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Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic Lunar Calendar. Muslims around the world abstain from food, drink, and physical needs during the daylight hours. It is also a time to purify the soul, refocus your attention to God, and practice self-discipline and sacrifice.
Ramadan fits in to the novel because when it is first mentioned, it was Mariam's first in Kabul and she compares it with the one she's had in Herat. For example, she sees that Rasheed doesn't fast for all the days and when he does he's very irritable. She remembers that Jalil would come and bring her gifts, Mullah Faizullah would come with treats. Also, that is very lively for the last day of Ramadan. Finally when Rasheed has visitors over, Mariam is told to stay holed in her bedroom and she thinks its because of his protectiveness and protecting her honor but in truth it was the gateway of how abusive Rasheed really is.

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Nixon watergate scandal pg 64
The watergate scandal was a series of "dirty tricks" played on other political leaders and groups by the Nixon administration. The group spied and bugged others offices and misused the political power they had.
This fits into the book because of how Jalil treated Mariam. He tricked her into thinking that he really did care for her but in reality he liked his other children more than her. Jalil also misused his power by arranging Mariam to get married and getting her out of his house.

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Nixon watergate scandal pg 64
The watergate scandal was a series of multiple "dirty tricks" played on other political groups and leaders by the Nixon administration. The activities included bugging other political leaders offices and multiple misuses of the president.
This translates into the book because of how Jalil treated Mariam. He tricked her and conspired to get rid of her because he did not like her as well as his other children. Also, he misused his power to arrange a marriage and force her out of the powers.

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Kocheh-morgha(pg.74)
Is a busy street in the city Rasheed lives in.

In the story, kocheh-morgha is translated to "chicken street". It's a narrow street located in a busy part of the city. Even though the street is named chicken street there isn't really any chickens on that street.
I think this is relevant to the story because Mariam is going through a new path in life and everyone around her is telling her that she will be fine and she will enjoy the experience but Mariam has yet to find the joy that everyone says she will have .

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Kocheh-Morgha (pg.74)
Is a busy street in a wealthy part of Rasheed's city.

In the book, kocheh-Morgha is in the city that Rasheed and Mariam visit. The author translated it to "chicken street".

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In Islam a Burqa is an outer garment worn by women for the purpose of concealing their bodies and/or face. It is mostly worn when a women leaves the house and is to until she returns. In the Quaran is does not say that is is mandatory to wear such, this is where a lot of contradictions and confusion is thrown in. In fact is seen a crime when men pressure or demand a women to wear the Burqa prematurely. Most are unwilling to read the Quran and and uphold its true meanings, most people are solely dependent on the interpretations incorrectly preached to them. Wearing the Burqa is a self made decision. As in the book Mariam sees the benefits in wearing the Burqa when she says, "And the burqa she learned to her surprise, was also comforting. It was like a one-way window. Inside it, she was an observer, buffered from the scrutinizing eyes of strangers. She no longer worried that people knew, with a single glance, all the shameful secret of her past." (page 73)

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Ruins of Alexander the Great's old citadel in Herat.(pg.24)
Alexander the Great had built it when conquering Afghanistan in 330 BC. In the 18th Century it was used as a treasury, arsenal, and a place of royal residence under the Durrani Empire. This historical site helps make the city of Herat seem all the more important in context to Mariam and the reader when we are first introduced to it.

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The Ali Abad mountain. pg. 59

The Ali Abad mountains are a landmark that is often visited by tourists, there are guest houses that you can stay in in the surrounding towns. In the book the university is located at the foot of the mountain. Mariam was introduced to these mountains when she first moved into Rasheed's house. The view of the mountains could represent her distance from the world which is full of places that she would much rather be. Having the university located at the foot represents the unfairness that Mariam is faced with as she is treated much worse than her siblings. Her sisters are not experiencing what Mariam is with the forced marriage, instead they are attending university just like the one located at the foot of the mountains that Mariam has to observe from a distance.

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Marxism analyzes interactions between social classes. In the book, the separation between the social classes are extremely obvious. Jalil treats Mariam differently because she's lower than he is, which is shown when Jalil doesn't let Mariam come in and just lets her sleep outside. This is just one of many examples of Marxism and how the lower class is treated in this novel.

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Harami (various pages throughout the novel).
The word "harami" translates to bastard, meaning a child born out of wedlock. But in the book, it is also used to describe someone who is unwanted.
The word is harami fits perfectly into the story because it represents Mariam's life very well. She was never seemed to be wanted. We she was conceived, Nana and her unborn Maraim were cast out of Jalil's house, during the first 15 years of her life Nana often says that she is a harami and not a good daughter. After her mother dies, Mariam is again unwanted by Jalil and is given away to a suitor and even after she marries Rasheed, she is unwanted by him because of her miscarriages and her cooking. "Mariam" and not being wanted, is a perfect representation of Mariam's life.

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Karl Marx page 98

In the book, Karl Marx is mentioned when the government was taken over and changed. Rasheed mentioned this when he tried to explain what a communist is to Mariam.

Karl Marx is a
German philosopher who studied political economy. He introduced the concept of socialism. His theory is centered around the idea that forms of society rise and fall as they further and then impede the development of human productive power.

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Abdul Qadir was the leader of the Air Force of Afghanistan. He took over the government and created the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. He brought along communist views from his Soviet background.

