Rashed In A Thousand Splendid Suns

The Scarlet Letter is a well known novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The novel is composed and written in Salem and Concord, as well as Boston, Massachusetts in the late 1840's. The narrator of the novel is in an omniscent state, meaning he knows more about the characters than the characters know about themselves. Although the narrartor is omniscent, he also makes sure to include his ideas and opinions on situations, making him also greatly subjective. Being subjective, as well as omniscent, historical fiction along with a story displaying constant symbolism is evident.

In the poem “The Wife’s Lament” there is a transfer to a female point of view which was rare during times of a patriarchal society. A theme seen is this poem is exile. The wife who faces exile from her lord later reaches a state of bitter unhappiness. The wife expresses her longing for her husband through use of ubi sunt:

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

In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, gender roles play a major role in how characters think about themselves and others. Men are raised to believe that they are responsible to suppress women’s independence and autonomy, and women often internalize a sense of inferiority and/or subservience. The results of these conditions often include men’s violence against women, and a general mistrust between the two genders. In this novel, Rasheed demonstrates this type of behavior to be true. Rasheed is a single shoemaker whose first wife and son died many years ago. He becomes the suitor for the young 15-year-old mariam. He is a very traditional and strict older gentleman, which some difficult situations for Mariam to deal with in her life. Rasheed tries to exhibit excessive dominance in their marriage and instructs Mariam to be obedient, subordinate, and compliant with every single one of his demands.

According to New York Times, in the twentieth century over 108 million people have died because of war. Knowing this, it is easy to say that people affected by these numbers have developed depression, or a similar disease relating to the trauma they have endured. Characters in the book A Thousand Splendid Suns and the movie Life is Beautiful have done just the opposite. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, Mariam and Laila make sacrifices for Laila’s daughter Aziza, in order for Aziza to get the most out of the life they are living. In Life is Beautiful, while in a concentration camp, Guido, the father of Joshua creates a game to comfort Joshua and distract him from the torture of the camp. Through the sacrifices they made, the lies they told to loved

Adversity is the difficulties or misfortune an individual may face in their life. Adversity can nurture an individual into becoming stronger or it can break a person apart and destroy them internally. People can face adversity when they a pressured or stressed in life to make quick decisions or even long term hardships. How an individual faces this adversity will determine how this affects an individual, whether it will nurture them to become stronger or whether it will tear them apart and this is what shapes their identity. In the novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini shows how when an individual is faced with adversity, their reaction to it can force them to endure suffering over time building a sense of patience and strength which ultimately leads to them overcoming and changing the way they perceive themselves. In this novel Mariam is called to bring upon her strength to fight back against the expectations set on her and her identity, initially, she is unable to fight back and conforms to the expectations of those around her. However, as time passes and she continues to persevere and ultimately she is able to overcome and thrive over her suffering creating strength in her identity.

In the novel The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, all of the characters possess specific traits of the seven deadly sins which are lust, gluttony, greed, pride, wrath, envy and sloth. My character Roger Chillingworth possesses the sins, greed, wrath and pride. I will attempt to make a connection between the sins committed by Chillingworth and his motivation behind those sins and sins committed by people in our world today. For example, one could compare wrath to the destructive and horrible feats of today’s murders that feel they have been treated unjustly, therefore, take the lives of those they feel have wronged them. Another comparison is the effects that pride can have on today’s role models such as professional athletes and the result of greed on some of today’s entertainers who need more and more stuff, such as cars, homes, jewels and the list goes on and on.

1. Hester Prynne is portrayed as a Christ figure in The Scarlet Letter. She displays self-sacrifice, saintlike features, and exemplifies some biblical teachings throughout the book. The first, which is self-sacrifice, is shown when Hester is standing on the scaffold in front of the whole town and will not uncover the other participant in the adultery. Reverend Wilson questions her of this man that helped commit this crime, “Speak out thy name! That, and thy repentance, may avail to take the scarlet letter off thy breast” (60), with the attempt to bribe her by promising the possible removal of the scarlet A. She refuses to sell out her secret lover with the responses “Never” and “I will not speak!” (60) but the young clergyman keeps questioning Hester. She is willing to take the fall for the both of them and stand up there with the humiliation of their actions. “It is too deeply branded. Ye cannot take it off. And would that I might endure his agony, as well as mine!” (60). This reinforces her firmness in protecting Dimmesdale and from completely razing his name as a minister by telling the public. She is willing to endure the ignominy from the public without exposing him, which is an example of self-sacrifice. With saying that, Hester is like Jesus Christ because he was crucified for our sins as a form of self-sacrifice so we could have eternal life and go to Heaven. Hester's actions for Dimmesdale caused her much more agony and humiliation by the public because of the

Khaled Hosseini’s novels, The Kite Runner (year), and A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007) both explore the idea that a significant individual can inspire a course of action, which may result in a change of self.

In Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns, many characters are forced to overcome obstacles in their personal lives. Laila and Mariam, the two main characters, find themselves married to the same man, Rasheed. Both had a good relationship with Rasheed at the beginning of their marriages. Soon they found that they were both being abused by Rasheed. Mariam and Laila overcome the abuse by taking matters into their own hands. Khaled Hosseini introduces the reader to the ways many Muslim men and women believe that marriages should be private and that how the man treats his wife or wives is his business. Many relationships find themselves trying to overcome an abusive marriage.

Despair added, ‘Farewell for ever!’ ’’ (Brontë, 609). While society would expect a woman to succumb to every desire of the male romancer in

Rasheed must have suffered a lot, believing that he

Rasheed’s adoring treatment

Amir presents this information with a tone that informs the reader that he is devastated with his father, regardless

Khaled Hosseini’s novel A Thousand Splendid Suns follows the journey of Mariam as she struggles to overcome the misogynism in the middle east. throughout the novel Miriam is thought of as less than human. she is treated like shes a “harami” even when she gets married to a misogynistic man. Because of the way her society works, this notion is very much allowed and widely used throughout the country as a whole. even though this novel is a work of fiction, the events in the story are parallel to how it is there during that time.