FINAL REFLECTION!!

I auctually really liked this book. I liked how Khandra was so real with the characters. It made you feel like you would if you auctually were that person. I never knew that Afghanistan was this violent. I thought that public executions were a thing of the past...but I guess not. I liked this book because it gave insight on how different our cultures really are, and it made me realize just how lucky I am to be living in America, even though I may not think it all the time. I also liked how the characters didn't meet until very late in the book. It made you want to keep reading because you knew it was going to happen eventually, you just didn't know when or how. I liked the twists and turns that the story took, too. I definitely never would have predicted that Mohsen died. If anyone, I would have predicted Zunaira would have been the one to be killed by her husband. I would have continued the ending just a little more if I was the author, so it is known for sure just what happens to Atiq. I think that he dies, but I am not sure. Just a couple more sentences, and I think I would have been satisfied. Overall, though, I really liked this book, and I am interested to read The Kite Runner, since the two are supposedly similar.

The Swallows of Kabul Chapter 15

Atiq gets Zunaira into his office, and his wife gets positioned in the cell before Quassim arrives. When he finally gets there, Quassim's women take the prisoner, but Quassim wants to talk. When Atiq resists, Quassim sees a shadow in the corner of his office, and Atiq says that is his wife. Quassim talks Atiq into letting the women in his office (Zunaira) go to the stadium to watch the show with all of Quassim's women. They go and Musarrat is killed. When everyone goes to leave, Atiq goes to find Zunaira in the crowd and she is nowhere to be found. Atiq goes crazy looking for her. When Atiq goes home, he has a dream that Zunaira has come home, but when the veil is removed, it is Musarrat with have of her face gone from a gunshot wound. Eventually he starts running the streets, ripping off every woman's burqua in sight, and he still cannot find her. The men who "own" own the women Atiq is violating go after Atiq, and attack him. They shout many ways to execute Atiq, but I'm guessing that they beat him to death. With the way they were going, it did not sound like they would be satisfied until he was dead. I have no idea where Zunaira went, but I don't think that she made it too far yet. I think that she is still hiding around the city, and that she will run away later.

The Swallows of Kabul Chapter 14

This chapter was a big surprise that I almost saw coming. Atiq is at the jail, and his wife comes to visit him. She proposes a plan to get Zunaira out alive. She wants to switch places with her, so Musarrat will be the one who is auctually executed, and she says that no one will know or care as long as there is a woman under the burqua being punished. Musarrat says that she can feel she does not have much time left, and she'd rather not be left suffering. All she wants to do is make her husband happy, something she has yet to do in their marriage. I think this is very admirable of her, even though her husband does not treat her that well, but she still wants to do everything she can for him.
"Something is taking place inside you that would make you the envy of saints and kings." Musarrat is talking to Atiq, and she says that he has finally found true love, something that most do not find in this country. He is truly happy, and there is an extra little twinkle in his eye. Not many people are happy with their spouses in this country because they view them as posessions, not people. That is why this feeling is truly envious.

The Swallows of Kabul Chapter 13

Atiq decides to go to Qassim's house to try and plead with him. He wants to get Zunaira set free. I thought it was weird that Atiq got so obsessed with this woman so quickly that in about a day, he is risking his job and life to save her's. Although this visit to Qassim is not very productive, Atiq keeps trying. Everyone that Atiq talks to about the prisoner thinks that Atiq is going mad because he never did anything to help anyone else before, so why is he starting now, especially for a "criminal" that he just met. I think that Atiq is crazy, especially when he goes to the jail to set her free. He just opens the gate and tells her to go. She doesn't understand what he is doing, so she just sits there. I would probably think that this man is crazy too if I were a person sitting in jail and he just came over, opened my cell, and told me to run away. I thought it was either very admirable or very crazy that Zunaira didn't want to go because she did not want to mess up anyone else's family. I think that now that her husband is gone, she realizes how much she misses him, and she regrets the fight. Even though she had good reasoning behind her anger, I think she took it a little too far, and it ended up fatal.

