Sexism In A Thousand Splendid Suns
Imagine waking up as a 15 year old girl, you think it's going to be a normal, ordinary day, but instead you get sold away to a man old enough to be your father. Life in the 1970’s to early 2000’s was a much different time than it is now. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, written by Khaled Hosseini, many questions arise as the story goes on such as, are all men as selfish and sexist to their wives as Rasheed is to Mariam and Laila? The answer is no, some men are kind and trusting while others beat and shun their own wives. Rasheed worked at a shoe store. He saw many people everyday, and everytime he came home he would tell Mariam how disgusted he was at the men who come in with their wives. “...Men, who bring their wives to my shop. The women come uncovered, talk …show more content…
Rasheed was happy with Laila, but until Mariam got to know her, she thought Laila was a no good husband stealer. As the story progressed and Rasheed began to shun Laila as well because she gave him a baby girl instead of a boy, Laila and Mariam teamed up and protect each other instead of fighting one another. Rasheed had gotten more brutal even with a baby in the house. Laila and Mariam had enough of Rasheed's horribleness towards them, they decided to run away and start a new life, but soon were turned into the police and returned to Rasheed who did terrible things to them. “She was being dragged by the hair… He let go of Laila's hair, and she felt the toe of his shoe connect with her left buttock…. She saw Rasheed leading Mariam across the yard but the nape of her neck. There was blood on his hands, Mariam's face, hair, neck and back.” (Hosseini, 240) Because of Rasheed, Mariam and Laila ran away, because of Rasheed, they were being tortured for multiple days, they had no food, no water and it was over one hundred degrees, and because of Rasheed, their lives were
Comparing Authority In '1984 And A Thousand Splendid Suns'
3013 Words | 13 PagesLaila states, "I wanted to escape, to leave behind the only world I had ever known". Mariam goes further by killing Rasheed, her oppressive husband, as she states "I did it for myself. And for you, too", The technique of irony is used here, as the reader knows that Mariam is not only referring to her own death but also to the death of her abusive husband, Rasheed. This creates a sense of tension and anticipation in the reader as they wait to see how Mariam will carry out her plan and how the other characters will react. Furthermore, the impact of this quote on the reader is significant as it represents a pivotal moment in the story.
Hardships In Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns
1413 Words | 6 PagesThey make common cause and endure degradation, starvation and brutality at the hands of their husband until they are forced to take up a desperate, joint struggle". After being severely beaten, locked up and starved by their husband, Laila and Mariam's differences lead to a conflict that ends in Rasheed's death and Mariam takes the blame; and is killed by the Taliban for killing his husband. This novel deals with many deep topics under the surface, mainly feminist issues, I have critically discussed 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 was done by focusing and taking into consideration the events that take pace in the novel; which include the decisions that the two women made that led to their conditions that they find themselves in, and the hardships that the women went through, throughout the
Theme Of Sacrifice In A Thousand Splendid Suns
732 Words | 3 Pages“I admit to what I did, brother,” Mariam said, “But, if I hadn’t, he would have killed her. He was strangling her” (P365). This shows that Mariam is willing to take responsibility for her action she knew that there would be conscious, but she also knew that what she did was to save Laila and her children. Mariam’s actions would lead to this moment, “Kneel here, hamshira. And look down.”
Compare And Contrast Mariam's Relationship With Her Mother In A Thousand Splendid Suns
1317 Words | 6 PagesRasheed treats her lovingly and assures her that she will get whatever she needs. He says, “anything you need done just ask Mariam and she will do it for you.” “And if you fancy anything, I will get it for you” (Hosseini, 2007, p.
Motherly Sacrifice In A Thousand Splendid Suns
775 Words | 4 PagesShe 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.
Mariam As A Christ Figure In A Thousand Splendid Suns
690 Words | 3 PagesMariam 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.
Theme Of Love In A Thousand Splendid Suns
1534 Words | 7 PagesTwelve maybe thirteen years old, I held a piece of glass to his throat and took his blanket from him. I gave it to my mother””. The ultimate love filled sacrifice would be Mariam. Mariam’s sacrifice was made for the protection of Laila, Aziza, Zalmai, and Tariq. She knew what the punishment would be if she killed Rasheed, but she had to in order to keep him from killing Laila.
