Mariam And Laila's Character Analysis

…Rasheed raised the belt again and this time came at Mariam. Then an astonishing thing happened: The girl lunged at him. She grabbed his arm with both hands and tried to drag him down, but she could do no more than dangle from it. She did succeed in slowing Rasheed’s progress toward Mariam…In the end, Mariam knew that there would be no beating, not that night.” (Hosseini 241) The next day Mariam and Laila have tea together outside in the garden and become friends, “, a look passed between Laila and Mariam. An unguarded, knowing look. And in this fleeting, wordless exchange with Mariam, Laila knew that they were not enemies any longer.” (Hosseini 250) They started doing chores together and became good companions. Mariam finally had someone who she could talk to and Laila gave her some emotional shelter.

Growing up and living in Afghanistan as a woman has its challenges. Parents choose who can marry you and they choose everything for you. In this book, Laila and Mariam both show the struggles it is to be a girl, and how much disrespect they get in Afghanistan. Both Mariam and Laila are married to the same man, and he is abusive to both of them. They also live under Taliban rule, and the rules that they set are very unfair for women. In Khaled Hosseni’s novel, he has many different themes but the most prevalent one is of woman inequality, and that is shown through multiple accounts of abuse, disrespect, and unfairness.

Mariam struggled often with the constant rigor of her daily housewife work. As a child, Mariam encountered many horrific adversities and obstacles that she had to fight through. She lived with her mother, who she refers to as Nana. Nana was a very strict, bitter, and nasty woman. Mariam was the only thing she had in her life and she constantly treated her as dirt. She referred to Mariam as a harami, which translates to a sinner and/or a bad person in our culture. Her mother’s source of bitterness derived from the fact that Mariam’s successful father Jalil

He was an abusive man that constantly beat them. He despised Mariam more at times because she couldn't give him children. He would beat her just because of it or anything else he believed to be wrong she did. The taliban did not allow women to be in public without a man. The taliban were harsh cruel people who would find a simple reason to kill somebody. They turned the pure Muslim religion into something cruel and imposed it on the people. Women were less than men. Hosseini displays domestic violence in the lives of these two women and it's unusual as a man is realizing the horrible mistreatment and unfairness towards women in Afghanistan. Men were the head of the household and that's why Rasheed could do what he wanted.There was no equality there and as time passed by in that household, there was nothing but cruelty there for Mariam and Laila. Its as if they were punished for simply being

Khaled Hosseini illustrates the abuse in A Thousand Splendid Suns with vivid detail. Rasheed, Laila’s husband, is the perpetrator of this abuse and cruelty. From the beginning, Rasheed is directly characterized as “a tall man, thick-bellied and broad-shouldered” (Hosseini 52) with a “big, square, ruddy face; the hooked nose; the flushed cheeks that gave the impression of sly cheerfulness; the watery, bloodshot eyes; the crowded teeth…” (53) This menacing image of a man gives some hint at Rasheed’s future wickedness. His cruelty is revealed when he is upset with his first wife Mariam’s cooking, and he exerts his power over her: “his powerful hands clasped her jaw. He shoved two fingers into her mouth and pried it open, then forced the cold, hard pebbles into it… ‘CHEW!’ he bellowed… Then he was gone, leaving Mariam

Finally, she is able to detect the lies of her father. Lies he tries concealing. As he once indirectly pushed her away, Mariam needed him to know how much damage he causes. She would not spare him of the injustice he has commit. It would be the first time she speaks against a man. “ ‘I’ll visit you’ he muttered.[. . .] ‘No. No,’ she said. ‘Don’t come. I won’t see you. Don't you come. I don't want to hear from you. Ever. Ever.’ ”(50). Mariam is an intelligent, outgoing girl, daring at times. She went as far as walking to the busy streets of Kabul to search for her father. With this, she wanted to leave him with a wounded heart. Like she felt when he refused to open the doors of his home. After the miserable ceremony, these traits withered away.

The inequality between men and women is highly elevated and marriage to Rasheed clarified the difference between genders. Mariam was expected to obey and do what he wished of her. Mariam dressed modesty and wore a hijab following the expectations of Muslim women. Rasheed expected her to wear the burqa and to stay in her room when he had guests. It was clear within the novel, that one of the most important tasks of women is the ability to conceive a child and when Mariam failed, he treated her as if she was not worthy at all. It also portrayed the value of a son over a daughter when he expected nothing less than a son from Mariam – in which she could not have

The inability of Rasheed to understand the political situation in 1978 made him mad. That along with the fact the Mariam could not produce a child, led to Rasheed becoming violent. Frustrated, Rasheed vent all of his anger out on Mariam by forcing her to eat pebbles.

