A Thousand Splendid Suns delivers cultural codes in many areas of the text one of those areas being the separation between the rich and the poor. This Cultural code is spoken off in Christine’s 3rd Blog where she looks at the relationship between Meriam and her father and Meriam and her mother. Christina shows us through places she points out in the text that there is evidence of the cultural code which points at poverty and injustice. She points to us the beliefs and norms of the culture and what are the results when anyone deviates from the norms. There is a great gap between those who are not wanted and those who believe themselves to be superior.
I see the cultural code develop in the relationship between Merriam and her teacher Mullah Faizullah.Her teacher and friend is vital to understanding the divide between those who are educated and those who are ignorant. Although Mariam is not in school she receives an education through Mullah and escapes the path of ignorance although it isn’t a complete liberation. Mullah is the medium of education that lingers between those who can and cannot afford it. Mariam’s hope is not only in her father but also in an education that may allow her to also free her mother. Her search becomes a search for enlightenment and revelation, one that she cannot receive while out of Herat.
It brings up a topic of poverty being a hindrance for those who want an education in the culture which Mariam is living in. The problem stems not only from poverty but also from gender inequality that may stem from the culture and not the religion. This cultural code reveals the clash between the culture and the undertone of religion being only used for the progress of the rich/ men of Herat.
Meriam finds herself in this complex ensemble of cultures that are for the majority detrimental to her dreams.
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