The Significance of Motherly Sacrifice
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.
Although Nana is not the epitome of a loving mother, she did make some sacrifices critical in the makeup of Mariam’s life and character. Nana explains to Mariam how she gave birth to her all alone, and even had to cut the umbilical cord herself with absolutely no one there for support (11). She knew that by giving birth to Mariam she would have to give up any social status she had, but
…show more content…
When Laila’s parents were killed and she was injured, Mariam took her in and sacrificed her time and space in order to take care of Laila (199). Mariam didn’t have kids of her own, yet took care of Laila as if she were her own daughter. She cared enough for the young girl’s well being to take her in and show her kindness. When Rasheed is about to kill Laila, Mariam hits Rasheed with a shovel so hard that it kills him (349). She viewed Laila as her own daughter, and she wasn’t going to let anyone hurt her daughter. She knew how much of an abomination killing her husband would be to society, but she loved Laila enough to risk the punishment. Instead of running away from Kabul with Laila, Mariam stayed behind so that Laila would never get in trouble for killing Rasheed. She was then arrested and later shot for murder (371). Mariam sacrificed her own life so that Laila could marry Tariq and live happily and freely with her family. She gave up everything, even her life for those whom she loved, even though they biologically were not her children.
The author of A Thousand Splendid Suns demonstrates the significance of motherly love through Nana, Laila, and Mariam. The novel gives the reader a better insight of how passionate a mother’s love for her children can be, and how far she may go for the love of her
Click here to unlock this and over one million essays
Show MoreOne day, Tariq stopped by Rasheed’s house to see Laila. This came to Laila as a surprise because Rasheed had made everyone believe that he was dead. After learning that Tariq had been there, Rasheed began to beat Laila for being with Tariq. ( Hosseini 182) Mariam had realized that Rasheed’s anger had overcome him and that he was going to kill Laila.
Laila is the representation of the woman yearning to be something more, resisting the control that is over them. Time has changed Mariam's perspective. Unlike her mother, Mariam had forgiven the faults of those who had mistreated her in the past. She has matured and learned to thank the little things in
When Rasheed was beating Mariam because he thought that she corrupted Lailas mind, Laila did something courageous. In the text it states, "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.”(241) Laila went to protect Mariam although she knew what kind of man Rasheed was and even though Mariam was nothing but mean to Laila in the past.
Maria is trying to grow up too fast and she put her family to the side instead of being grateful. In this story, conflict, characterization, and symbolism all have an effect on the overall theme.
Her husband happens to become Rasheed. He finds Laila unconscious after a bomb went off, dissipating her entire family. Rasheed then takes her in and nurses her back to health. He feels that because he saved her, he should be rewarded, “The way I see it I deserve a medal”. Rasheed later practically forces her to have sex with him.
“But in Rasheed’s eyes she saw murder for them both. And so Mariam raised the shovel high, raised it as high as she could, arching it so it touched the small of her back.” (349). This quote was the moment before Mariam’s life would end, she killed Rasheed to save the people she loved which was Laila, Aziza, and Zalmai. But, Mariam’s action would have conscious she knew that she would have to admit to the police.
Mariam sacrifices her freedom for Jalil by marrying Rasheed. In the novel, when the wives told Mariam they found a suitor for her, she tells Jalil to say something and he says “‘Mariam don’t do this to me’”(49). Even though Mariam did not want to marry Rasheed, she knew Jalil wanted her to and so she did, forever surrendering her freedom to him. Marrying Rasheed deprived Mariam of her freedom because when Rasheed tells Mariam “‘a woman’s face is her husband’s business only’”(70), it indicates that she is his and he controls her.
When Mariam unexpectedly killed Rasheed, Laila was terrified by what had happened and Mariam “had Laila lie down, and, as she
Mariam is raised by an angry and bitter mother and an absentee father who only visits her occasionally. Her relationship with the two is quite different. Her absentee father makes her feel special and she enjoys every moment they spend together, always looking
As a photographer myself, the theory of punctum is not unknown to me; however, the application of the concept of punctum towards the perfomativity of a photograph is unchartered territory. The photograph I chose to analyze is Dorothea Lange’s renowned portrait Migrant Mother, which is a Great Depression-era photograph featuring a migrant farmer, and is among the most famous photographs from this turbulent chapter of American history. The raw emotion in the mother’s face, paired with her body language and grimy appearance, captivates viewers; however, it is not the mother that makes this image so powerful to me, but rather, the turned away children framing their mother. This detail adds a new dimension to the portrait for me.
Hardships endured by Two Afghan women. 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".
Mariam longed to place a ruler on a page and draw important-looking lines”(Hosseini ). Mariam is an example of how women are banned from an education and whose life could have been changed by education. Instead of being educated, she is sheltered by her mother and lives the rest of her life without high expectations of herself. Nana teaches her that an Afghan woman has to endure the life that is chosen for her because she does not have a say. Nana even says "There is only one, only one skill a woman like you and me needs in life, and they don't teach it in school.
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.
Nevertheless, Mariam is not a fallen warrior but a victor. Contrasting from Nana, Mariam fought her battle with resistance rather than endurance. She broke free of the oppressive culture and realized her self-worth in the end. Fariba is one of first non-submissive females of the novel and was portrayed as the woman with a progressive mindset.
Parenting has been a long practice that desires and demands unconditional sacrifices. Sacrifice is something that makes motherhood worthwhile. The mother-child relationship can be a standout amongst the most convoluted, and fulfilling, of all connections. Women are fuel by self-sacrifice and guilt - but everyone is the better for it. Their youngsters, who feel adored; whatever is left of us, who are saved disagreeable experiences with adolescents raised without affection or warmth; and mothers most importantly.