Character Description
What character is being described?
big, square, ruddy face; the hooked nose; the flushed cheeks that gave the impression of sly cheerfulness; the watery, bloodshot eyes; the crowded teeth, the front two pushed together like a gabled roof; the impossibly low hairline, barely two finger widths above the bushy eyebrows; the wall of thick, coarse, salt-and-pepper hair
Rasheed
What is the name of Mariam and Nana's home?
kolba
What caused Tariq to lose one of his legs?
he stepped onto a land mine
Why does Laila agree to marry Rasheed?
because she is pregnant
What physical ailment has Tariq developed in Chapter 50?
headaches
Which character is being described?
She put on her shoes and quickly brushed her shoulder-length, blonde curls in the mirror. She was always told that she had inherited her mother's hair color - as well as her thick-lashed, turquoise green eyes, dimpled cheeks, high cheekbones, and lower lip pout.
Laila
How old was Mariam when her mother died?
15
What does Tariq do to the boy that shot Laila with the water pistol?
He beats him with his prosthetic leg
What is the name of the covering that Rasheed and other traditional Afghans require their wives to wear?
burqa
How has Zalmai changed in Part 4?
he has become more aggressive and rebellious
Which character is being described?
He was wearing a pakol on his head, hiking boots, and a black wool sweater tucked into the waist of his khaki pants. He was half smiling, nodding slowly. She didn't remember him saying this before, this word indeed, and this pensive gesture the fingers making a tent in his lap, the nodding, was new too. Such an adult word, such an adult gesture, and why should it be so startling? He was an adult now...
Tariq
Jalil tells Mariam he chose her name because it reminds him of...
a flower
What is the name of Laila's progressive but strict schoolteacher?
Shanzai
Where does Laila hide the money she's stealing from Rasheed?
the lining of her coat pocket
What do you learn about Laila on the last page of the novel?
she is pregnant
Which character is being described?
It's our lot in life...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. I won't have it.
Mariam
Who is the elderly village Koran tutor that visits Mariam and Nana during Mariam's childhood?
Mullah Faizullah
What word in the book refers to the five daily prayers undertaken by the Muslims?
Namaz
What is the punishment for adultery, according to the Taliban's flyers?
being stoned to death
Which literary element is crucial in conveying the complex relationships between the characters? Theme, characterization, point of view, or conflict?
Point of view
Which character is speaking?
I dare, I dare allow myself the hope that, after you read this, you will be more charitable to me than I ever was to you...that you will knock on my door one more time and give me the chance to open it this time, to welcome you, to take you in my arms...it is a hope as weak as my heart.
Jalil
Who discovers Mariam in a pool of blood after she miscarried?
Fariba
Whose pictures does Fariba hold up as the last Soviet conoys exit the city?
Ahmad and Noor
Where does Tariq spend most of his time away from Laila?
prison
Based on the end of Part 3, what is Mariam's primary feeling as she reflects on her life?
contentment