ATSS Chapter One Quote Response (Primary and Secondary Responses)

2/21/2025

At the end of chapter 1 in A Thousand Splendid Suns, Nana says to her daughter, Mariam:

Learn this now and learn it well, my daughter: Like a compass needle that points north, a man's accusing finger always finds a woman. Always. You remember that, Mariam (Hosseini 6).

Afghani Girl in School, 2014

In a thoughful and well-written paragraph, address the following points:

Explain your understanding of this quote within the context of the story.
Create a claim that either agrees or disagrees with Nana's warning to her daughter.
Support your claim with anecdotal evidence from your understanding of society, historical events, or personal belief.
End with a strong concluding statement.

Use your Pen Name!

Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 75-100 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name that you were assigned in class as your PEN NAME and be sure to add word count at the end of your response. Due by 11:59 pm TONIGHT!

Secondary Blog Response Expectations (read everyone's primary responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 75-100 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. In these replies, you can contribute, agree, disagree, support, elaborate, challenge, clarify, and/or connect. Please use the PEN NAME that you were assigned in class as your PEN NAME and be sure to add word count at the end of your response. Due by 11:59 pm on Monday night!

16 Comments

Pallas's Cat

2/21/2025 08:53:45 am

In Khaed Hosseini’s “A Thousand Splendid Suns,” Nana’s quote to Mariam,”Learn this now and learn it well, my daughter: Like a compass needle that points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman. Always. You remember that, Mariam,” reflects the deeply ingrained male-dominated norms and gender biases within Afghan society. Nana’s warning underscores the systemic oppression women face, where they are often blamed for societal and familial issues, regardless of their actual liability. I agree with Nana’s warning to her daughter, as historical and societal evidence shows that women have frequently been blamed and marginalized. For instance, during the Salem witch trials, women were disproportionately accused and persecuted as witches, reflecting the societal tendency to blame women for misfortunes. Additionally, in many cultures, women who are victims of sexual assault often face victim-blaming, where they are held responsible for the crimes committed against them. This enduring pattern of gender bias highlights the importance of Nana’s cautionary advice to Mariam, preparing her for the harsh realities of their world. In conclusion, Nana’s warning serves as a poignant reminder of the persistent gender inequalities that continue to shape women’s lives, urging vigilance and resilience in the face of unjust accusations.

MuGGer

2/24/2025 11:46:44 am

I like what you said about this quote

proboscis monkey

2/25/2025 07:34:42 am

I liked how you mention some of the things they get blamed for

Osprey

2/25/2025 07:49:54 am

I strongly agree with this writer's explanation on Nana's words to her daughter. I like how they highlighted the clearly great bias shown towards men by Nana's mother all because of her past experience, they did a great job on highlighting the afghan societies gender biases and the oppression that the women in afghanistan culture face, for example in the story we see nanas mom was wrongfully accused and isn't even inherently the type to seduce someone yet she is still punished and has to leave town and is disowned due to someone else's wrongfully accused actions.

Tenrec

2/27/2025 03:11:57 pm

I feel the quote is really fitting

Torsier

2/23/2025 10:22:53 pm

In Khaed Hosseini’s “A Thousand Splendid Suns,” the quote “But after four years of marriage, Mariam saw clearly how much a woman could tolerate when she was afraid.” We see with this quote how in Afghanistan marriage is under the mans name and everything happens through the man and not many woman have a say in the marriage with the kids or the spouse themself. This quote shows how a woman in afghan handles so much in marriage because she's afraid of what could happen.

2/24/2025 11:48:35 am

the marriage part is good but what else.

proboscis

2/25/2025 07:37:45 am

I liked how you talked about how the marriage is not right in Afghanistan

Wild Cat

2/25/2025 08:11:26 am

I agree with how important the quote that you picked is. “But after four years of marriage, Mariam saw clearly how much a woman could tolerate when she was afraid.” This quote shows how women in Afghanistan have little to no say in what happens in marriage. The women in Afghanistan are too scared to try and stand up or say anything about what happens in their marriage or who they get married to that they just accept it and deal with it no matter how cruel it is.

2/27/2025 03:16:30 pm

I find that the topic is really significant within the story, and I like how you formed it, as Its a main focus point to what were learning about. From what we've seen in the story so far it really feels that marriage is essentially oppression.

Arabian Leopard

2/28/2025 08:09:38 am

I like how you went deeper with what her mother meant by saying a women must " Endure" especially in marriages.
I felt like you could elaborate a bit more however I think this is a very important part.

2/24/2025 09:29:04 am

In Khaed Hosseini’s “A Thousand Splendid Suns,” Nana’s quote to Mariam,”Learn this now and learn it well, my daughter: Like a compass needle that points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman. Always. You remember that, Mariam,” this quote shows me that nana is trying to tell her daughter to be aware that all men are the same and will put the blame on her. I agree with her mom because women don't have a lot of speaking power in Afghanistan and men can just do whatever they want without any consequences. this quote shows the reality of marriage in Afghanistan 103 words

2/24/2025 11:45:34 am

In khaed Hosseini’s “A Thousand Splendid Suns,” Nana’s quote to Mariam,”Learn this now and learn it well, my daughter: Like a compass needle that points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman. Always. You remember that, Mariam,”This shows how women in their society have no say and what ever a man say that's how it goes.I agree with Nana waring because in Afghan there is a long history of women oppression and how they have be treated over the years. like when they shut down the all girl school in March 21. so in concluding people who are in there shoes should try to stay away from them.

2/28/2025 09:05:25 am

I agree with your statement. I feel as though the lesson Nana was trying to teach Mariam was that no matter what type of person you are being born as a women meant having to obey a man and that if you don't you will face Criticism and back lash from society. And in certain situations if a man is in the wrong they still blame the women and society will go along with it. I think that's what Nana wanted to instill to Mariam.

2/25/2025 07:58:44 am

In Khaed Hosseini’s “A Thousand Splendid Suns,” Nanas quote tell us of that how easily the roles within an Afghanistan life, of which men have a primarily dominant role and overtly have the majority power within most situations. There is a lot of oppression in the story, of that we see how Nana's mom be wrongly accused and even punished, demonstrating gender roles in Afghanistan life.

2/28/2025 07:53:38 am

Mariam's mom wanted her daughter to learn that she was born in a world that's run by men and that no matter what she lives under their a coustoms .
Mariam was so isolated from the world that she was naive, and protected from certain things.
"Mariam kept thinking of his face in the upstairs window. He let her sleep on the street . on the street. Mariam cried lying down. She didn't want to sit up, didn't want to be seen. She imagined all of Herat this morning how she'd disgraced herself" ( Hosseini 35).
Mariam didn't believe things her mom said because she typically said negative things to Mariam . Mariam started to learn what her mom was talking about when she went to Herat and saw herself how her father actually treated her in society.

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ATSS Chapter One Quote Response (Primary and Secondary Responses)

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