A Thousand Splendid Suns

1242 Words3 Pages

In a nation brimming with discrimination, violence and fear, a multitudinous number of hearts will become malevolent and unemotional. However, people will rebel. In the eye-opening novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns written by Khaled Hosseini, the country of Afghanistan is exposed to possess cruel, treacherous and sexist law and people. The women are classified as something lower than human, and men have the jurisdiction over the women. At the same time, the most horrible treatment can bring out some of the best traits in victims, such as consideration, boldness, and protectiveness. Although, living in an inconsiderate world, women can still carry aspiration and benevolence. Mariam and Laila (the main characters of A Thousand Splendid Suns) are able to retain their consideration, boldness and protectiveness, as sufferers in their atrocious world.
Mariam and Laila are able to maintain consideration in the most arduous circumstances. Consideration is shown when Mariam and Laila take into account other facts or circumstances before making a judgement. An illustration of Laila’s being considerate about Mariam is as Laila lies to defend Mariam, even though Mariam had been insensitive to Laila:
Mariam straightened up. “I hope you don’t think this excuses you from your chores.”
Laila opened her mouth, thought better of it. She reminded herself that Miriam was the only innocent party in this arrangement. Mariam and the baby.
Later in bed, Laila burst into tears.
What was the matter? Rasheed wanted to know, lifting her chin. Was she ill? Was it the baby, was something wrong with the baby? No?
Was Mariam mistreating her?
“That’s it, isn’t it?”
“No”
“Wallah o billah, I’ll go down and teach her a lesson. Who does she think she is, tha...

... middle of paper ...

..., spittle flying from his mouth, his eyes glittering with murderous intent, kicking until he couldn’t anymore. (305)
Essentially, Laila and Mariam protect each other from Rasheed, but they also protect the other important people in their lives when they are threatened also. Equally important, they protect others, in spite of the lack of protection from the power of oppression.
Mariam and Laila are considerate, bold and protective while all their rights as humans are being oppressed. They can be courageous when there is everything to be afraid of, yet they take the risk, because they know it is right. Both will protect when they haven’t been protected from the danger of oppression. Laila and Mariam can be sympathetic in an inconsiderate world. Together, Mariam and Laila exemplify the hidden defiance against oppression, a burning fire counterattacking the darkness.

Show More
Related

  • The Things They Carried by Tim O´brien

    646 Words  | 2 Pages

    Even if these stories were never really true, or they were true made up to look false, the women in them played important roles. From the obsession with Martha, inspiration from Linda, Mary Anne’s power, or Kathleen’s support all four of these women had an impact on the soldiers or on Tim in powerful ways. It just goes to show imaginary and reality isn’t always too far apart.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Mariam And Nana In A Thousand Splendid Suns

    625 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mariam can be seen as the victim of many men’s actions. A victim can be someone who is physically or emotionally hurt from another person’s actions. Because of the choices a person, or a group of people make, people are affected and made victims of the situation. In Mariam’s life, she faced many attacks from men, both physically and emotionally. She was the victim of Jahlil’s actions to send her away in order to keep his reputation. He made her the victim of his lies and actions to make sure society viewed him

    Read More

  • Courtly Love in Meg Bogin’s "The Women Troubadours"

    1292 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... are the “weaker, purer, more virtuous sex” (10), however, in this poem, Lady Maria is the more aggressive, imploring, suggestive and outspoken one. Humility is not her goal here: there is a play on the word “rule” (16) where in Lady Maria is pointing out the hypocrisy in the rules in order to establish a relationship in which she is the one who rules.

    Read More

  • Thousand Splendid Suns

    747 Words  | 2 Pages

    “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini is a historical fiction novel that unveiled the horrific struggles that both women and young girls faced in Afghanistan  between the 1960s to the early 2000s. In the novel, the struggles are shown through the eyes of two women. Hosseini wrote “A Thousand Splendid Suns” to bring insight to the forgotten people of Afghanistan.

