Summary: During these two chapters, Rasheed buys his son Zalmai, a lot of new stuff included toys, a crib and many clothes. He even goes out and buys a television with a VCR, something which was illegal at the time to own. Later, Rasheed tells Laila of his decision to put Aziza in a orphanage, because of their shortage of money. Laila tries to plead with him on this topic, however, he doesn’t listen and decides to go through with it. After Rasheed has basically made up his mind to put Aziza in a orphanage, his store burns down, thus putting them in very difficult financial situation. This forces them to sell almost everything they own, in order to have enough money for food. Rasheed then gets fired from a few jobs because of his temper, finally getting one where he is the doorman for a hotel. After Rasheed losing his shop, he takes Mariam to call her father. During this call Mariam finds out that her father has been dead for some time.
Analysis: In the beginning of these two chapters, the novel talks about how Zalmai worships Rasheed and Rasheed favors him over his two children. The reason that Rasheed does, is that Zalmai is a boy which is favored in their society, and Aziza is a girl, which isn’t favored as much in their society. Later in the chapters, Rasheed shows how he favors Zalmai by getting a television and VCR (both illegal at the time). He tells Aziza that she can’t play with them because they are Zalamai’s. It is made obvious that the TV isn’t the only thing that Rasheed has gone out his way to get Zalmai. When Aziza was born, Laila complains of how she had to beg Rasheed for everything for the baby. However, when Zalamai was born, Rasheed went out of his way to get him new toys and anything he needed. After getting the TV for Zalmai, Rasheed tells Laila that he is considering putting Aziza in an orphanage because of their small supply of food. Laila rejects this idea because she like any mother, can’t bear to think about giving up her daughter. Later, Rasheed’s shop burns down which forces the family to sell almost everything. Zalmai doesn’t react well however, because along with Aziza almost giving up all her possessions, Zalmai has to give away a few of his own. Not even being Rasheed’s favorite saves Zalmai’s possessions. After Rasheed’s shop burning down, Mariam tries to call her father and finds out about his death many years earlier. This makes her very upset, and makes her rethink about not talking to him ever since he married her off when she was still a young girl.
