...A Thousand Splendid Sun Even with the many examples of counter-factuals in A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, the characters remain strong, positive, and full of loyalty to their family and homeland. One strong example of a counterfactual happens near the beginning of the book. One of the main characters, Mariam makes a decision to go to her father, Jalil, against the pleading of her mother, Nana. Mariam remembers her mother’s words, “I’ll die if you go, I’ll just die.” (p. 27 ). As it turns out, Mariam is rejected by her father, Jalil and when she returns home, she discovers that her mother, Nana has committed suicide by hanging herself. Mariam tortures herself throughout her life with the despair of believing she caused her mother’s death, even though her close friend, Mullah reassured her that her mother was very ill and it was not Mariam’s fault. Another example of a counterfactual is that Laila continues to hope that her mother would acknowledge that she is still alive, despite the fact that both her brothers have died as soldiers in the war. “Laila wishes Mammy would notice that she, Laila, hadn’t become shaheed, that she is alive, here, in bed with her, that she has hopes and a future. But Laila knows that her future is no match for her brothers’ past. They have overshadowed her in life. They will obliterate her in death.” ( p.142 ) Laila continues to try to bring some hope and comfort to her mother despite her mother’s constant rejection. Both...
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...A Thousand Splendid Suns Title: A Thousand Splendid Suns Author: Khaled Hosseini Page Number: 367 Quote Page Number: 113 Author: Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1965. His father was a diplomat in Afghan government at that time and his mother taught History in Kabul. However, after the Soviet Invasion, Khaled and his family moved to the United States in the 1980s. In the US, he completed high school and went on to get his Medical Degree. He started writing while working published his fist book in 2004, which was The Kite Runner. Summary: A Thousand Splendid Suns is a story about two women and their lives in Afghanistan during the invasion of the Soviet of Afghanistan and the Taliban regime. It shows the suffering of Afghan citizens and their sacrifice in time of war. In this story, the two women named Mariam and Laila play an important role of a typical wife in Afghanistan who have to face torture and brutality from their husband and society. The story starts out by introducing Mariam, who is an unwanted teenager. In the story, she is forced to marry Rasheed, an abusive husband at age 15. Rasheed is a cruel man who breaks Mariam’s dreams and tortures her everyday. On the other hand, Laila is an attractive girl who lives just up the street from Mariam’s house. She is born to educated parents and enjoys the freedoms that Mariam is restricted from by Rasheed. She has a boyfriend named Tariq, but their plans to marry get destroyed...
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...Book:- Our book is A Thousan Splendid Suns, a 2007 novel written by an Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini, after his bestselling 2003 debut, The Kite Runner. Khaled Hosseini has mentioned that the novel was a “mother-daughter story rather than to The Kite Runner, which was a “father-son story”. It uses some of the theme used in The Kite Runner but has its focus primarily on all the female characters and how they live in the Afghan soceity. On 22nd May 2007, the book was released and received favorable prepublication reviews which led it to become the number one on New York Times bestseller for around fifteen weeks. It sold over one million copies just during its first week. Characters:- Mariam, born in Heart, 1959. She was boren an ethnic...
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...The phrase “a thousand splendid suns” from the Saib-e-Tabrizi poem, signifies the peace and hardships that Afghanistan, Laila, and Mariam face throughout their times. When it first appears in the book, Laila’s Babi, mammy, and herself were packing up their things so that they could leave Afghanistan because living there became too dangerous with the war. Babi quotes the poem “One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs, Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her wall” (Hosseini 192). Here, the phrase is used to express the hidden beauties that Afghanistan had before the war such as the buddhist statues that Laila, Tariq, and Babi once visited. The other time it is used is when Laila expresses Mariam as being in her own heart, “where she shines with the bursting...
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...A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini has done it again; A Thousand Splendid Suns is a triumph. This book is as unforgettable as his first book The Kite Runner that became a big success. It is a story about two women and their fight through a hard life. I will come back to the story later, first some facts about the author. Khaled Hosseini Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul in Afghanistan; he lived there with his mother and father. In 1980 they moved to The United States and started a new life there. In 1993 Hosseini finished an education as a doctor of medicine; today he is both an author and doctor. Khaled gets his inspiration form books he read when he was younger and all the memories he has from Afghanistan when he lived there. So far, he has written two novels, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. Summary “Mariam was five years old the first time she heard the word harami. It happened on a Thursday. It must have, because Mariam remembered that she had been restless and preoccupied that day, the way she was only on Thursdays, the day when Jalil visited her at the kolba. To pass the time until the moment that she would she him at last, crossing the knee-high grass in the clearing and waving, Mariam had climbed a chair and taken down her mothers Chinese tea set. The tea set was the sole relic that Mariam’s mother, Nana, had left of her own mother, who had died when Nana was two. Nana cherished each blue-and-white porcelain piece, the graceful curve of...
