A Thousand Splendid Suns Empty Love

Throughout Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns, many characters make decisions that can seem brutal or unkind on the surface. While it is easy to say that such characters are evil at a glance, it is most often a much more complicated issue. Rarely is wrongdoing simple, and we must look deeper into the issue to fully understand why it occurs. The importance of reputation and honor is seen time and again in the novel as a deeply ingrained part of Afghan society. It is this virtue, along with outside circumstances, that push these characters to such acts. It is an unfair generalization to condemn characters for trying to make the best of a very radical situation.

Khaled Hosseini’s sophomore novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, shares a setting with his previous novel, the turmoil of the recent decades of Afghanistan 's existence. However, despite similar themes, Hosseini once again manages to craft a story that is as engaging as it is poignant, as compassionate as it is critical, and as thoughtful as it is visceral.

Mariam is uncomfortable with this. “‘I… I don’t want this,’ said Mariam, numb with contempt and helplessness. ‘It’s not your decision. It’s hers and mine’” Rasheed bites back in response (Hosseini 214). Mariam knows she has no choice in the matter, so Rasheed and Laila wed. Lala agrees to marry him because she is pregnant with her true love’s baby, but she is told that the father is dead. Rasheed expects Mariam to clean up after Laila, to do anything Laila wishes. Instead, she tells Laila “‘you may be the palace malika and me a dehati, but I won’t take orders from you. You can complain to him and he can slit my throat, but I won’t do it. Do you hear me? I won’t be your servant’” (Hosseini 225). This is the first time she “stated her will so forcefully” in the same way Rasheed does constantly (Hosseini 226). Mariam and Laila coexist in their household peacefully, secretly disdaining Rasheed. After years and years of abuse, Mariam, Laila, and Aziza, Laila’s baby, attempt an escape to Pakistan. They are caught, and when Rasheed finds them, he beats them terribly. Mariam is locked in a shed, and Laila and Aziza are barricaded to their room. No food, no water, and no sunlight for three days. This is the point where both women decide they have had enough, but do nothing about it because they are forbidden to do so. More years pass, more abuse is endured. Eventually, when Tariq, Laila’s first love, shows up at their door, and Rasheed finds out, he decides to beat the women. Laila fights back, but to no avail. At this point, Mariam realizes that he intends to kill. Mariam runs to the same shed she spent three days in, takes a shovel, and kills Rasheed to save her life, Laila’s life, and Laila’s children’s lives. “It occurred to her that this was the first time that she was deciding the course of her own life” when she brought the shovel down on his head (Hosseini 349). She commits

Ultimately, Mariam and Laila attempt to escape, but fail, which in turn infuriates Rasheed even more. These two women then work together and protect each other, and in due course, kill Rasheed during one of his “ritual” beatings. In the end, Mariam is killed for murdering her husband, and Laila, with her children, Aziza and Zalmai, finds Tariq and marries him; then, together they start their own family. Throughout the course of the story, not only was a passionate, well-written story presented, but also a clear picture of what Afghan culture and its aspects are really like.

In a nation brimming with discrimination, violence and fear, a multitudinous number of hearts will become malevolent and unemotional. However, people will rebel. In the eye-opening novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns written by Khaled Hosseini, the country of Afghanistan is exposed to possess cruel, treacherous and sexist law and people. The women are classified as something lower than human, and men have the jurisdiction over the women. At the same time, the most horrible treatment can bring out some of the best traits in victims, such as consideration, boldness, and protectiveness. Although, living in an inconsiderate world, women can still carry aspiration and benevolence. Mariam and Laila (the main characters of A Thousand Splendid Suns)

In this essay I am going to compare the main characteristics of the two most important characters of this book. They were both born in Afghanistan but each of them was raised by totally different families. In spite of not having the same social background after several years they meet one another and live together, as wives of their strict husband Rasheed who refuses modern rights for women.

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.