The Thousand And One Nights: The Roles Of Women
726 Words | 3 PagesHowever, their very obstacle was man. Although, the women were often seen as unfaithful and inferior to men, Shahrazed portrays a feminist character by using her sneaky strategy and fearlessness of men to trick the king, save the women of the kingdom and help them overcome discrimination. If the king was to kill every woman after a night with them, this would have caused a population decrease and the kingdom would eventually run out of women for him to marry. This story makes the reader take sides of the women that the king is
Gender Roles In A Thousand Splendid Suns
878 Words | 4 PagesEquality of genders is a basic human right that all should posses. However, in the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini, the reader explores Afghanistan’s true nature of extreme gender inequality towards women and how it affects all the characters within the novel. The novel explores how within a marriage, women have unequal rights, undergo major amounts of physical abuse, and are emotionally and mentally tormented by their very own supposedly beloved husbands. A marriage is defined as a union of two people as partners in a personal relationship.
Theme Of Power In A Thousand Splendid Suns
889 Words | 4 PagesHosseini 104).When Rasheed forces Mariam to eat pebbles, he represents the corrupted person, or vampire, who only perceives his wife as an object that seeks to serve him and his relentless demands. After a while, Rasheed begins to look at Mariam as a burden that needs to be lifted off of his shoulders, so he tortures and abuses her, turning himself into a monster in the process. Furthermore, Rasheed does the same thing to his other wife, Laila, and his daughter. When Laila and Aziza attempt to escape, Rasheed is outraged, so he asserts his power when, “ [He] had not given them any food, and worse, no water. That day, a thick, suffocating heat fell on them.
Theme Of Motherhood In A Thousand Splendid Suns
727 Words | 3 PagesWhen Mariam unexpectedly killed Rasheed, Laila was terrified by what had happened and Mariam “had Laila lie down, and, as she
Gender Inequality In A Thousand Splendid Suns
1093 Words | 5 PagesFor centuries, women have been exploited by the society. Events of women being prohibited from doing things like voting or working and being forced to behave the way it is considered to be socially acceptable have been jotted down in history. Until today women are still viewed as the weaker sex. In some countries, women are regarded less than human and are treated like slaves. Khaled Hosseini goes into the oppression of women in his novel A Thousand Splendid Suns.
Two Examples Of Rashed's Abusive Attitudes
315 Words | 2 PagesThe first official reaction of Rasheed’s abusive attitude was in the last chapter of part one. As if the author wants to stress on the fact that starting from the next part, the reader shall see the real violent cruel husband, one of the principal reasons of Mariam’s character development towards a desperate, afraid, self-destructive and angry wife. Part one ends with Mariam as a pathetic wife who suffers from a violent angry husband and his “faultfinding” that leaves her with “self-doubt”, hence physically and psychologically destroyed. (Hosseini 107). Rasheed criticizes the rice she cooked by every mean he could; he “chewed once, then twice, before grimacing and spitting it out”( Hosseini 109).
Rasheed In A Thousand Splendid Suns
861 Words | 4 PagesRasheed 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.
Gender Roles In A Raisin In The Sun
845 Words | 4 PagesJust within the recent decades, men and women started to fight against the gender stereotypes and started to challenge their roles in a family and in the society. The play, A Raisin in the Sun, portrays the lives of African–Americans during the 1950s. Lorraine Hansberry, a writer and a social activist, reinforced the traditional gender roles, especially female’s, by depicting how the Youngers interact and how they act in an economical struggle. Throughout the play, A Raisin in the Sun, she uses Walter Lee Younger, Ruth Younger and Lena Younger to reinforce the traditional role of fathers, wives and mothers within a family.
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