Forgiveness is often regarded as a big part of society and the relationships that hold it together. In a place like Afghanistan where human rights are limited, life is harsh to the people around the and the ability to forgive can be considered a blessing. In the book A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, three powerful females showcase the ability to forgive and show how amazing of a character traits it can be One of the books main characters is named Mariam. She is introduced as a teenager girl living in inhumane circumstances. She is abused by her mother mentally and physically but shows no hate towards her mother even after all the things she does to her. Mariam keeps the little love she has for her mother despite the
Many people take the sacrifices that parents make for them for granted. Specifically, many mothers give up important aspects of their lives for their children. Khaled Hosseini, author of A Thousand Splendid Suns demonstrates the significance of motherly sacrifice in several different ways through Nana, Laila, and Mariam.
The novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, is a story written by Khaled Hosseini about two women and the lives they had and what they faced as they grew up. It focuses on Mariam and Laila. The two were brought up in very different ways and they were raised by very different parents. Mariam was raised by a single mother since the father was mostly absent, only visited occasionally and she was a bastard child. Her mother bore her before marriage; she got pregnant for Jalil while working as a housekeeper at Jalil’s place who later threw her out. Laila on the other hand was raised by both parents except her mother did not focus much on her. She therefore had a strong bond with her father than her mother. The two grew up with the knowledge they were brought up with. My essay will focus on the comparison between Mariam’s relationship with her mother and Laila’s relationship with her mother and how these relationships prepare them for adulthood.
If we could all put our problems in a pile and see other people's; we'd take ours back. According to Sighn (2013) "women in Afghanistan have been going through gender equity in its severe form since ages. Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns depicts the plight of women behind the walls of Afghanistan during several invasions in the country". In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, we come across two women Mariam and Laila, who endure extreme hardships that most women across the world experience. In the following essay I am going to critically discuss the statement that says "A Thousand Splendid Suns shows the social and cultural- and, ultimately political structures that support the devaluation, degradation, and violence endured by Mariam and Laila". This will be done by focusing on the events that take pace in
How generous does one have to be to become a mother? What attributes does a person need to represent a mother? Khaled Hosseini explores motherhood in A Thousand Splendid Suns. In this novel, Hosseini shows the archetypal satisfactory mother by showing Mariam as a supporting, playing, and caring character for Laila and the children.
Caring, courage, and selflessness are three strong traits that demonstrate ones willingness and strength to make the great sacrifice of putting others before oneself. There are few people that carry these traits, so when one openly displays them, it allows others to view just how much courage they do have. Khaled Hosseini, the author of A Thousand Splendid Suns, excellently demonstrates through two young women, what it is like to face tough situations in order to keep their loved ones from harm’s way. Putting others before oneself can be a difficult sacrifice, but it builds strength of character. Mariam and Laila demonstrate such selflessness, as well as courage, and caring.
The injustice Mariam endures in the novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, leads Mariam on a struggling journey impacting her future path in life. The injustice that Mariam endures leaves a permanent mark on her life and impacts her from the beginning.
In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, the author Khaled Hosseini emphasizes the importance of education in woman. With the importance of education in women comes the endurance of woman. Hosseini displays the endurance of hardships that women face in Afghanistan through his female characters in the novel.
Laila’s feminist identity was influenced by her father, Hakim. Hakim is mostly referred to as Babi in the novel. Babi was a high school teacher, in other word, an intellectual. Intelligence is devalued by the majority in their society, therefore being a teacher makes Babi an extraordinary person in the novel. Since Fariba, Laila’s mother, was distanced from her, Laila had a special bond with her father. Babi’s doctrine of the importance of education was implanted into Laila. “I know you’re still young, but I want you to understand and learn this now. Marriage can wait, education cannot. You’re a very, very bright girl. Truly, you are. You can be anything you want, Laila. I know this about you. And I also know that when this
The character of Rasheed is an epitome of the male dominated Afghan society. He is an unsympathetic patriarch who treats his wives as pieces of property. He exercises his power over them and uses them for the satisfaction of his physical needs. In the beginning after marrying Mariam, Rasheed treats her well. He takes her out to show around the City of Kabul and also buys a beautiful shawl for her. Rasheed however asks her to wear a burqa before going out. He makes it very clear to Mariam and later on to Laila, that a “woman 's face is her husband 's business only”. However when Mariam fails to bear a child, after several miscarriages, Rasheed begins to torture her both physically and mentally. Rasheed also becomes cross on Laila when she gives birth to a girl child. Later on Laila gives birth to a boy, but this does not improve her status in front of Rasheed. He is also partial in his
The story starts with two interchangeable characters, Laila and Mariam. Similar in many ways, both of these women are introduced in the novel as young children. The author expertly describes events Laila and Mariam encountered within their everyday lives that has either affected them or helped them progress and deal with the modern rules for women rooted within Afghanistan. The novel starts by introducing Mariam, in the beginning, she’s a self-conscious young lady with a mother who is despicable and suffers from depression.Her father has entirely different family and shuns her when she tries to be indulged in his life. Mariam is the banished child, due to Nana and Jalil having intercourse while unmarried, resulting in Mariam being illegitimate. At a young age, she was forced to marry a severely abusive man named
When the word love is heard, what comes to mind? Is it that special connection once shared with a long lost lover? Or maybe it wasn’t a lover at all but a friend, who not only loved you for you, but showed you how to love yourself. In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns,author Khaled Hosseini portrays love in many different ways. Three vital themes concerning love outshines many of the themes throughout this novel. Love can cause the happiness of the people who receive it, it strengthens and brings out sides of us that we were too scared to embrace, and it causes people to make sacrifices for the benefit of others.
Khaled Hosseini not only shows the discrimination of minority groups but introduces the notion that people will discriminate not based on their personal views but upon which they believe as their role in society. In Afghanistan culture “Nang and namoos” defined as "pride" and "honor or dignity" is incredibly valued in the culture with people outwardly going out of their way to maintain their reputation. However, in his two novels Khaled Hosseini presents the idea that this pride inevitably leads to the discrimination of another. This is demonstrated In a Thousand Splendid Suns by the characters Jalil and Rasheed due to the way they treat those closest to them. For instance, Jalil ousts Nana outside of his home upon receiving news that she is expecting his illegitimate child. The readers clearly can identify that his agenda was not to rid Nana of his home but the issue of hiding his child from the world to protect his image as an honorable man. There is evidence that Jalil did indeed have some affections for Mariam which is evident by is visits and the way he lied to please her however his love for her was always outweighed by the fact that he had to maintain his “so called name” to society in the fear of “losing face” thus he could never give Mariam he love she deserved or that he truly wanted leading to Mariam’s discrimination from his other legitimate children. Furthermore, the fact that Jalil visits Mariam years later signifies he did not intend nor take pleasure in this
Women in the 1990’s had it rough after the Mujahedeen take over. After his takeover, an increased number of laws were made to limit the freedom of women when before, women were happy, they could get educated and roam freely. The novel A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini demonstrates the life of an Afghan woman before and after the Mujahedeen take over. Babi, the father of Laila tells the reader that women were lucky to be living during their time, “It’s a good time to be a woman in Afghanistan.” (Hosseini, 86). But after the Mujahedeen took over, women were treated horribly especially by their husbands and were sometimes the punching bags if something wrong happened. The novel does a great job on letting the readers know why women were always blamed and/or beaten, what happens after the men blame the women for something and shows examples of little things that a woman has done or does that trigger the men to become angry or upset. If you dig deep
In A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini, Mariam is a strong character whose foundation is tested throughout her life. This base is constructed upon her own experiences and her connection with the people of her past. Mariam’s sense of self, loyalty and hope for the future all stem from her relationship to the past.