A Thousand Splendid Suns Essay

Mariam still has a choice to marry Rasheed or not but they would disown her had she said no so the choice was one-sided. This lack of free-will builds up all the way until the moments of the murder when Mariam wants to show Rasheed she can be strong and independent.

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

Before they became good friends, Mariam still had a sense of hatred toward everyone, especially at Laila since she was “deliberately” marrying Rasheed. The two would often get punished by Rasheed, so when Laila tried to protect Mariam, she became fond of her and that’s when their friendship begins to blossom. Aziza, the baby, also contributed to her changing personality and feelings because of the way it was able to comfort her. Then came a time when Rasheed had gone berserk and attempted to kill Laila, but Mariam preserved her life by murdering him. By doing this, Mariam signed Laila’s family and her own life’s death sentence. She was well aware of what were the consequences were, so the next time Laila went to visit Aziza at the orphanage, Mariam turned herself into the Taliban to give Laila’s family a better chance of survival. This selfless act Mariam had performed was impossible to miss, demonstrating development in the way she viewed her disgraceful life by giving it a

Khaled Hosseini writes “The girl lunged at him . . . She did succeed in slowing Rasheed’s progress toward Mariam” (241). This quote shows an immense amount of loyalty because Laila was protecting Mariam when she needed help.

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

Laila was born into a privileged household and her dad believed that education was very important. She was very supportive as a child and was told that she would be successful in her future. Nana states, “Of all the daughters I could have had, why did God give me an ungrateful one like you?” (Hosseini 19). She constantly blamed Mariam for being born and would say she loved her, but didn’t show it.

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.

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

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 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.

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.

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

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