A Thousand Splendid Suns Essay

her baby caused Mariatu to blame herself. “Abdul was a person. He understood I did

Mothers make a variety of sacrifices in their lives. The risks taken by mothers can come in many different forms; they can be physical, emotional and spiritual. The majority of those sacrifices revolve around taking care of, providing for and protecting their children. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, Laila makes sacrifices for Aziza and Zalmai, Nana risks things in her life for Mariam, and Mariam sacrifices things for Laila and her children. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini explores the aspect of sacrifice taken by mothers. Women will go to extreme lengths of sacrifice in order to ensure the safety of their children.

As children both Mariam and Laila suffered from mental abuse from their parents. In Mariam's life, her father was ashamed of her because she was a harami and her mother saw her as a burden. Her mother would make her feel like she was less than a person by calling Mariam a bastard, when she did Mariam “..understood then what Nana meant, that a harami was an unwanted thing; that she...was an illegitimate person who could never have legitimate claim over things...such as love, family, home, acceptance.."(Hosseini, 4). This was something that has affected Mariam throughout the novel. It was until Aziza came into her life and made her realize that what she was told when she was little was incorrect. This use of diction made the reader realize how heartbreaking it was for Mariam to hear those words from her mother. Laila on the other hand was severely neglected. After being bullied by the neighborhood kids after her mother once again forgot to pick her up from school; Laila believed that people "Shouldn't be allowed to have new children if they'd already given away all their love to their old ones..." (Hosseini, 119) Laila’s mother, Fariba's love for her two oldest boys always put Laila's needs and attention on the end of the list of many things she as a mother should have done. Hosseini's use of diction let the reader know how Laila felt her mother’s neglect more as a child whenever she would want her

Mariam endured many long years living with Nana in their small house in Herat. Nana had a short-tempered personality and a very negative outlook on life, so she repeatedly verbally abused

The Five suns is creation story of the Aztec based on the mythological account of space, time, universe, people, animals and the world they lived in, as they understood it. The myth explains life’s unknowable obscurities to the Mesoamerica Mexica and Azteca people and it deeply rooted in their culture. Per the Archaeologist Nicoletta Maestri, “they believed their world had been created and destroyed four times before, and the current age, the fifth sun, would also end in violence at the end of the calendric cycle.” The mythologies claims that human have the responsibility of making sense of their surrounding as well as live by the god’s rule who have made human existence possible by sacrificing their blood and bones. The story begins with the primary maternities couples named Tonacacihuatl and Tonacateuctli known as Ometeotl or the gods of duality. They created the nine level of the universe and instructed their four

A Thousand Splendid Suns, written by Khalid Hosseini explores themes relating to hardships and family, especially having to do with the oppression of women. This novel follows the lives of Mariam and Laila, two Afghan women whose interactions arise from their forced marriage to Rasheed, and the abuse they face together. Mariam is the illegitimate daughter of Jalil, a rich businessman, and his former housekeeper, Nana. Struggling with the stigma surrounding her birth and guilt following her mother’s suicide prompts Mariam to be unable to stand up for herself. Laila is quite the opposite and grew up with the desire for an education and the knowledge that she could change the world. After her parents and Tariq’s deaths, Laila is forced to set

Khaled Hosseini’s critically acclaimed novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, follows two women whose lives intertwine and their fates become connected. Laila is a young girl who falls in love with a man who she cannot be with and is carrying his baby when she marries Rasheed. Rasheed’s first wife, Mariam, is a lovely woman who becomes Laila’s companion in their mutual hatred for the abusive Rasheed. With alternating perspectives, Hosseini gives insight into both women's lives and relays the cruelties they are forced to endure, and how the brutality they face affects their lives, specifically Laila’s, whose motherly instincts allow her to endure much more than otherwise.