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.

Firstly, the life of Mariam portrays the sense of hopelessness and betrayal that runs through the oppressed in Afghanistan.

Throughout Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, the reader observes many injustices committed due to the presence of the Taliban and cultural conflict in Afghanistan. One of the most concerning issues in Afghanistan is the mistreatment and inequality that women face on a daily basis due to Taliban mandates. Women in Afghanistan are treated as inferior beings to men and are unable to stand up for themselves due the laws the Taliban enforces. Hosseini uses the wives of Amir and Hassan, Soraya and Farzana, to represent the injustices to which women in Afghanistan are subjected.

The women of Saudi Arabia have been oppressed by the men of the country for generations due to the ignorance of the people, their Islamic faith, and the government. They have no rights and they must receive permission from their husbands or fathers to work, travel, and receive medical attention. The memoir Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia by Jean Sasson, is an excellent example of the oppression of women in Saudi Arabia and the literary devices of characterization and setting help to bring the oppression to life.

Social conditions are what shape a country. Over the years, people, not only in Afghanistan, but around the world create norms that define people’s roles in life, their future, and how they should be treated based on their gender and beliefs. Khaled Hosseini’s first novel, The Kite Runner, comments on the social conditions of Afghanistan through telling a story about the lives of two Muslim boys; a privileged Sunni Pashtun, Amir, and his long-time friend and servant, Hassan, a loyal but disadvantaged Shia Hazara. Hosseini expresses Amir’s uncertain feelings toward Hassan which form the decisions he makes throughout the book. These choices result in Amir destroying his relationship with Hassan. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini is a commentary on the social conditions in Afghanistan as shown through the roles of women and men in society and the ideals of Afghan culture. Unfortunately, these problems are still active in most of Afghanistan.

Another person that affected Mariam’s life immensely is her mother, Nana. When Mariam was born, all she had was her mother. Jahlil, her father popped his head in now and then but never was a father figure to her. Jahlil was the one who provided the Kolba for Nana and Mariam to live in and he would bring food to them. Nana despised Jahlil for various reasons hence she continues to convince Mariam that Jahlil was no good. Mariam would never listen to what she said about her father because Mariam idolized him and stood up for him. Nana was jealous that Mariam liked her father more and for this reason, Nana was very cruel to Mariam. As a mother, they should nurture and love their child. Putting down and calling their child awful names is not motherly. Nana often did this to Mariam and she never argued or said anything back to her mother. One day, Maria told Jahlil what she wanted for her birthday which would require her to go to Herat where he lives. Nana was furious with this idea and was not going to have it. Mariam and Nana bickered over the situation and it triggered Mariam to finally speak on how she felt. She said, “You’re afraid I might find the happiness you never had. And you don’t want me to be happy. You don’t want a good life for me. You’re the one with a wrenched heart” (Hossieni 28). Mariam saying that, took a lot of courage and strength to finally tell her mother how she feels. Her mother always called her names, put her down for unnecessary reasons and Mariam continued to take the bullets without complaints. Mariam was strong for being able to stand up to her mother. Another situation where she perseveres with strength is when she left for Herat. After Jahlil had left, Mariam and Nana discussed her birthday wish to go to herat with her father, Nana threatened to kill herself if Mariam really leaves for Herat for her birthday. Mariam thought she was just being dramatic and did not believe her. No person expects their mother to literally kill them self because their child disobeyed her. Unfortunately, Nana did mean it. After Mariam’s horrific journey to Herat and heartbreak from her father, all she wanted was to come home to her mother and admit she was wrong but instead, she returns home to a dead

Laila was not as accepting of wearing a burqa or being controlled, as a result, she begins to steal money from Rasheed and preparing to run away in the spring, a symbol of a fresh start. Furthermore, in most sub-cultures, it is more valued to give birth to a boy. The purpose of marriage, to Rasheed, was to have a son with Mariam. Her failure to provide Rasheed with a son was the beginning of the deterioration of their relationship, although he would not directly admit that was the source of his irritability with her. Despite Mariam’s relentless efforts to please him by being a good wife, he always found other ways express his dissatisfaction with her. Rasheed forced pebbles into Mariam’s mouth but she “struggled against him, mumbling, but he kept pushing the pebbles in” and told her to chew. He did not allow her to stop until “something in the back of her mouth crack” (Hosseini 94). Moreover, an example of a more lenient Muslim sub-culture is Laila’s family, who believe women are needed just a much as