Comparative Imagery of A Thousand Splendid Suns and Remember Me Katie Machinchick English 10 (1) Comparative Presentation 11/13/13

A Thousand Splendid Suns The novel A Thousand Splendid Suns was written by Khaled Hosseini. Two women from Afghanistan, Mariam and Laila, who were born a generation apart, are brought together by fate and form a life- changing bond. They have to face war, loss of family, and their abusive husband to live a “normal” life everyday.

Remember Me The film Remember Me was directed by Allen Coulter in 2010. The film focuses on Tyler Hawkins and Ally Craig who both have insecurities about their pasts, involving deaths in their families. They soon are brought together as lovers and try to find happiness as fate strikes tragically in the end.

Organic Imagery Organic Imagery is the representation of an internal sensation (Allard 8). In both A Thousand Splendid Suns and Remember Me organic imagery is demonstrated to reveal the protagonists’ acts of sacrifice.

Organic Imagery in A Thousand Splendid Suns Support Mariam’s natural instinct takes over when she sees Rasheed trying to strangle Laila: “He was still on top of Laila, his eyes wide and crazy, his hands wrapped around her neck. He’s going to kill her...And Mariam could not, would not, allow that to happen. He’d taken so much from her in twenty-seven years of marriage. She would not watch him take Laila too” (Hosseini 787-8). Analysis Mariam’s courage to save Laila reveals that she is willing to sacrifice her life for her Mariam feels as if she has had too much taken from her during the time that she has been married to Rasheed The fear of Rasheed killing Laila drives her to kill him instead

Visual Representation of Organic Imagery in A Thousand Splendid Suns This image shows the sacrifice Mariam made of risking her life for Laila to live a happy life with her family. By donating money to a charity, one is sacrificing their needs to help others even if they don’t know them personally. In the jar there are only $1 bills, which show that even a small sacrifice will still help the cause. This shows that doing good deeds are important to live a happy life.

Organic Imagery in Remember Me Evidence In one of the ending scenes of the film, there are police in the streets and people panicking while there are ashes falling from the sky. Coulter shot this scene to reveal the fear and panic among the citizens in New York City as this tragedy occurred. Analysis This scene is essential to one of the main motifs of the film which is death. Tyler has finally become satisfied with his life when his fate strikes as he is killed in the World Trade Center on 9/11/01. He has lived a fearless life, therefore, his death was accepted by his loved ones.

Scene of Organic Imagery in Remember Me In the image above, police cars are filling the streets, people are panicking in the background, and ashes are falling from the sky. These features of the image portray fear; the policeman’s hand gesture show that he is being sincere, yet disciplinary about the matter. The fact that this tragedy is occurring shows that know one can predict when something bad will happen.

Common Theme Revealed Based on these two distinctive examples of organic imagery, both author Khaled Hosseini and director Allen Coulter want their reader/viewer to realize: You will never know when your fate will strike; therefore, it is important to live without fear because this causes an unnecessary worry.

Visual Imagery Visual Imagery occurs when a poet or author represents something through sight (Allard 3). In both the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns and the film Remember Me, visual imagery is demonstrated to reveal the protagonists’ courtesy and favors.

Visual Imagery in A Thousand Splendid Suns Support Mariam looked forward to seeing her father every week, for he brought her joy: “For an hour or two every Thursday, when Jalil came to see her, all smiles and all gifts and endearments, Mariam felt deserving of all the beauty and bounty that life had to give (Hosseini 19). Analysis Mariam feels as if Jalil is going out of his way to see her because he loves her The gifts that Jalil brings suggest that he cares for her yet is trying to earn her compassion.

Visual Representation of Visual Imagery in A Thousand Splendid Suns This image represents Jalil’s kindness towards Mariam growing, while her trust for him is also growing. In the image is a person doing a good deed by planting a tree. This small task helping our environment by supporting animals and our atmosphere. This shows that a small action is a bigger deal than it seems.

Visual Imagery in Remember Me Support In one of the opening scenes, Tyler and his little sister are sitting on a statue talking and laughing with each other. Coulter shot this image to reveal Tyler’s kindness despite his rebellious behavior. Analysis This image is essential to his internal conflict which is insecurity. Tyler is known for having a short temper doesn’t show his decency to anyone but his sister, so he decided to spend time with her and do nice things for her.

Visual Representation of Visual Imagery in Remember Me In the image above, Tyler is talking and joking around with his sister after he picked her up from school. Their facial expressions are cheerful and the way they are both sitting on the statue suggests that they are relaxed and nonchalant. Tyler enjoys doing these things with his sister because he knows how much it means to her.

Common Theme Revealed Based on these two distinctive examples of visual imagery, both author Khaled Hosseini and director Allen Coulter want their reader/viewer to realize: The little things that people do everyday may be insignificant, but it’s important to continue these actions, for they can impact others’ lives in a positive way.

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