The Swallows of Kabul Chapter 12

Zunaira has given Atiq a new breath of life. He just sits there and watches her sleep. This even caused him to miss the prayers, although I find this creepy. Zunaira has taken off her burqua finally, and Atiq is hypnotized by her beauty. When he goes home late, even Musarrat can sense the difference. Atiq tells her all about the new prisoner, and when Atiq realizes that he forgot to feed her, Musarrat offers to make a meal for her. She says that anything that makes her husband happy will make her happy. Maybe Musarrat can sense that her days are numbered, and she is doing everything in her power to do everything she can for her husband while she still has time left. I think may be something will happen to her and maybe Atiq and Zunaira will run away together? I like how the author used the comparison of women to ghosts because this seems like it is exactly how women are viewed in this society. They are ignored until something is wanted from them. Their burquas almost make them look the part of a ghost also. The only part I don't get is when they "make mournful sounds when they come into the proximity of men." Does this mean that men do something to hurt the women, or is it just because they are being ignored, or is there something else I am missing?

The Swallows of Kabul Chapter 11

A militiaman comes to Atiq at the jail and tells him that Quassim will be coming, and that he is not to leave the jail today. The militiaman seems to get annoyed with Atiq because he does not want to stay at the jail all day waiting, even though that is kind of his job. Atiq just wants the man to leave, but he doesn't want to tell him to go. Atiq mentions that Nazeesh finally got up enough courage to leave Kabul for good. Atiq really makes the militiaman mad when he asks about a man named Qaab, who had died about two years earlier. The militiaman thinks that Atiq should know this and that he just trying to make a fool out of him. The militiaman tells Atiq what happened, but leaves soon after, convinced that Atiq is crazy. Later the same afternoon, Quassim arrives at the jail with two militiawomen, and the prisoner. The prisoner had killed her husband, and she is to be publiclly executed at a big rally the following Friday at the stadium. This prisoner happens to be Zunaira. Finally, all the charaters have become connected! I think that Atiq is going to help Zunaira escape, or atleast try to before she gets killed.

The Swallows of Kabul Chapter 10

Mohsen spends his a lot of the time in his days at the nearby cemetery. He just goes there and wanders through all the gravesites. When he goes home, Zunaira runs to her room. She refuses to speak to him or even look at him. She even decided that she will never again take off her burqua, even in the comfort of her own home. She is still punishing Mohsen for the terrible act that he committed in Kabul's town square. Zunaira has been doing this ever since they went out into the streets together, and she has not spoken to him in ten days. One night, Mohsen decides to confront her about it, and follows her behind the curtain to her room. They get into a HUGE fight, and she says that she never wants to see Mohsen again. The fight gets violent when Mohsen starts to shake and almost choke Zunaira, and keeps saying that she doesn't ever want to see her husband again, and that things can never be the same between the two of them. Mohsen tries to rip of Zunaira's burqua, but she won't let him. She starts to bite and scratch him. This almost flips a switch in Mohsen and makes him really mad, and he hits her across the face. When Zunaira gets up and tries to run away he tries to follow, and she turns around and rams him into the wall. Mohsen hits his head off of something, and he is killed instantly. This is not how I thought this chapter would end. I expected it to be Zunaira to die, not Mohsen. I thought it was kind of odd to see this fight happen because women are just supposed to be there as a sort of slave, to do things for the men. It was weird to see this woman taking control of her life. It was like a totally different world behind closed doors.

The Swallows of Kabul Chapter 9

Two men are riding in a 4X4 in this chapter, and they talk about their deceased mothers. Qassim doesn't really seem to care that his mother is no longer alive, even though the driver tries to tell him that they could have stayed another night in the town. They see Nazeesh in the mountains as they are driving along, and Mohsen is in the graveyard. While the Quassim and the driver are driving, they talk about their wives. It seems like Quassim treates his women almost like dogs because and he talks about how they were disobedient and unentergetic. This man seems as though all he cares about is himself, and he has no reguard for others feelings. Quassim and his drivers go to Khorsan's to eat, and they see Atiq there. Atiq tries to leave quickly without being seen, but Quassim sees him and stops him to talk. Quassim says that Atiq looks so depressed and asks if he needs anything, like money. Quassim wants Atiq to come out with him later, and but Atiq doesn't want to. Quassim tells Atiq a story about a man who was extremely smart, and one day during a class, someone came in and whispered something in his ear. After that, he dissappeared forever, and Quassim said it was because he didn't know himself. At the very end of the chapter, Atiq comes home to find Musarrat lying on the floor. He immediately assumes she is dead, and he just stands in the doorway looking at her.