    Read More

  • Mariam In A Thousand Splendid Suns

    367 Words  | 1 Pages

    The true heroism of Mariam is evident in the novel, A thousand Splendid Suns,compared to Laila, by the hardships she experiences with her family in her early childhood. As a child Mariam experiences abandonment from her father when she needs him the most causing her a loss of innocence. Mariam goes to visit her father Jalil, to prove to her mother and herself that he loves her; however, when she arrives her father forces her to sleep on the road causing, “Tears of grief, of anger, of disillusionment. But mainly tears of deep, deep shame of how she had foolishly given herself over to Jalil” (page, ). Mariams constant denial of her mother's opinion about Jalil proves her loyalty towards him and she willingly leaves her mother to go visit him.

    Read More

  • Women In Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns

    671 Words  | 2 Pages

    When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan and war continuously went on, many women faced hardships too hard to cope with. In Khaled Hosseini’s novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, two incredibly strong women Mariam and Laila face many struggles such as harsh ruling, abusive husband and a war that seems never to end. No matter the hardships the women are obliged to endure and survive. Endurance takes strength, willpower and courage to endure a life with little freedom and stability in one’s world.

    Read More

  • Twelfth Night

    1112 Words  | 3 Pages

    In addition, Maria plays the role of the lady in waiting who essentially doesn’t do anything for herself except take orders. Later on the reader soon realizes that, Maria is a strong witty character that takes matters in to her own hands. Maria developes a strategy, first she goes for the messed up drunken Sir Toby and her goal is to straighten him out. Maria confronts Sir Toby about his drunkenness, “That quaffing and drinking will undo you: I heard my lady talk of it yesterday” (1.3.128). Sir Toby begins to take notice in Maria. Maria begins to plot with Toby to bring down Malvolio (the condescending butler) as a practical joke. Through the process of plotting against Malvolio with Toby, Maria develops a back bone something she was not known for with Olivia. Maria took the lead in the plotting and Toby starts taking her orders, “Observe him, for the love of mockery, for I know this letter will make a contemplative idiot of him” (2.5.18-19) As a result of the jokes success, Mari...

    Read More

  • How Did Mariam Grow Up In A Thousand Splendid Suns

    956 Words  | 2 Pages

    She is the youngest child in the family and is very close with her father. However, her two older brothers are away fighting in the war, so Laila’s mother spends most of her days pining away for her two sons. Unlike Mariam’s childhood, Laila has very close friends, including her neighbor and best friend Tariq, and she also has the ability to go to school and be educated, something that not all females are able to do. However, the war continues to rage on in Laila’s life and she is often forced to make sure she is fed and taken care of because her mother is virtually not involved in her life. Laila acts as the mother of the household most days. From a young age, Laila had also been forced to experience all of the horrors of war first hand. Rockets rained down on Kabul, her hometown, and every time that her house and her family was safe, they had to deal with “the agony of wondering who wasn’t” safe (174). Most of Laila’s childhood was spent hearing stories about people being shot and raped in their homes, and never feeling safe, not being allowed on the street unless she is accompanied by a man. “The streets became so unsafe that Babi” Laila’s father, had her drop out of school and took on the teaching duties himself (177). The horrors go so far that Laila’s best girl friend, Giti is killed walking home from school. This was the first person “that someone whom Laila had known, been close to” and loved had died

    Read More

  • Laila In A Thousand Splendid Suns

    1213 Words  | 3 Pages

    However the written words of Hosseini suggest Mariam was scared for her so that begs the question, is Mariam protective over Laila: “What of it? She’s too young, you think? She’s fourteen”(Hosseini 214). Mariam doesn’t have the courage to stand up to Rasheed one hundred percent but she strongly hints to him. She is trying her best to convince him she has everything under control at the house so Laila is not needed and there is no reason for him to marry Laila. Mariam plays the jealous wife to feed Rasheed’s ego. She is smart in making him think that she needs him. Another question that often came up is why does Mariam make Aziza clothes when she is first born? Again if the reader looks at face value the answer would be simple; Aziza smiled at Mariam and grabbed her finger one night when no one was watching. However, if one looks further the meaning behind the clothes could be a peace offering. Mariam is tired at this point. The tension with Laila and Mariam takes energy from old Mariam and Aziza is innocent. With an abusive father, the girl doesn’t need more hatred in the house. This questioning has brought a new understanding along with the

