Khaled Hosseini 's A Thousand Splendid Suns

The novel revolves around two women, Mariam and Laila. The novel takes place during a terrible time to live in Afghanistan, but things were especially hard for women. Their lives brought together and are forced to live through unimaginable situations. At first, they didn’t get along, but then a beautiful friendship began. Their friendship would eventually be their salvation. They both experienced incredible character development. Mariam and Laila’s childhoods were very different, which is explains their characteristics in the novel. Laila’s modern upbringing gave her courage, which inspired Mariam to take action in both of their lives.

This novel raises a lot of fundamental issues; mainly on the treatment of women and how they have to bear all the violence and abuse targeted at them; also as the principal victims of the patriarchal society of Afghanistan. This is well described in the events such as Laila’s and Mariam’s as to how far they went and struggled to be free in such situations and as well as how Rasheed looked displeased upon having a daughter and inclined over having a son. It focuses on how respect should be taught and given to all humans as to live and let others live a prosperous life. This book makes you think and delivers a message of never losing hope during difficult times. It is a painful yet beautiful story that is made all the more by its tremendous importance. A good read and I would highly recommend

    In the novel, Khaled Hosseini’s appeals to women as his audience, as he takes readers on a journey of the life of Mariam and Laila and the two adversities they have faced individually. When Mariam was adamant to leave her mom and go live with her father, as she yearned for his love that she never fully received, Nana tells her “a man’s heart is a wretched, wretched thing, Mariam. It isn’t like a mother’s womb. It won’t bleed, it won't stretch to make room for you” (Hosseini 20). This emphasizes the difference between women and men in Afghanistan. Most of the men within the book are strict and  uncompromising, whereas the females have to be ones that are able to change and adapt. Additionally, the words said by Nana

Without realizing it, many people are molded and shaped by their everyday surroundings. Pauline Hopkins once say, “And, after all, our surroundings influence our lives and characters as much as fate, destiny, or any supernatural agency.” This is exceedingly evident through out Khaled Hosseini’s novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns. A main component to the story of Mariam and Laila, the two main characters, is that fact that it takes place in Afghanistan. This a country where the culture oppresses women. The novel follows the separate lives of Mariam and Laila and then how their lives intertwine. The culture of the Middle East has a major impact on Mariam’s character and ultimately self-worth. In this novel the reader is able to culture of the

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

powerful and moving story about two brothers, however it also does an outstanding job at portraying the culture and norms of Afghanistan; both the positive aspects and the negative aspects. Hosseini directly and

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.

In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hossein where the story is set in Afghanistan between the 1960’s and the 2000’s which includes the soviet invasion up to the formation of the taliban. The novel is written through the eyes of two women. Mariam is a harami, an illegitimate child of Jail a wealthy business man who gives away her hand in marriage to Rasheed. As time goes on Rasheed becomes abusive towards mariam due to her infertility. Almost two decades later Rasheed marries a 14 year old girl named Laila who has been left orphaned by a rocket.

Not only does A Thousand Splendid Suns inform the reader of the underlying problems females face daily within modern Afghan culture, it also portrays through realistic and sympathetic characters the political struggle still ongoing within the country. In addition, it compares and contrasts the readers’ civil liberties and freedoms of their nation to the fictional characters’ and brings out a more reflective, thoughtful side of said readers. Not to mention, the historical accuracy is absolutely astounding and truly makes the reader feel like a victim of Rasheed’s blows. It has personally opened many eyes to the outside world and more specifically the other percentage of the female population suffering behind the chests of men. Many have learned to not make assumptions and underestimate the severity of their situation.

A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini, Hosseini chose the title because the title consequently relates to Laila and Mariam because of their backgrounds of life, also their beauty and the hardships that they have endured. Hosseini chose the title because it fits well into the story and within the story of Laila’s and Mariam’s life, also the lives of women in Afghanistan. Hosseini also gets the title from an old poem Kabul. The title simply symbolizes the women of Kabul, Kabul may be beautiful, but it has its imperfections just like Laila and Mariam. “May Allah protect such beauty from the eye of evil man!” This quote, simply talks about protecting Kabul, from evil mankind, this quote also pertains to Mariam and Laila because they are such

One could describe "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini as a literary work that explores multiple themes and issues present in the lives of Afghan residents. Themes such as love, motherhood and legitimacy are especially prevalent in the novel and will be explored and analysed through the remainder of this essay. Love, and additionally, artificial love, are made apparent throughout the novel. An example of the aforementioned 'artificial love' is the love Rasheed had for his wives Mariam and Laila. Arranged marriages, such as between Rasheed and Mariam, are often perceived as false or forced.

Facing and overcoming adversities are regular occurrences in our day to day lives. Although they may be difficult to overcome, one must learn how to confront these circumstances as it is inevitable and part of the life we all endure. Prior to reading the novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hoessni, I was uncertain of how to prevail my obstacles. Up to now, whenever I encountered a challenge I was always dependant on luck, hoping that it would assist me. I used this element of luck as my excuse or explanation to my problems, whether it was making it to the volleyball team or answering a simple test question, I believed that luck was the key to my success. This was evident when I made it to the volleyball team in grade nine. I

On May 22, 2007, Khaled Hosseini released the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns to the public. This fiction novel took place in Afghanistan from the 1960s to the 2000s and focused on the struggles that citizens, mainly women, and children, faced during this time. While reading A Thousand Splendid Suns you can most likely relate to at least one of the struggles that the main characters, Mariam and Laila, experience. Being able to relate to the characters and pieces of their lives gives you an overall positive impression of the book. So what was the purpose of this book? Hosseini wrote A Thousand Splendid Suns to help bring awareness to the Afghanistan refugee crisis. This book gives you an in-depth look at the suffering in Afghanistan and how

The storyline of A Thousand Splendid Suns explains three decades of a civil war in Afghanistan along with the Taliban, taking over government which is all seen in the perspective of two Afghan women. Mariam, the daughter of a rich Afghan businessman, is forced to marry a man (Rasheed) at the age of fifteen. Rasheed becomes a very aggressive man when Mariam fails to produce a child. Almost twenty years later, Rasheed marries another woman fourteen-year-old Laila after her parents have been killed by a rocket fire in Kabul. At the end of the storyline, each woman is forced to accept paths that they will never truly be happy with. Mariam sacrifices her life to the Taliban to save Laila after they both murder Rasheed. Laila then marries her childhood love becomes a school teacher and continues to live her life happily.

The significance of A Thousand Splendid Suns is the endurance that women must possess in order to survive, but also the role of women in the Afghanistan society. Hosseini writes about the difficult life of Mariam and Laila as they bear the hardships that arise over the three decades of anti-Soviet jihad, civil war, and Taliban tyranny in Afghanistan. Hosseini identifies these hardships as something they’re forced to endure as women till they die. As Mariam grows up, the ability to endure, said by her mother, becomes a skill she uses until she dies, as well for Laila. Hosseini’s novel focuses greatly on the lives and struggles of women who have to endure the adversity and suffering at the hands of men, making clear in his novel that perseverance and endurance are absolutely necessary to survive as women in a society of men who oppress and disparage women.