In Khaled Hosseini's And the Mountains Echoed feathers are a connecting factor throughout the book. At the beginning of the book, it is said that Pari loves feathers and has a collection of them. They are her most prized possession. But when Pari is sold to the childless Wahdati couple, she has to leave her collection of feathers behind in Shadbagh. Pari is finally reunited with her feathers in Paris, when Adbullah's daughter, who is also named Pari, gives them to her on behalf of her brother. Pari is unable to remember what the feathers meaning is, and this made me wonder: What do the feathers represent? While feathers may represent different things in different cultures they have several universal meanings:
1. Truth- (Noun), the state or character of being true- In And the Mountains Echoed Pari suspects for much of her adult life that she is not the biological daughter of Nila Wahdati. She sets out on a quest for the truth: the truth about whose family she belonged to, and the truth about how she ended up being adopted by the Wahdatis. When her journey to the truth is finally complete, she knows that she is the daughter of Saboor, and the sister of Abdullah. She reunites with her niece, Pari and is given a feather. This feather represents the truth that Pari worked so hard to find.
2. Innocence- (Noun), the lack of knowledge or understanding- Pari is only three years old when she starts to collect feathers. Three is a very innocent age. At three years old, children are unable to understand many things about life. Pari does not understand why her father sells her to the Wahdatis. When she receives the feathers at the end of the book, her innocence, or lack of knowledge about her early life, is taken away because she finally learns what happened to her.
3. Renewal- (Noun), the act of renewing- At the time or her receiving of the feathers, Pari feels disconnected from her real family. These people are strangers to her, they don't even speak her first language, and they know things about her past that she doesn't. When her niece gives her the feathers, Pari renewed. She can start over with a new family and gain new experiences and relationships.
1. Truth- (Noun), the state or character of being true- In And the Mountains Echoed Pari suspects for much of her adult life that she is not the biological daughter of Nila Wahdati. She sets out on a quest for the truth: the truth about whose family she belonged to, and the truth about how she ended up being adopted by the Wahdatis. When her journey to the truth is finally complete, she knows that she is the daughter of Saboor, and the sister of Abdullah. She reunites with her niece, Pari and is given a feather. This feather represents the truth that Pari worked so hard to find.
2. Innocence- (Noun), the lack of knowledge or understanding- Pari is only three years old when she starts to collect feathers. Three is a very innocent age. At three years old, children are unable to understand many things about life. Pari does not understand why her father sells her to the Wahdatis. When she receives the feathers at the end of the book, her innocence, or lack of knowledge about her early life, is taken away because she finally learns what happened to her.
3. Renewal- (Noun), the act of renewing- At the time or her receiving of the feathers, Pari feels disconnected from her real family. These people are strangers to her, they don't even speak her first language, and they know things about her past that she doesn't. When her niece gives her the feathers, Pari renewed. She can start over with a new family and gain new experiences and relationships.