtual field trip to London before starting any Shakespeare play!).
PLEASE TEACH THIS BOOK
A Thousand Splendid Suns is the kind of book that very few students would ever pick out as a choice read on their own. And that might be for the best — this book belongs in novel units across the world and is a comfortable and necessary jumping off point for very difficult conversations.
Teaching this book is not easy: the abuse, trauma, horrors of war, and painful experiences of loss in the novel are excruciating. But, ultimately, I believe this novel is about love. And hope. And the future. It’s a love story about Afghanistan and the resilience, beauty, and strength of its people. This story teaches us more about the power of true friendship than the pains of abuse. And while you’ll get parents and admin who complain about some of these scenes, you’ll know quickly who has read a synopsis and who has actually read the entire novel.
I hope you come to love Mariam and Laila’s story as much as I do and that you have the chance to share it with your students. Let me know in the comments your favorite reasons for teaching this novel, and if you’re experiencing pushback, let me know that, too. I’d love to help in any way I can.
LET’S GO SHOPPING