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...The novel “A Thousand Splendid Suns” is about a young girl called Mariam who has many unique experiences throughout her life. In this novel the writer’s purpose is to express the message about life. The writer also wants us to think about what the main characters within the novel learn. Mostly, Mariam learned the benefits and consequences of love, and how that love can destruct or compliment a person. Along Mariam’s journey she has three unique experiences which include losing her mother, being forced into an arranged marriage and having to kill Rasheed. At the beginning of the novel “A Thousand Splendid Suns” Mariam is a young girl who doesn’t know much about the world. The story began with Mariam who at the time is a young girl living in a small shack with her mom to which she calls Nana. Mariam’s father, Jalil is a wealthy businessman who she loves very dearly and sees nothing wrong with him because he comes and visits her every Thursday but Nana knows that he is not a good man. On Mariam’s birthday, she asks her father if he would take her to the movie theater and Jalil tells her that he’ll see what he can do. When Jalil doesn’t show, Mariam decides to go run away and go to his place. Nana tries to get Mariam to stay by threatening her, “You are nothing…..Don’t leave me…..Please stay. I’ll die if you go.” Mariam doesn’t listen to her and goes anyway, but when she gets there her father tells her to go back home and that he doesn’t want to see her. When Mariam finally arrives...
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...“A Thousand Splendid Suns” written by Afghan author Khaled Hosseini is an example of the portrayal of the lives of women in Afghanistan. The challenges and oppression in the lives of two Afghan women; Laila and Mariam are shown Throughout the novel, which provided or facilities on the relationship between both these women. This novel is a good representation of the cruelty experienced by the Afghan women in their everyday life. “A Thousand Splendid Suns” is a significant piece of text that bring the predicament of the women who have lived under the debilitating shadow of patriarchal oppression on women. Using the vales, the authors comprehension kills and the contributing factors to emphasize key aspects of of this essay. In countries...
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...List all the possible THEMES of your book. Write them in COMPLETE SENTENCES. Then give supporting evidence from the book that proves that these are messages the author intends. loyalty devotion discrimination of women inner strength of women pregnancy and children shame A Thousand Splendid Suns consist of many different themes. These themes consist of loyalty, discrimination of women, inner strength of women, pregnancy and children and shame. In this book, loyalty and devotion is expressed through the relationship between Laila and her father as well as the relationship between Mariam and Laila. Laila loves her father to death. She loves him to death and understands why he believes its so important that she becomes educated so she commits to that and finds a way to get an education. Laila and Miriam’s loyalty is shown to each other in the book by going forth with their confronting of the abusive husband they once shared as well as helping each other raise their kids even though they have to practically do it on their own. Discrimination of women is a major theme in this book. This is a result of the Afghanistan society that is surrounded by this book. This book takes place solely in Afghan during a harsh period of women discrimination. Men have complete power over their wives and in this book, the Taliban makes it law that men have complete power over their wives. These women experience heartbreaking attributes such as abuse, murder and humiliation which is completely...
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...Out of the Ruins Out of the ruins of a crumbled city and a tortured life, we can still find unbelievable strength. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, Mariam and the city of Kabul symbolically follow a similar path. Mariam is belittled by her mother, abandoned by her father and, beaten by her husband but opens her heart long enough to find love and acceptance from Laila and her children. All the while, Kabul, the beautiful and prosperous city positioned at the base of the Hindu Kush Mountains is bombed and destroyed and then given new life. The book uses symbolism and metaphors to tell a story of the power of loyalty and devotion, the human capacity for evil, and the remarkable inner strength of women. Mariam starts life at a disadvantage. She is the bastard daughter, a harami, of a wealthy man and his maid. She spends her first fifteen years in a mud hut with her bitter mother and weekly visits from her father. Nana, her mother, lives in a constant state of depression and negativity and often places her pain on her daughter. Ironically, Nana’s belittling only encourages Mariam to idolize her father, Jalil. He was always positive and gave Mariam hope that life could be better than her mother tried to make her believe. Ultimately, Nana’s negative rants about Jalil turn out to be true. Mariam risked everything she knew, including the love of her mother, to be accepted by her father and his family. Her reward was being left to sleep in the street while her mother...
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...Mrs. Gore 2 I’ve never been to Afghanistan or even thought much about Afghan people. After I read A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, I personally took this book to heart. This book took me through the unthinkable as if I were there. This adrenaline rushed science fiction made me think and feel for the women and children in the middle east. The reader will read the historical fiction of 9/11 when the horrific tragedy of the Twin Towers falling and how Afghans felt. This story is about two women who were told that they will have to endure to survive and now are actually having to do so. The reader will see two totally different life stories come together in the end. The war battles, mistreatment, cruelty, and unfairness of life are...