The Swallows of Kabul Chapter 8

Mohsen is sitting in the mosque listening to the speaker, Mullah Bashir, talk about how the muslim population is going to take over the world and that the western world as they know it is over. He says that there are too many starving people who are underprivledged in the west for them to be powerful anymore, but this is basically what is happening to the people in Kabul too, isn't it? As the service keeps going on, Mohsen keeps turning around to make sure Zunaira is still on the steps across the street. I thought that maybe one of the times he turned around, she would not have been sitting there and the Taliban would have taken her somewhere. Mohsen talks about how the only people really listening to the speaker were in the front rows, and the rest of the people just don't care. One man was even sleeping. I thought it was awful that the taliban patroled the mosque and whipped those who were not paying attention, like Mohsen when his head was turned. It sounds like they are running a cult, or trying to brainwash these people into believing what they should, even though the people don't really have a choice because they would be tortured if they didn't follow all the rules.

The Swallows of Kabul Chapter 7

Atiq is walking around the city, and he starts to describe all the cildren wandering the streets. He says that he always wanted children. It just made me think a little when Atiq said that although he wanted children before, he is now thankful for the fact that he is sterile. If he wanted kids so bad, why couldn't he just go out on the street and adopt one? It seems like there are enough orpans around. Atiq sees Nazeesh and at first, he doesn't talk to him, but then he decides to go back. I couldn't believe that Nazeesh was being so secretive talking about music. Why is the taliban limiting these people to no joy in their lives, especially not public joy? Atiq keeps walking and Mizra makes a comment to him which makes him mad. He walks faster and runs into Mohsen and Zunaira. I thought this was an interesting way for the two different families to cross each other's paths. I wonder if they will keep running into each other like this and somehow start talking or something? Or if they will just continue to be strangers? I like how the couple laughs when Atiq runs into them instead of getting mad. It shows that there is a little happiness left in their lives in this desert of depression. I thought it was so rude how the taliban came over and told Mohsen to go to the mosque and left Zunaira standing in the street until the speaker was done.

The Swallows of Kabul Chapter 6

The next morning, Mohsen and Zunaira act like nothing had happened between them. It is mentioned that everyting is going crazy in Kabul and a man who was going crazy was blindfolded and whipped to death in the town square. This seems so cruel and humiliating to me. Once they start to talk, they talk about a lot of things, but none of it really means anything. It goes on to describe how they met at college. Zunaira was a beautiful girl studying to be a lawyer, and Mohsen was studying political science. All the boys dreamed of marrying Zunaira, but she chose Mohsen. Mohsen decides that he wants to take a walk with Zunaira in the marketplace, but she says that she does not want to. She does not like wearing a burqa because it takes away everything she is as a person. She is not a person or an animal, but just a thing walking through the marketplace, receiving stares from many people who think that they are better than she is. Zunaira sticks up for herself, saying that it is degrading to have a woman wear a burqa while men do not have to wear anything. I agree with Zunaira on this. Why do women have to completely cover, while men can show their faces, necks and arms. I think that if one has to cover up, then the other should, too. It's only fair. At the end, Zunaira decides to go on a walk with her husband like old times. It seems like everything just keeps falling apart for Mohsen, with the state of the city and his wife, but here it seems like it takes a slight turn for the better because he and his wife are not fighting and they are doing something that they used to do before the war destroyed their lives.

The Swallows of Kabul Chapter 5

Atiq goes to the mosque to pray again, and after he is finished, he wanders around the city for a little bit. Atiq decides that he is going to spend the night in the jailhouse after he had the fight with his wife. I don't understand why Atiq would go to spend the night at the jailhouse when earlier that day he left to go for a walk because he said it was so depressing. After Atiq is in the jail for a little bit, a man named Nazeesh comes in and asks if he can stay there for the night. Nazeesh lost two sons in a battle against the Soviets. It is very depressing because it seems like everyone in this city has had something devastating happen to them. Atiq said okay, and Nazeesh gave him some of the dried meat and apples that he had brought. Nazeesh then gets very secretive, and then tells Atiq that he is planning to go away as soon as his foot heals. Atiq tells him that he is no serious, and that he will never actually leave Kabul. Nazeesh argues, but eventually gets fed up with Atiq and decides to leave. While Nazeesh leaves, he mumbles that Atiq is right, and that he probably won't end up leaving Kabul. He doesn't really know what is holding him back because it seems that he has no desire to stay in Kabul, but he just can't up the courage to just leave. After Nazeesh leaves, Atiq decides that he is going to go home, too, and he decides that he is not going to take pity on his wife anymore.