In America, girls and boys across the country have the privilege to be enrolled in an educational system. For thirhteen years, students are taught by college educated teachers and learn material to help us move forward in our carrier. Americans take this opportunity without even thinking about it, but do not realize how much students take this for granted. In the school I have been placed in, my teacher took it upon herself to show us education in different cultures, and the outcome of the lesson was shocking for me. In the book A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, readers realize how much women are looked down upon in Afghanistan, yet it was eye opening for me to see what these girls are missing out on. From birth, they are categorized are lesser than men. Never getting the same chances, their life is centered around pleasing their husband. Education is not even an option for most women. I believe all women should have the same opportunity in this world, despite what country they reside in.

His son’s death serves as an explanation towards his obsession with having another son, and his closed off behavior when Mariam miscarriages. Rasheed’s view on life has been skewed by these tragedies, and in many ways he has become a resentful and bitter man due to this. Mariam sympathizes towards Rasheed due to her understanding of his pain. Mariam’s sympathy reveals a lot about her own personality. She seems to be in tune with her own feelings and others’ feelings, which allows her to sympathize with Rasheed. However, overtime, after being continuously hurt, Mariam begins to close herself off, not unlike the way Rasheed toughens himself to avoid the painful emotions he

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a real life depiction of the oppressed women of Afghanistan’s controlled existence. Since the beginning of Afghanistan’s history, women have been degraded and abused. Afghanistan’s women have endured such injustices as being married off as young as 13, not allowed to go to school, unable to leave home without a male escort, to name a few. Most noticeable was the fact that the women were required to cover their entire body, from head to toe, with a burqa.

Later on Mariam moves in with Rasheed in Kabul. They have a good healthy marriage but A lot changes when Rasheed realises that Mariam can’t have kids. So Rasheed starts to abuse Mariam on a everyday. One example of abuse is when Rasheed forces Mariam to eat rocks and breaks some of her teeth. Hosseini shows the reader that Mariam is being abused and has to learn to endure it.

Afghanistan has long been a war ravaged country, split by civil war and religious divide. A country ruled by harsh Sharia law and warlords. A country in which young girls are subject to child marriages and repeated beatings. The cultural identity of Afghanistan discriminates against women. In Khaled Hosseini’s, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Mariam’s moral traits and desires are shaped by the lack of gender equality and the poor, unforgiving environment in which she was raised Mariam’s desires were developed from her surroundings in Afghanistan.

Throughout his condolences, he is looking out the car window “as though something more interesting had caught his eye” (pg. 51). Since Rasheed will not give Mariam his full attention, he is painted as a detached and

A Thousand Splendid Suns, a novel written by Khaled Hosseini, tells the life story of two girls growing up in Afghanistan. It begins with Mariam’s point of view, then switches to Laila, and eventually the two cross paths and have a major impact on each others lives. There were a lot of social and cultural issues going on during this time that changed the course of story several times. One idea that stayed constant was the significance of love. Both girls learned to love others and eventually each other in the midst of all the chaos. It helped them develop into the characters that they are by the end of the novel. A major theme that is constantly displayed through Laila and Mariam journeys is the concept of love.

According to many critics Khaled Hosseini’s international bestseller novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, is a heartbreaking novel that is sure to make the readers connect with the characters in the novel. “You say that you love rain, but you open your umbrella when it rains. You say that you love the sun, but you find a shadow spot when the sun shines. You say that you love the wind, but you close your windows when wind blows. This is why I am afraid, you say that you love me too.” (Original version in Turkish, translated by William Shakespeare). This quote means that actions do not define words, in fact actions are more powerful. In the novel the main protagonists struggle with the loss of their loved ones whether it is by death, or conflict, and it deeply affects their personality, also makes them see the world from a different point of view. Per example, Mariam has lost her mother, along with her father, which made her a loving and loyal woman. Rasheed on the other hand has lost both his wife, also his son, which made him violent, depressive and cold-hearted. Lastly Laila losing both of her parents and Mariam has turned her into a resilient character.