...A woman can take so much suffering without being knocked over. They are very strong and are capable of accomplishing many things. A Thousand Splendid Suns, Hosseini exemplifies the oppression women face, and how it eventually allows them to become stronger, more confident individuals. In Kabul, Afghanistan, the government does everything in their power to diminish women’s rights. They are forced to wear burqas which erases their identity and could not go out in public without a man. Mariam’s monstrous husband Rasheed, has parallel views with the government. He makes her do whatever he wants, and puts her in near death situations. Through these atrocious experiences, Mariam develops many wounds and scars and a fear for Rasheed. In the book...
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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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...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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...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 tolerated in this time. Inner strength of a women is also displayed throughout this book. Mariam and Laila experience mass amounts of heartache with being women and being apart of an abusive...
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...A thousand splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini Music: Leonard Cohen – Hallelujah fade out in the background. Song ends play river flows in you by Yiruma in the background Host: Welcome back listeners, to literacy 98.3. That was hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. It’s time for our weekly review, as you all know this week we are exploring the theme oppression. This week’s book is A thousand splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, author of the bestseller the Kite runner. I have with me, Ms. Kathryn Stockett, Reclaimed author of one for the most insightful books, The Help. Welcome Kathryn, we happy to have you with us. Kathryn Stockett: Thank you for having me Host: Kathryn could you tell those who are listening, what oppression means to you, and if you don’t mind give us a summary of the book A thousand Splendid Suns Kathryn Stockett: Oppression to me means dominating somebody (or a group of people), through cruelty, or harshness. One is oppressive if he/she is the source of worry stress or trouble to others. A thousand splendid suns is at one an incredible chronicle of thirty years of Afghan history and a deeply moving story of family, friendship, faith and the salvation to be found in love....
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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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...“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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...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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...In both texts there is a strong sense of religion which emphasises the importance and imperative nature of marriage. Although two different religions, they both follow the strict rule of no sex before marriage, otherwise the women are seen as impure. Despite having a “husband” in the novel, Tess is never actually married to him in the fullest sense of marriage that Hardy proposes. This is on a parallel to A Thousand Splendid Suns where both Mariam and Laila are married to Rasheed in a physical, lawful sense but are not emotionally and internally married and are in fact very distant from him. Marriage causes the protagonists to be entrapped. In A Thousand Splendid suns, Mariam and Laila are trapped inside the house with Rasheed, due to the Taliban imposing the rule on women to “stay inside your homes at all times” unless “accompanied by a mahram, a male relative”. But not only are they physically trapped, they are also mentally trapped in a cycle of submissiveness to Rasheed and fear of his actions. Rasheed is just as guilty as the Taliban as even before the Taliban came into power and exercised these rules, living with Rasheed was like living in a prison for Mariam and Laila through the power he exerted over them “Rasheed didn't say anything. And, really, what could be said, what needed saying when you'd shoved the barrel of your gun into your wife's mouth?” Rasheed holds a frightening amount of power over the two protagonists which is often achieved through violence. They...
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... From the present day to thousands of years in the past, there has been controversy with women in society. They are stereotyped, judged and looked down upon in many places and times in the world. Whether it be their clothing, manner, beliefs or actions they have been scrutinized and analyzed far more than their male companions. Yet women have still stood tall and strong in the face of opposition. Nothing is more evident than in the novels Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Though each book is written in a different era and continent from each other, both authors have taken a profound look into the lives of women who, in submission of the society they live in, persevere and carry on their lives no matter what. Though Hardy’s Victorian countryside and Hosseini’s war ridden Afghanistan have very different plot lines, both novels develop the theme of inner strength of women through the protagonist’s characteristics, the conflicts in the plot and setting. In 1891 Hardy wrote Tess of the d’Urbervilles. The novel received a public outcry and was criticized for its taboo topics and insight into a ruined woman’s private life. The passionate and intense Tess Durbeyfield, whom the novel is centralized around, faces more tragedy and injustice in her adolescent years than any women could bear and perseveres through out. Tess’s character, as well as the women around her, shows the true inner strength women possess. From the early days...
