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Definition of Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like" or "as," but can also... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often... read full definition
Key Examples in A Thousand Splendid Suns
Part I: Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Compass Needle:
In the following passage from Chapter 1, Nana uses a particularly telling simile to explain gender relations to Mariam:
Nana said, "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."
Related Themes:
Part I: Chapter 11
Explanation and Analysis—Burqa:
In a prime example of situational irony, both Mariam and Laila find comfort in the anonymity the burqa provides, despite being forced to wear it by Rasheed. In the following excerpt from Chapter 11, Mariam notes this comfort:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[T]he burqa, [Mariam] learned to her surprise, was also comforting. It was like a one-way window. Inside it, she was an observer, buffered from the scrutinizing eyes of strangers. She no longer worried that people knew, with a single glance, all the shameful secrets of her past.
Related Themes:
Part III: Chapter 29
Explanation and Analysis—Blinding Whack:
In the following excerpt from Chapter 29, Mariam at last ascertains the true nature of Rasheed's fascination with Laila. The narrator utilizes both imagery and simile to illustrate this realization:
Unlock with LitCharts A+And suddenly Mariam knew that her suspicions were right. She understood with a dread that was like a blinding whack to the side of her head that what she was witnessing [between Rasheed and Laila] was nothing less than a courtship.
Related Themes:
Part III: Chapter 31
Explanation and Analysis—Imagery of Violence:
In Chapter 31, Rasheed makes certain demands of Laila as his newest wife, laying down the rules for the rest of their marriage. The following examples of simile elucidate Rasheed's true nature, as well as his intentions heading into this marriage with Laila:
Unlock with LitCharts A+"I should say that Mariam here will be my eyes and ears when I am away." Here, [Rasheed] shot Mariam a fleeting look that was as hard as a steel-toed kick to the temple. "Not that I am mistrusting. Quite the contrary. [...]"
On and on he went. Mariam sat watching [Laila] out of the corner of her eye as Rasheed's demands and judgements rained down on them like the rockets on Kabul.
Related Themes:
Part III: Chapter 32
Explanation and Analysis—Burqa:
In a prime example of situational irony, both Mariam and Laila find comfort in the anonymity the burqa provides, despite being forced to wear it by Rasheed. In the following excerpt from Chapter 11, Mariam notes this comfort:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[T]he burqa, [Mariam] learned to her surprise, was also comforting. It was like a one-way window. Inside it, she was an observer, buffered from the scrutinizing eyes of strangers. She no longer worried that people knew, with a single glance, all the shameful secrets of her past.
Related Themes:
Part III: Chapter 42
Explanation and Analysis—Hostess:
In the following example of simile from Chapter 42, the narrator characterizes the shame Aziza feels in her shabby surroundings at the orphanage:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Whenever a kid cried in their vicinity, snot oozing from his nose, or if a kid walked by bare-assed, hair clumped with dirt, Aziza's eyelids fluttered and she was quick to explain it away. She was like a hostess embarrassed in front of her guests by the squalor of her home, the untidiness of her children.
Related Themes:
Part III: Chapter 47
Explanation and Analysis—Compass Needle:
In the following passage from Chapter 1, Nana uses a particularly telling simile to explain gender relations to Mariam:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Nana said, "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."
Related Themes:
