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A Thousand Splendid Suns Analysis

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A Thousand Splendid Suns’ was written by an Afghan American writer, Khaled Hosseini. The novel

narrates the strength and resilience of two women who endure physical and psychological cruelty in

an anti-feminist society. It also demonstrates how The Taliban uses fear and violence to control the

people of Afghanistan, particularly females. Throughout this story the novel exposes the way customs

and laws endorse Rasheed’s violent misogyny and it tells the tale of two women who endure a

marriage to a ruthless and brutal man, whose behavior forces them to kill him. The protagonist

Mariam is a poor villager who lives in a remote area in Afghanistan, in contrast to Laila who is a

smart, educated daughter of a schoolteacher.

Khaled Hosseini has an interesting way of portraying the two female protagonists. He discloses the

tyranny and hostility that the Taliban enforce on women just because of their sex. A critic viewed the

novel as ‘a powerful portrait of female suffering’ making the reader explicitly aware of the harsh

environment Mariam and Laila had to tolerate. One review expressed that ‘Hosseini defends the rights

of women to decide what to be in life’, this could show that Hosseini directed the novel to be in

favor of feminist views.

The term ‘Feminism’ is born out of oppression. This highlights the importance of how these acts of

cruelty Mariam and Laila faced; ‘fear of the goat, released in the tiger’s cage’ is what ultimately

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