Mariam hears his voice on the radio after the attacks and government change in Afghanistan. Later, the communist views come into place and Rasheed tells Mariam it will affect the poor more than them. For the first time in a while, Mariam worries about Jalil due to his wealth and the new communist leader.

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"Jinn" are supernatural creatures in early Arabian and later Islamic mythology and theology. They are mentioned frequently in the Quran.  Jinn can be good, evil, or neutrally benevolent.

In the novel, Mariam refers to Nana's seizures as jinn entering and taking over her body. Because these "fits" were constantly reoccurring, Mariam was always anticipating the jinn to act out when she is upset. On page 10, Mariam describes it as "Nana collapsing suddenly, her body tightening, becoming rigid, her eyes rolling back..." Even though Nana's seizures are not really due to a jinn entering her body, she has no better knowledge or explanation of what is happening due to her lack of education.

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The two Buddha’s, located in Bamiyan, were a home to many Buddhist monks who carved caves into the statues for living. It was also home for weary traveling pilgrims.

This trip is significant to Laila for a few things. But one is to learn a lesson from her Babi, “You see, some things I can teach you. Some you learn from books. But there are things that, well, you just have to see and feel.” I feel as though this was foreshadowing her feelings about the death of her friend Giti. We learn that she didn’t really have the sadness that her mother did for her brothers when he died but after experiencing it first hand, she broke down and felt something new. I also think that it was foreshadowing her feelings for Tariq, same as the sadness she had never felt the emotions she did now. Both of these she had to feel to learn what they really were, she couldn’t just simply learn them from a text book.

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Koran pg. 38

The Qur'an (in Anglicized form: Koran ) is certainly the greatest literary work in classical Arabic and for all Muslims stands as the definitive word of God (in Arabic: Allah ) spoken to the prophet Muhammad by the angel Gabriel. When reading the Qur'an , you should realize that, for all Muslims, the text you are reading is quite literally the voice of God. In the novel, the Koran was taught in the beginning to Mariam (page 16) when she was a child by Mullah Faizullah, and when Mariam is in need of guidance after Nana’s death both of them look to the Koran for words of wisdom.

Source:http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Bible/Quran.html

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April coup of 1978 pg 112.

The coup of 1978 (saur revolution) was a revolution led by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) against the rule of self-proclaimed Afghan President Mohammed DaoudKhan on 27–28 April 1978.
This fits into the novel because it was something Mariam and Rasheed listened to on the radio, and more importantly it heavily influenced the problems in Laila's family. Two of Laila's brothers left to fight the Jihad after the events of this revolution which caused her mothers mood swings and the displeasure she has with her family, in particular, her mother. If the revolution had not occurred, her brothers may have not left, her mother may have still been happy, and she may have liked her family more.

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Pinnochio is a character that appears in many stories and movies. Pinnochio "cannot tell a lie" because if he does, his nose will grow. This fact is somewhat ironic to Jalil'S character as he lies about the play, but the plot of Pinnochio is also symbolic to the journey Mariam sets out on to become a "real part of Jalil's family."
Pinnochio is a symbolic character that represents the actions of Jalil. It creates a sort of ironic setting. The journey Mariam creates by going to see her father relates back to Pinnochio and the plot of that story. They both are somewhat "shunned" by their

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Quarma(korma)
Quarma is a form of stew made with meat or vegetable braised in spiced sauce made with yogurt, cream, nut or seed paste. Miriam makes this dish multiple times for Rasheed.

As Mariam fails to have children Rasheed view of her food changes. After they are first married he complements her food, as time progress and she fails to have children he becomes more and more critical of how she cooks, even if it was a dish he liked before. This criticism of everything she did cause Mariam to be in fear of Rasheed coming home for dinner.

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In the kolba where Nana and Mariam live, Nana had a Chinese Porcelain tea set. This tea set is the only thing Nana has from her mother, who died when Nana was very young. In ancient China, tea was not a regular drink, it was mainly used as a type of medicine.

This tea set could be viewed as a symbol for Nana's poor health. Not just her physical health, her mental health as well. Mariam breaking part of the set could possibly foreshadow Nana killing herself when Mariam leaves her. The part that Mariam broke could symbolize Nana's fragile mental state.

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Herat (chapter 5)
Herat is one of the largest cities of Afghanistan. In the novel, Herat is the city where Jalil, Mariam's father, lives with his many wives and children.
Herat can be seen as a reality check for Mariam in regard to her life. When visiting Herat she realizes the lies her mother has told her about the atmosphere of the city and the truth of her father's outlook on their relationship.

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Kabul (Chapter 26)

Kabul is the capital of Afghanistan and its largest city.
In the book, Kabul represented a country filled with war and violence. Part 2 of the story is when violence began. War fell onto the city and bombs fell on the city regularly. They felt trapped in the city, but didn't wanna leave behind their home and the memories.

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In Jalil's house, there are Matryoshka dolls in the room Mariam stays in. These dolls are alternatively called "Russian Nesting Dolls", which stack inside one another, smallest to biggest.

These dolls could be viewed in contrast to the cheap gifts Jalil had given Mariam over the years. They could also potentially symbolize the way Mariam over-romanticizes her father in a large, looming way only to see him progressively grow smaller as she realizes how he truly views her.

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We sell Wooden Russian dolls: Matryoshka ( babushka or stacking dolls). Our selection "Nesting dolls" includes over 300 different wooden nesting dolls, ...