A Thousand Splendid Suns Lesson Plan

Nana vs. Jalil: Unreliable Storytellers

Kind of Activity:

Group Work

Objective:

Identify how Nana and Jalil are unreliable sources of information, and analyze their roles within the novel so far

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.6

Structure:

Mariam grows up torn between her two very different parents, and their conflicting perspectives on life. It is often unclear whether Jalil or Nana is lying to Mariam - and they can't both be telling the truth. For example Mariam is told two very different accounts of the circumstances surrounding her birth: Nana's story is dark, lonely and violent, and Jalil's story is...