Miriam's mom died, she was given up by her dad ever since she was born even although she does get weekly visits from him. Miriam was also put into an arranged marriage by her father even though she was only 15. Rasheed, Miriam's husband, was very abusive and forceful to her. She also was never able to have children even though she became pregnant 7 times, all ending up in miscarriages. Laila experienced a good childhood, she had friends and a good family. Soon all her friends either moved away or died. Laila and her family were going to move away from Afghanistan until their home was struck by a rocket, her mom and dad both died in the house while she was rescued by Rasheed who cared for her wounds. She was than convinced that he would be the safest person to be with, so then they married. Soon she became pregnant with Tariq's baby but had to act like it was Rasheed's. Miriam and Laila were both abused by Rasheed if they did anything wrong. They both experienced difficult lives. The driver states "the story of our country, one invader after another... we're like those walls up there. Battered, and nothing pretty to look at, but still standing." Miriam and Laila are like the Buddhas, they are constantly receiving bad things one after the other. Miriam and Laila slowly falling apart, yet still holding their will. They both show how much they've gone through but what they are still trying to get to. Afghanistan has

In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini contrasts Mariam’s path of overcoming adversity with Nana’s path of enduring to ultimately show that despite the adversity you face, overcoming it allows you to bring fulfillment to your life. As a young child Mariam is taught that the “only skill a woman” needs in order to survive in their society is to “endure”(Hosseini 17). Teaching this to Mariam was Nana’s way of passing on her idea of facing adversity. Nana’s path of enduring leads to her becoming a person full of hatred and distaste. Soon the guilt inside her reaches a breaking point leading to her suicide.

In Khaled Hosseini's novel 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' he presents the different aspects of Mariams childhood through the interactions she has with the people in her life. Her interactions with Nana show the effects if being raised a harami, with Jalil show her isolation and her naive attitude, with Mullah Faizullah her piety and with Jalil's wives the reality of her poverty and low social status. This collates to portray a miserable childhood, with religion (and Mullah Faizullah) as her only source of comfort and happiness.

Zunaira actually attains her goal of becoming a magistrate, and thus, she experiences a greater sensation of loss. Mariam and Zunaira combat the oppression in different ways but they suffer the same pain and isolation. Oppression induces a negative change in both characters. In addition, the women have coping mechanisms to deal with the sorrow in their lives. Their ability to cope is affected by family members. Mariam remembers her mother's story, "where each snowflake was a sigh heaved by an aggrieved woman somewhere in the World. That all the sighs drifted up in the sky, gathered in the clouds, and then broke into tiny pieces…" (Hosseini, 91). Mariam is submissive in her abusive relationship because her mother has taught her by example, that Afghani women solely have to endure the pain and suffering in their lives. She makes no attempts to change her situation in her marriage because she lives by her mother's teachings. Perhaps, if Mariam were to stand up for herself or stir up chaos during one of Rasheed's beatings, Rasheed would not turn to violence against her so easily. Also, Mariam could have searched for alternatives to escape Rasheed before the Taliban implemented the harsh laws. Over the years, Mariam becomes increasingly helpless and miserable under Rasheed's rule, as she follows the model of her mother's teachings. Also, she deflects her anger and sorrow 2

What I found most interesting about the importance of setting in A Thousand Splendid Suns is how fundamentally different the atmosphere was and is for women. Certainly, the Taliban’s extremely repressive politics and laws have been given significant airtime, however, it is hard to think of a more moving example of this hardship than a woman being repeatedly beaten for walking to an orphanage to visit her daughter. Additionally, the generational aspect was not one that I had given much thought, but the difference in attitudes between Mariam’s generation, Laila’s, and Aziza’s is startling. In

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.

Explosions, Death, Loss, Fear- all are great symbols for war in A Thousand Splendid Suns. In this novel, Khaled Hosseini uses tumultuous environments to bring up some of the most interesting characters in the 21st century. The three strongest examples are Laila, Tariq, and Aziza. From losing your parents, to losing your leg, Hosseini uses these types of characters to almost make a connection with them. Because we see weakness in them it truly makes their triumph that much greater. War is a raging bull charging through the lives of many, but for some, it makes them stronger.

In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, main character Mariam is forced into exile after a horrific set of experiences. After her mother’s suicide, she is removed from her home and is later arranged to marry a random man she never met before. Before her departure, Mariam lived in a “kolba,” a small hut on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan. With no other place to go, she disapprovingly lives with her father for a short period of time before being shipped off to her new husband. Her encounter with exile is almost unbearable, yet she endures and grows into a hardworking and respectable woman. For Mariam, exile is both alienating and enriching; it illuminates how withstanding life’s challenges and learning to overcome them with love will ultimately be beneficial in the end, no matter what happens.