Allusion: Zaman

The second Easter egg that Hosseini had in A Thousand Suns was the orphanage caretaker, Zaman. The caretaker for the orphanage in The Kite Runner was also named Zaman. The description of the orphanage in both books are similar, a little run-down place filled with hungry orphans. This leads me to believe that Hosseini put Zaman in the second book purposefully for his die-hard fans.

                “The man who let us in introduced himself as Zaman, the director of the orphanage…We followed him through dim, grimy hallways where barefoot children dressed in frayed sweaters ambled around. We walked past rooms with no floor covering but matted carpets and windows shuttered with sheets of plastic. Skeleton frames of steel beds, most with no mattress.” (Hosseini, 266)

                In the Kite Runner, Amir comes to an orphanage to look for his friend’s child. Hassan, the child’s father had been executed simply for being Hasara and his child was instantly orphaned. Amir had betrayed his friend’s trust in their childhood and had come back to restore it. He noticed he was too late when he heard of his friend’s death. Determined to repair his wrong-doings, he went to the orphanage to adopt, Sohrab, the child.

                “The orphanage director was a stooping, narrow-chested man with a pleasantly lined face. He was balding, had a shaggy beard, eyes like peas. His name was Zaman…They passed through poorly lit hallways where barefoot children stepped aside and watched. They had disheveled hair or shaved scalps. They wore sweaters with frayed sleeves, ragged jeans whose knees had worn down to the strings, coats patched with duct tape.” (Hosseini, 316)

                In A Thousand Splendid Suns, Rasheed and his family are going through a drought. At this point, they are struggling to get by. Rasheed then gets the idea that they should give Aziza, the daughter, away to the orphanage to help them get by. Of course, Rasheed and Laila also have a son, Zalmai, but he is treasured too much by Rasheed to be given away. Giving Aziza away is tough for Laila but she must listen to Rasheed because he is in control.

                I feel like Hosseini had to have a reason to put an orphanage caretaker named Zaman in both of his novels. I then felt obligated to search up the meaning of the name Zaman. The name Zaman means destiny. It also means that they tend to initiate/lead events. Zaman, although a minor character in both novels, altered the destiny of the main character in a significant way when they came to visit him. That is my conclusion as to why Zaman was put into both novels.