Hyperbole In A Thousand Splendid Suns

In Khaled Hosseini’s, A Thousand Splendid Suns, a mysterious man had just brought traumatic news. News that would change Laila forever. News that Laila had always feared. Her beloved Tariq was dead. She remembered the day that her mother had received the terrible news of her brother’s deaths, but that meant nothing to her. This was different though. She knew Tariq and was close to him. This death had an effect on her because she was a part of Tariq’s life and he was a huge part of hers. This suggests that the closer relationship you have with a person, the more impacted you are by their death.

“Laila had watched Mammy come undone that day and it had scared her, but she hadn't felt any true sorrow,”(210). He uses a hyperbole to describe

He writes, “She could hardly move. She could hardly move a muscle,”(210). This tense scene is easily painted in minds and leaves a lasting impression. It makes it easy to feel part of the experience alongside Laila. When Laila had first seen Tariq, after just hearing about how he had died, she was effected in a similar way. “A choking noise came up her throat. Her knees weakened...She didn’t dare. She didn’t dare move a muscle. She didn’t dare breathe, or blink even, for fear that he was nothing but a mirage ...that would vanish in the distance. Laila allowed herself to take a step toward him. Then another. And another. And then she was running,”(327). Her reaction shows that his death, or what she had thought was his death, had impacted her most of all. As she told him, “Laila’s voice broke. She had to clear her throat, collect herself...I believed him, Tariq. I wish I hadn’t, but I did. And then I felt so alone and scared,”(341). Because she loved Tariq so much, her reaction was extremely similar that of her mother’s reaction to her brother’s deaths. The though of Tariq being dead scared her and made her feel like