The book "A Thousand Splendid Suns" take place mostly in Afghanistan. The book outlines the different periods of time and what forms of government that has brought upon Afghanistan in the last hundred years. Afghanistan was founded in 1747 by Ahmad Shah, though the land has ancient history and many different timelines of different civilizations. For much of the 21st century Afghanistan was a monarchy. In 1973 former Prime Minister Mohammed Sardar Dauod Khan seized power in a military coup. He abolished the monarchy, abrogated the constitution, and declared Afghanistan a republic with himself as the first President and Prime Minister. In 1978 the PDPA overthrew Mohammed Daoud's regime. this uprising was known as the Great Saur Revolution. Nur Mohammed Taraki became President, Prime Minister, and General Secretary. The country was renamed to the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. The country shiften to more liberal and socialist ideals. Religious, traditional laws were replaced by Marxist and secular ones. Men werea obliged to cut their beards and women could not wear burqas. Ambitious land reform was carried out and farmers' debts were waved. Usury was also banned. Womens' rights were also improved. They were considered peoples, forced marriage was banned and other similar things were done. in 1979 the soviet invasion began. For nine years the Soviet Army conducted military operations. Eventually the Islamic Jihad Council was put in place. Taliban, a movement of religious scholars and former mujahideen, emerged from Kandahar . The Taliban took control of about 95% of the country by the end of 2000, limiting the opposition mostly to a small corner in the northeast. The book demonstrates Afghanistans history of a nation shaped by constant invasions and new rises of power.

Contrast

The speaker of Ruth Roach Pierson’s poem, “Summer in the Yakima Valley,” talks about his days on the farm with his cousin. He has many contrasting feelings towards the farm that are triggered by the transition between day and night. In the day he speaks affectionately of the farm. He admires the abundance of fruits the trees yield and finds excitement in venturing the farm’s grounds. When day shifts to night and he is lying to sleep with his cousin in the barn on the hill, his feelings turn to discomfort and distress. He feels imprisoned in the room as he is subject to the mysterious sounds of night. He starts to miss his home. While in the day the speaker and his cousin enjoy running around the farm and swimming in the muddied water of the irrigation ditch, enjoying the excitement of the dangers of the whirlpool’s pull, the night contains no movement at all. The two lay in the attic of the barn and the dangers heard by the speaker do not hold the same joy that the days dangers held.