    Read More

  • A Thousand Splendid Suns Mariam A Hero

    1110 Words  | 3 Pages

    She knows that if she flees along with Laila, the Taliban will never stop searching for them both, but if she admits to the crime and accepts punishment, Laila will be able to go freely and live a happy life with Tariq. Mariam faces her punishment knowingly. She does not protest, although she knows she is not really to blame. The ten days Mariam spends in prison proves valuable for her. Many of the women in the prison were serving time for the common crime of “running away from home”. None of these women imagined that any woman could possess the courage to do what Mariam did. In turn, Mariam “gained some sort of notoriety among them, became a kind of celebrity. The women eyed her with a reverent, almost awestruck, expression”(363). The women in prison committed crimes that seemed unforgivable in their minds, to see someone who had the courage to stand up for themselves and fight back, these women idolized Mariam. In her final moments, Mariam felt no regret but a sense of peace. Her life-- “a harami child of a lowly villager, a regrettable accident”-- was not meant to wind up this way (370). Meant for a life of submission and condemnation, Mariam changed her path. Entering this world a weed and leaving it someone who loved and someone who had been loved. Mariam’s life was not so bad after all, “a legitimate end to a life of illegitimate beginnings”(370). Mariam’s whole life

    Read More

  • Comparing Suffering In The Kite Runner And Nawal El Saadawi

    2124 Words  | 5 Pages

    Suffering is a common theme in many books and is portrayed in many different ways such as in the novel “Life of Pi” where suffering is the driving force behind several of the characters' actions. In this essay I will be comparing how the novels “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini and “Woman at Point Zero” by Nawal El Saadawi present suffering. It plays a key role within both novels as it often affects how the characters in the world act and how the world within the books is presented. Both of the authors present suffering in some similar and some different ways. Khaled Hosseini and Nawal El Saadawi use their main characters such as Amir and Firdaus to show suffering

    Read More

  • Theme Of Sacrifice In A Thousand Splendid Sun

    1398 Words  | 3 Pages

    From start to finish, one could see how much Mariam values Laila, Aziza, and their friendship. The first example is when Mariam vows to help Laila while they are in the hospital for Laila’s unborn child: “I’ll get you seen, Laila jo. I promise” (287). This simple promise is a deep portrayal of Mariam’s desire to help Laila find a doctor and deliver her baby. Additionally, one can see Mariam’s love for Laila when she protects her from Rasheed’s grip of death, “‘Rasheed.’ He looked up. Mariam swung. She hit him across the temple. The blow knocked him off Laila” (348). Rasheed was going to kill Laila, but Mariam steps in and knocks him off of her with a shovel to save her life. Mariam forms a tight-knit bond with Laila, and when Hosseini includes their relationship, one can see how Mariam values Laila enough to kill another man. The author also describes their relationship after Mariam and Laila discuss plans for leaving: “When they do, they’ll find you as guilty as me. Tariq too. I won’t have the two of you living on the run like fugitives.” … “Laila crawled to her and again put her head on Mariam’s lap. She remembered all the afternoons they’d spent together, braiding each other’s hair, Mariam listening patiently to her random thoughts and ordinary stories with an air of gratitude, with the expression of a person to whom a unique and coveted privilege had been extended” (358). The love Mariam has for

    Read More

  • Cruelty In A Thousand Splendid Suns

    1206 Words  | 3 Pages

    Women are beaten, and it is culturally acceptable. Like routine, women are beaten in Afghanistan almost every day. When a person purposely inflicts sufferings on others with no feelings of concern, like the women of Afghanistan, he is cruel. Cruelty can manifest from anger, irritation, or defeat and is driven by self-interest. An idea that is explored in many works of literature, cruelty also appears in Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns in the relationship between a husband and wife. In their case, the husband uses cruelties in the form of aggression are to force his wife to submit. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, Hosseini’s use of cruelty elucidates the values of both Rasheed and Mariam as well as essential ideas about the nature of

    Read More

  • The Handmaid's Tale Feminist Quotes

    748 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mariam confronts lots of difficulties during her life, but she never seems bored, or cruel. She doesn't even yell against Rasheed until he almost kills Laila.

    Read More

  • A Thousand Splendid Suns

    899 Words  | 2 Pages

    The novel A Thousand Splendid Suns explores the plight of women in Afghanistan; the focus is put on three women Nana, Mariam and Laila. Women in Afghanistan often face difficult and unfortunate situations. In this essay we will examine some of these unfortunate situations for women.

    Read More

More about A Thousand Splendid Suns

Open Document