When they say that everyone is a beggar in this town, I don't know how anyone could go on without wanting to ask for something. It seems like everyone has lost just about everything, and there is nothing left in the city. They must beg because no one has enough money for even the essentials because everything has been wiped out by the war.

The Swallows of Kabul Chapter 4

Khandra starts out by describing how dreary the city of Kabul looks now that it has been attacked. He describes all the taliban members patrolling the streets while Atiq goes on his way to the mosque to pray. He goes in to relax before they start to pray, and then they are all called to do one of their daily prayers. A small man tries to to get Atiq to pray in the line with them, but Atiq refuses, and kind of hurts the little man in the process. After they are all done praying, Atiq still tries to delay going home because he still does not want to face his wife, and he listens to a group of wounded veterans' stories about being attacked during the war. I thought it was interesting and kind of weird that one man kept saying that the dead stunk very badly, while all of the others were persistant on the fact that their dead did not stink at all, that they smelled quite good. This was because they were blessed because they were serving their god. One man also talks about how an angel came down very close to him. When Atiq finally goes home, he finds that his house is very clean, and all the chores are done, even though he knows that his sister was not supposed to return yet. He finds that his sick wife, had done everything and they get into a fight about her wasting all of her strength as soon as she gets some of it back. He wants her to save her strength to heal the disease, but she feels that she needs to perform her duities as a wife unitl the day she dies. They argue about this for a while, then Atiq finally leaves in fury.
Mohsen and Zunaira are still fighting also, and Mohsen decides to go outside for a breath of fresh air as well. While he is sitting on his front step, he sees Atiq walk very quickly past him, and Mohsen can tell that Atiq was very angry.

The Swallows of Kabul Chapter 3

In this chapter, it describes Mohsen and Zunaira's house, how it got bombed during attacks, and how the taliban told them they needed to fix the windows because they didn't want anyone to walk by and be offended by a woman who has revealed herself inside her home. They barely have enough food to eat, and they are barely making it through their daily activities. Mohsen also thinks that he is going insane. This chapter makes me feel bad for Mohsen at times, but then at other times I don't. I realize that he regrets his decision to throw the rocks at the woman, but if it bothers him this much, he should not have done it in the first place. I also feel bad for his wife after he reveals his secret of helping to stone the woman. I don't think she knows how to react because no man has ever revealed this much of their personal feeling to her before. I like her for the way that she is sticking up for women in front of her husband because it seems like very few women do in this country.

The Swallows of Kabul Chapter 2

In this chapter, Atiq is described as the jail keeper. He is very depressed, and he seems like he is just done living his life. He spends his days in the small, dark, and spider web-covered cubbyhole he calls his office. The atmosphere of the jail is eating away at him, along with the thought of having to go home and care for his dying wife. She has a disease in her blood, and the doctors have given up hope for her to live through it. Atiq is starting to question mullah because is his wife's sickness. Atiq decides to leave the jail and go for a walk. While walking along the street, a horse and cart comes speeding by, and he almost gets run over. At the very last second, he jumps out of the way and lands by Mizra Shah's store, who was an friend that he grew up with. Mizra says that Atiq looks depressed and Atiq tells him about his wife. Mizra says that Atiq should just divorce her, but Atiq feels that he cannot because she saved his life. I cannot believe the way Mizra talks about women and pretty much their worthlessness. It seems as though they are just slaves to the men in this society. I feel bad for Atiq's wife becasue she is so sick and no one has hope, and I wonder how Atiq has not just married someone else by now because it seems like that is what everyone else does.

The Swallows of Kabul Chapter 1

In the first chapter, a woman is stoned to death because she is believed to be a prostitute. I thought it was kind of weird that it was not militia men, but militia women, that escorted this woman out of the prison. I didn't know that women could have a part in their army, since they are looked down on over there. I also couldn't believe that after she was obviously dead, the people just kept stoning her, and that they looked for her blood where they hit her with the rocks. This sounds like a terrible place to live. It is described as nothing but battlefields, cemeteries, and sand. These people also seem to have no consideration for others, as they just walk around in the market with a whip to get through, or drive their truck through a mob of people without slowing down.