Theme Of Alienation In A Thousand Splendid Suns

Advances in technology has altered the world as we know it, and it can only progress farther. Through the minds of many intelligent and devoted individuals across time technology has developed into a twenty first century deity. A young child one hundred years ago could never envision a world like ours today, ruled by ones and zeros. The media has affected us in ways that we can’t even comprehend and will continue to steadily provide humans with a faster and faster flow of information for years to come. But what is the cost to have all of the information you can imagine at your fingertips? The exponential increase in information that we process in all forms of media is affecting the way that we live by making society more alienated.

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

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

Mariam has a basic understanding of justice. She believes that she does not have it, will not have it, and even that she does not deserve it. The beginning of the novel

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

Would it be more difficult to be told by your father that the world is full of hate because of your skin color or to not be able to communicate with those around you? The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, and Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates, both deal with the alienation of a person or group of people. To be looked upon as somebody who does not fit into society, can cause people to feel remote and isolated. The negative impact of this isolation is not only damaging to the person but to society as a whole. This isolation, like in Coates’ modern day biography and Kafka’s dated book, is something people today experience in all walks of life and for many reasons.

In her novel When the Emperor Was Divine, author Julie Otsuka presents the long-lasting effects that isolation and alienation have on a person’s self- image and identity. During WWII, Japanese-Americans living in the United States were forced to move to isolated and horrific internment camps. The US government ensured they were separated from the rest of the country. This even included their own families. When the Japanese-Americans were allowed to return home after the war, the result of the isolation they experienced created irreversible damage. They continued to experience alienation, often making it impossible for them to recover emotionally, mentally and financially. Otsuka uses characterization to bring to life the traumas of the war and the effects it had on her characters, the girl, her mother and her father.

Isolation is the main theme which influences the reader. Before talking about isolation what is it and how does that affect the reader? Isolation is one of the Canadian themes; it is a state of being alone, complete separation of others. The book revolves around isolation since Karim’s family went to Montreal to their grandmother and then his friend left Lebanon and went to Paris. After some time everyone left Karim and he was lonely since Nada died because a building collapsed. Karim wanted to live in Lebanon while his family decided to leave, “A few days before the bombing resumed, Karim’s parents together with their youngest sons flew to Montreal in

Images show some of the ways characters can represent feelings of alienation, in these scene, the centre top frame shows the confusion as he tries to make sense of unfamiliar territory and language. His face and body position him as outside the circle of belonging.

The novel Night by Eliezer Wiesel tells the tale of a young Elie Wiesel and his experience in the concentration camps,and his fight to stay alive . The tragic story shows the jewish people during the Holocaust and their alienation from the world. Elie’s experience changes him mentally, and all actions in taken while in the concentration were based on one thing...Survival.

Ray Bradbury shows us that people with a difference are ostracised and hated with the example of how the children treat Margot differently for being different to them. He explains by using contrasting sensory imagery just how much just the way that a person acts can make them look different to everyone else and how much they stand out in a crowd. He is also implying to us that just because someone is different it doesn’t mean we have to exclude them just because that’s what normally happens because you might just cost them the joy for the next seven years to

How do the authors of To Kill a Mockingbird and One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest use literary techniques to explore the concepts of isolation?

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

In Laurence Ralph’s Renegade Dreams, the citizens in Eastwood are susceptible to isolation due the physical injuries and social injuries. My main argument is, the physical injuries and social injuries have impacted their daily lives and have made some residents isolated from others around them. The theme of isolation plays a role in throughout the book as the residents use isolation to motivate themselves and pursue their dreams. This dream is curated from different residents such as Justin Cone, Blizzard, and the gangs (Divine Knights). In the essay, the topics covered are the stories of the characters and the context of isolation in motivating residents to achieve their dreams. This idea can be explained through the ethnographic data, in text citations, and the stories of the characters.