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...Charlene Wu Mrs. Zachik World Literature November 8, 2014 A Thousand Splendid Suns By Khaled Hosseini, Riverhead Books, May 22 2007 Laila, from Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns, is a product of her environment. She’s shaped by warfare, by her family and by her education. Laila was born in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan. In the course of time Kabul came under siege and became a war-torn city. “It wasn’t so much the whistling [of the shells] being fired itself, Laila thought later, but the seconds between the start of it and [its] impact, like a defendant about to hear the verdict” (Hosseini. 2.24.1-3). Every day Laila spends in war-torn Kabul she is at risk. The image of herself as a “defendant” symbolizes this. Laila is shaped by fear and by the warfare. Her judge [the shells], in her eyes is a crazy person, handing out punishments indiscriminately and without any regard for human life. Laila also surrounding by her parents.Laila knew that her “Mammy didn’t understand. She [Mammy] didn’t understand that if she looked into a mirror, she would find the one unfailing conviction of Babi’s [her husband] life --looking right back at her” [Hosseini. 2.21.59]. Mammy and [her husband] Babi had a difficult relationship. Mammy blamed him for the death of Ahmad and Noor. But it’s Babi’s unflinching devotion to Mammy that ultimately shown through, as Mammy eventually fell back in love with Babi. This love had an impact on Laila and how she viewed her family...
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...In Islamic, and Afghan culture, women are treated as tools with very specific and necessary uses, but nothing more. Women are considered inferior, and “not able to think like [men] can” almost as african slaves have been historically, and servants (Hosseini 324). Women are meant to make food, and pass down the family name by making their husband a proud father, and frequently never meeting arbitrary expectations such as flavor of food such as “rice being too greasy, or too dry” or being sterile (Hosseini 100). During the cold war, and the spread of communism, or communist ideas, in Europe, Asia, and the Middle-East, a group of islamic extremists gained in popularityand size. This group was the Taliban. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, the Taliban...
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...bigger than ourselves, or to contribute to a greater cause. Every day, men and women sacrifice their jobs and career aspirations for their families. Giving up their own individual passions and eradicating their future plans illustrates the true nature of sacrifice and a powerful force commonly known as love. Philosophy expert, Aaron Ben-Zeév states in his article from “Psychology Today,” “relationships require few sacrifices and more compromises” (Ben-Zeév). However, through examining Khaled Hosseini’s famous novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, I determined that love always requires sacrifice. Amongst the growing conflicts of the Middle East, the fates of two Afghani women are interwoven as they are both forced into a marriage (with the same man) that does not represent genuine love. Instead, they are enslaved to a relationship dominated by physical violence and backlash from their cruel and abusive husband, Rasheed. They are in a constant struggle with suffering and hardships with the only thing left to live for being hope alone. In Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns, the tragic theme of love and sacrifice is unveiled as the lives of Laila and Mariam are set to stage from childhood to death. Through the many hurdles that these women are forced to elude, the hopes that they cling to are continually decimated. Acceptance, true love, and having a better life are some of the various virtues that these women of Afghanistan hope for while living in and enduring an environment filled...
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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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...written in English by Afghan writer. Hosseini's works reflect a wide range of important current events and contemporary issues about ethnic tension, women, family ties, Afghan immigrant, political and social transformation of Afghanistan from 1970s to 2013. Certainly, the war of Afghanistan are encompassing in all three novels. Hosseini had received many awards for his work, all of his novels became bestsellers and the first two novels The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns had been adapted into movies. In this thesis, I will analyze the abuse of power in Khaled Hosseini's novels. The first novel is The Kite Runner (2003). This novel presents a story of strained family relationships between a father and a son, and between two brothers. How they deal with the guilt and forgiveness. The novel sets the interpersonal drama of the characters against the backdrop of Afghanistan, sketching the political and economical toll of the instability of various regimes in Afghanistan from the end of monarchy to the Soviet –backed government of the 1980s to the fundamentalist Taliban government of the 1990s.it also includes the events of September 11,2011. The second novel is A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007) traces socio- political and cultural history of Afghanistan, and illustrates excesses and abuse of government and family itself against women. Through Feminist viewpoint, the novel provides problems of struggle of Afghan female in a patriarchal male dominated society to find their identity...
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