A Thousand Splendid Suns is an historical fiction novel, written by Khaled Hosseini, set in Afghanistan during the late 1960’s to early 2000’s. It follows the life of Mariam, a ‘harami’ child, who experiences the twisted reality of polygamy first hand. Hosseini explores thought provoking ideas in a society where gender inequality and poorly valued education is the normality. Hosseini’s main purpose is to show the importance of differing perspectives, as well as how to discern between the right and wrong ones.
A key theme that almost instantly emerged from the text as I began to read was gender equality – or the lack thereof. I am passionate about equality between the genders and the further I read the more unequal the characters were
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The Women’s March was a worldwide protest aimed to advocate not only women’s rights, but all human rights, health care and other topical issues. I personally believe that this protest was one of the most empowering of all time, showcasing the incredible power found in a united front of people. Not only independent, strong female ‘feminists’, but also men who believe equal opportunities are deserved by all. As Emma Watson, famous actress and feminism advocate, once said, “It is time that we all see gender as a spectrum instead of two sets of opposing ideals”. This quote from such an inspiring woman came to the surface as I read this book, because it holds such truth applicable to A Thousand Splendid Suns. It successfully reinforces this novel’s main theme of gender inequality.
An interesting idea that A Thousand Splendid Suns addressed was the importance of education. Khaled Hosseini seemed to be suggesting that in Mariam’s world there is no use in a girl getting an education. We see this in the text when Mariam expresses her interest to Nana about going to school. Nana says, “You’ll learn nothing of value in those schools. There is only one, only one skill a woman like you and me needs in life. And it’s this: Endure”. This shows us how education is valued in another culture, in this case, in Afghanistan. I like how Hosseini has linked the themes of gender and education closely together, as it supports the characters’ actions and perspectives common to the Afghani people
Mariam’s alienation prompted by her mother, father, and husband, in Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns, reveals the oppression and shame around being a woman in the society of her native Afghanistan. Mariam’s countless, inescapable struggles throughout her life were all regulated by the systematic dehumanization of women in a patriarchal society, which resulted in her living in constant shame and fear. Starting from her birth, she was seen as a bastard because she was conceived out of wedlock, from both her parents, Jalil and Nana, and her society. In her childhood, Mariam is marginalized, by living in a cottage far off from the public eye, because of her father’s fear of humiliation and her mother’s fear of Mariam experiencing the
For many years, women have been oppressed and treated as property. The opinion of a woman did not matter, being obedient to her husband was all that is required. Even if they were obedient to their husbands, women were property and only for the pleaser and likening to the husband. Mariam did all the her husband required of her, however there was one thing should could not. Which was give her husband, Rasheed, a son or any child. In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, Hosseini reveals the social issue of physical abuse and mental abuse by his use of imagery, diction, and dialogue.
Violence, war, discrimination, and poverty: these issues have long been a part of Afghanistan’s history. Even though things in Afghanistan are getting better, war fills the country, and women and children have to learn to endure abuse, caused by men and the Taliban; they also learn to endure poverty. Considering this, it is no wonder why Afghanistan is in the terrible position it is in now. Many Afghan cities like Kabul are filled with things like violence and discrimination, and the book A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini takes place in Kabul. This book follows the lives of two Afghani women, Mariam and Laila, as they suffer pain and discrimination received from the Taliban and their
The fight for justice is not always unequivocal or favorable, sometimes justice is given by means that do not seem fair at all. William Styron says in a novel that life “is a search for justice.” It is blatant that throughout Khaled Hosseini's novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, female characters are continuously battered with injustices. Hosseini hones into the oppression of women and the fight for women empowerment through the life of one of his main characters, Mariam. Her journey is shown throughout the novel where she struggles to search for and understand justice.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini is a beautiful tale of two women in Afghanistan during the Taliban uprising. They grow up on complete opposite sides of Afghan culture. The main character, Mariam, grows up in a more traditional way caused by her forced marriage to Rasheed. Laila on the other hand, grows up with a supportive father who encourages gender equality and education. There are many cultural differences such as, women’s rights, public executions, and the Taliban. The two main characters, Mariam and Laila, develop greatly throughout the novel. They push each other to be better and to stand up for equality. This plays into the themes of the novel. Women’s strength and loyalty are the two most important themes. They
There are many different themes in A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, the most prevalent theme is the strength of women when faced with adversity. This is shown throughout the book whether it's Mariam or laila.
