What Does Mariam Symbolize In A Thousand Splendid Suns

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Often times, inexperienced readers and writers do not understand the relationship between symbolism and names. Symbolism, however, can be transmitted effectively and efficiently through names. In fact, names in themselves are symbols. Take Mariam, for example. The name Mariam typically represents friendliness but stubbornness.1 However names are not the only symbols. Whenever we look at our beloved Mariam from A Thousand Splendid Suns, we discover that she herself is a symbol. She represents innocence, love, and loyalty, and that’s just in the first few chapters. How, you might ask? Directly from the text in chapter one, we see her loyalty. “The truth was that around Jalil, Mariam did not feel at all like aharami. For an hour or two

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