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...Ahmed Abdullah Mrs. Fox ENG 3U-05 23rd of February, 2015 Mariam’s Loss of Innocence “A Thousand Splendid Suns” is a novel written by a famous and beloved author among the universe known as Khaled Hosseini. Hosseini tells a fictionalized account of a breathtaking story that is set against the volatile events of Afghanistan’s three previous decades starting from the soviet invasion to the reign of Taliban that puts violence, fear, hope, and faith of Afghanistan in intimate human terms. This story, however gives us new insight into the country’s beautiful culture and the historic events that occurred in the past three decades. “A Thousand Splendid Suns” begins with the life of Mariam who is a young girl growing up with a single, harsh and bitter mother known as “Nana” in the small village outside Herat. Hosseini is showing us how Mariam is starting to lose her innocence as she grows up. Mariam remembers her mother calling her a “clumsy little harami” [4] when she was at the age of five. Mariam can easily realize that this word meant to be ugly, loathsome and de meaningful through the way of her mother saying and pronouncing it, but it was not Mariam’s fault. On the other hand, her father Jalil never calls her a harami. In fact, Jalil treats her in a totally opposite way by giving her weekly gifts and telling her stories to hide his true nature revealed later in the story when he rejects Mariam wins. Nana tells different stories according to her point of view by telling...
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...Links between Tess of the d’Urbervilles and A Thousand Splendid Suns Catherine Ralph * The abuse of an older man Rasheed and Alec they both force themselves upon Mariam and Tess when they’re only 15/16 years old. * Consequences of the above both Tess and Mariam are pregnant and both of their babies die (Tess’s from illness just after he’s born and Mariam has a miscarriage) * Both novels have a contrast of the ‘good’ and ‘evil’ characters Tess: Alec and Angel – ATSS: Rasheed and Alec. Laila marries Rasheed (evil) and also marries Tariq (good). Tess is Alec’s mistress (evil) and marries Angel (good). * The death of the ‘main’ character Tess kills Alec and then gets hanged Mariam kills Rasheed then gets executed. * The ‘good’ love interest fleeing to another country Tariq flees to Afghanistan and Angel flees to Brazil. * A major death in the family Tess’s father and Mariam’s mother. * Conflict Tess: between classes in the same county – ATSS: same ethnic group of people * Class society Tess: Angel (upper class) and Tess (lower class) – ATSS: Jalil (upper class) and Mariam/Nana (lower class). * ‘Men’s society’ Tess: Angel with the prostitute in London – ATSS: Rasheed had several wives Similarities/comparisons with A Thousand Splendid Suns and Tess of the d’Urbervilles * Women in society * strong male characters * the loss of a baby * the loss of a parent * rape * young female characters...
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...she liked then - hours, even -with Aziza.” (Hosseini, 321). Dealing with a strict government such as the Taliban and Aziza living elsewhere, Laila went through pure physical abuse because of the mother and daughter bond she has with her, a love only a mother would understand. “Laila never would have believed that a human body could withstand this much beating, this viciously, this regularly and keep functioning” (Hosseini, 323). The motivation that love brings gives Laila strength and helps her endure up, and past her limits. Times of war tear families and people apart. there's nothing worst than losing the ones that are closer to you. though acceptance love and hope. the main character and citizens of Kabul in the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, endured through some of the biggest hardships...
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...Mariam from “A Thousand Splendid Suns” is the main protagonist in this novel. This particular novel can be considered a bildungsroman type of novel; a LITERARY PIECE dealing with one person's formative years or spiritual education. Throughout the novel, we mainly see Mariam’s perspectives and we go into her world and experience everything she does as a gender perspective. Not only is her daily life seen, her culture is shown clearly as well. Some examples of elements of culture you might have seen are how women would live knowing two different cultures and heritages, allusions, Mariam feeling ashamed for being different, and symbolization of diversity of their different cultures, ethnicities, and races. These aspects would not be clear without...
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...A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini Staged in pre-Taliban Afghanistan, A Thousand Splendid Suns is the story of two women and the tales of their intertwined lives. It shows how few rights they had before the Taliban came in to power and how they were stripped from them under Taliban control. Hosseini shows many examples of how these women were abused and seen as 2nd class citizens. I decided to read this book for the required assignment due to many different reasons. One of reasons I selected this book are the current conflicts going on right now in that area of the world. Another reason was that I wanted to learn a little more about that culture. I also got a positive review about the book from my cousin who read the book in his free time and loaned me the book to read. The main reason I read the book was to see how women in Afghanistan are treated before and during the Taliban control. I knew from what I had previously learned in your class on how greatly discriminated Muslim women are treated. I also knew how strict the Muslim religion is, but I wanted to read about it, even if it was fictional. My cousin had told me about the two women in the novel before but never told me specifics on how the girls were treated. I just had to read for myself to find out. A Thousand Splendid Suns was written by Khaled Hosseini, an American writer and physician who originally came from Afghanistan. This is his second book, he first wrote The Kite Runner which was a U.S...
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