Equality and fairness is something that people have always been striving for and hoping to receive. The novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, by author Khaled Hosseini displays the journey of two Afghan women during rough times due to the religious extremists known as the Taliban. These two women, Mariam and Laila, faced cruelty throughout their lives even at the hands of relatives and their so called loved ones.
The story also acts as an example for every woman in the world who sacrifices everything she has, for her family and how in the end she needs to survive any tribulations. Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini shows the inner strength and resilience of women through the lives of Mariam and Laila, which ultimately becomes the key for their survival. It helps them face their fate and they are able to overcome many social restrictions such as lack of education, forced marriages, lack of basic facilities and male oppression due to their perseverance.
As a young girl, the protagonist of the novel, Mariam, longed to receive an education. She wanted to go to school, but her mother forbid her. “There is only one skill a woman like you and me needs in life, and they don’t teach it in school…they’ll laugh at you in school…they’ll say the most terrible things about you. I won’t have it” (Hosseini 17-18). In Afghanistan, men believe they are the only gender fit to receive an education because “women just aren’t as smart as men” (Stewart, Women Under the Taliban, 46). This idea was heartbreaking to women and even men who did not agree with the
People in first world countries with privileges tend to overlook their good fortune and take everything for granted. Women in third world countries such as Afghanistan can only dream of the privileges and opportunities that would be given to them if one were to live in Canada, for example. Recently, media had been continuously trying to stress this concept of privilege difference to the Public. Attempting to amplify the amount of gratitude and thankfulness that people express for the good life they have been given. The novel ‘1000 splendid suns’ by Khaled Hossieni is a wonderful written example of this, as it explores the lives of two Afghan woman and their everyday struggle with oppressing forces in every aspect of their lives. Visual
In Khaled Hosseini’s novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, women live in an oppressive, discriminatory Afghan society in which they are deemed useless and obtain little to no rights, yet still manage to endure the burden that falls upon them. After the immensely false interpretations of her father and the bitter fatality of her mother, Mariam’s father demands she marries a stranger considerably older than her at the age of fifteen. Rasheed prays daily in hopes for Laila to produce a male offspring and is exceedingly unappreciative and disrespectful when Laila produces a female instead. Rasheed and the Taliban claim it is extremely blasphemous and embarrassing for a married Afghan woman to look directly into a man’s eyes, wear makeup, or display her knees so Rasheed asserts Mariam and Laila wear burqas. Women’s diminished rights and limited input in society is evident when youthful Mariam unwillingly marries an outright stranger because her father and wives demands she do so.
Throughout world history women have been treated abysmally. Societies with male-dominance have abused and used women and continue to do so today. Women have been made vulnerable to a man due to the spread of cultural values and beliefs in society that condemn them from power. In Khaled Hosseini's novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, the two main characters Mariam and Laila develop an unconditional bond in which they become each others protectors. The immense inner strength of women from adversity has been exemplified through the growth of Mariam and Laila's contrasting relationship, the pain they endure from Rasheed which strengthens their bond and the courage within them that ultimately resolves their conflict.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini takes a solid focus on the lives of two young women, Mariam and Laila, who grow up in a struggling and turbulent Afghanistan. This book emulates the lives of those who have actually been affected by the extreme changes of power within their culture. From the Soviets to the Taliban, these people are caught in a war they cannot win but must deal with the consequences of. The lives of Mariam and Laila are consumed and silenced by those with power over them, namely males with traditional values. The book conveys the idea that even with an immense amount of destruction and terror wrought throughout Afghanistan, underneath lies a beauty that has been muted but it still provides hope for the future.
Khaled Hosseini presents the struggle Afghan women go through every day by discussing honour, marriage and the place of women in society in Afghanistan.
A Thousand Splendid Suns is such a beautiful book because of the copious ways a reader can intrepid the novels meaning. There are three that stand out above the others. That is to say, the connection with theses perspectives occurred without the need to intensely analyze the text. Historical, Marxist and feminist lenses did just that. From a historical perspective, the text is a factual telling of Afghanistan from the nineteen sixty’s to the early two thousands. Specifically, the reader quickly understands the social, political, economic, cultural and intellectual turmoil of the time. On the other hand, if viewed from a Marxist lens, the text becomes a reflection on class struggle and materialism. Why else would Hosseini choose to imply, even straight up tell which class each of the character belonged to? Finally, there is the feminist perspective. The story in this novel deals in copious amounts with feminism and gender. Gender in equality is rampant from the start almost through to the very end, with forced marriages, rape and misogyny.