A Thousand Splendid Suns

1022 Words3 Pages

Pages 1-80 of A Thousand Splendid Suns, written by Khaled Hosseini, were marvelous. The culture depicted by this novel is Afghanistan culture. This was part of the reason why I chose to read this novel, since I am Arabic I thought that it would be an interesting pick. Another factor which contributed to my decision was my aunt. My aunt told me that she read this book and it was truly breathtaking, one that I would have a hard time setting down. The author of this novel, Khaled Hosseini, was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. This allowed him to relate to his writing and broaden his perspective on the culture. Growing up, Hosseini and his family lived in Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul. This was a thriving, growing cosmopolitan atmosphere. Hosseini enjoyed reading foreign novels in translation, which helped grow him into the astonishing writer he is today. After witnessing the aftermath of war in Afghanistan, Hosseini was moved by …show more content…

As a young teenage girl, Mariam was arranged to marry Rasheed, Jalil's older friend. Rasheed, is a widowed shoemaker from Kabul. This is not the ideal marriage for Mariam, but she has no choice; her father defends the marriage: “True that would be preferable that you marry a local, Tajik, but Rasheed is healthy, and interested in you. He has a home and a job. That’s all that really matters, isn’t it?” (Hosseini 48) This is very common among Afghan women. The women are usually arranged with a male figure, who is able to provide for them and in this situation they are not given a say. This quote stood out out to me because it signifies the difference between living in America today compared to living in Afghanistan. The women are forced into marriages they would not otherwise be in. Personally, if I was forced into a marriage I didn't want I would be very unhappy and have no interest in the man. I can't imagine how these women must feel being forced to live a certain life at such a young

A Thousand Splendid Suns Setting Essay
660 Words | 2 Pages
A Thousand Splendid Suns takes place in Afghanistan, more specifically in cities like Kabul, Irat and Muree. The story of this novel happen on a long period of time, approximately from 1974 to 2003. What should be retained from those facts is that the story is going in the Middle East, a Islamic country in which the religion has a major influence in the culture and that Afghan society is known to be misogynist. Also, during the
Read More
Arranged Marriages In The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini
1421 Words | 3 Pages
Some of these marriages are extremely dysfunctional while others seem to be practical. These marriages are considered different from forced marriages and are an acceptable type of marriage in Afghan society. Some arranged marriages lead to poor or horrific outcomes for the brides in order to separate from her spouse. Occasionally these marriages shift into being forced marriages. In the article “Afghan girls bound by family betrothals” the author states “In Kapisa province, just north of Kabul, an 18-year-old girl shot and killed herself because her family would not break off her three-year-engagement to a drug addict.” This exhibits how certain family’s decisions for their children are atrocious. In addition it shows how an arranged marriage turned into a forced marriage. At times young women may run away from as a threat tactic to their family reported by the article “Afghan girls bound by family betrothals.” A 17-year-old girl who ran away from her home for a few days resulted in her parents letting her marry the man that she loved rather than who they set her up with. This shows how some parents would be tolerant enough to let his own daughter marry the person she
Read More
Handmaid's Tale Women Quotes
691 Words | 2 Pages
This quote displays a theme in the novel as Mariam gets older. Jalil moves the burden of Mariam onto Nana, and Rasheed blames Mariam for things that go wrong from there.
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
A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini
1099 Words | 3 Pages
This passage from pp 173-174- from Khalid Hosseini's novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns is significant because Hosseini displays many different literary devices, such as symbolism, imagery, and allusion which describes the social issues in the novel Laila faces, and describes how Laila and the citizens in Afghanistan live during the Soviets violation in Afghanistan, as this was a major part in this novel. Moreover, this passage is also important because it allows the reader to understand how hard it is to live in an area where war is developing and explains how the action one takes, surrounded by war. Secondly, Hosseini conveys the social issues, chaos and anxiety due to the political rivalry. One literary device, which Hosseini uses, is allusion. Hosseini uses allusion by illustrating war when he addresses, "Then the rugs were folded, the mountains fired on Kabul, and Kabul, fired back at the mountains, as Laila and the rest of the city watched helpless as old Santiago watching the sharks take bites out of his prize fish" (A Thousand Splendid Suns p.174). Khaled Hosseini refers to the The Old Man and the Sea , describing the old man's lack of talent to do anything as the sharks eat the fish, to how destitute and vulnerable the citizens of Kabul feel. This shows the cultural values in Afghanistan because the people living are unwilling to move. On the other hand, part of the reason the people want to stay is their desire near the Middle East, where their religion, Islam started. Another example of literary device that Hosseini uses in this passage is imagery. Hosseini uses imagery to let the reader understand and to visualize distinctly what is occurring in the passage. A context consisting of imagery often contains rich words tha...
Read More
Afganistan: A Woman's Nightmare
702 Words | 2 Pages
What if you risked being assaulted every time you left your home? How would you feel if your husband was in control of every aspect of your life? Afghanistan women encounter both of these circumstances on a day-to-day basis. Many are faced with physical and emotional abuse by their husbands and families. Women’s rights in Afghanistan were majorly affected by the rule of the Taliban, a government group who stripped women of their human rights, established discriminating laws, and whose legacy still affects Afghan women today.
Read More
Women’s Rights within A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
1407 Words | 3 Pages
The novel A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini is set in Afghanistan. It covers about a 50 year time period from the 1950’s to the mid 2000’s. Hosseini uses allusions to actual Afghani events to depict the ever changing liberties that the women of Afghanistan endure with the lack of stability in Afghanistan’s government.
Read More
Symbolism In A Thousand Splendid Suns
907 Words | 2 Pages
Jalil is a wealthy movie theater owner in the small town of Kabul who is a well known figure of the village and lives in a large house with his three wives who have given him many children. Mariam is one of his children however she was born into the world as a harami, a bastard child, so she lives with her outcasted mother at the edge of the village in a Kolba. Jalil visits Mariam every week, when he visits he pretends to care deeply for her due to his own pity and guilt
Read More
Culture In A Thousand Splendid Suns
1459 Words | 3 Pages
In his novel “A Thousand Splendid Suns”, Khaled Hosseini skillfully illustrates many aspects of Afghan culture to the reader. The novel explores the struggles that have plagued Afghanistan, and how they have affected the lives of its people. Through the story’s two narrators, Mariam and Laila, the reader is presented with examples of how the nation’s culture has changed over time. Through “A Thousand Splendid Suns” Khaled Hosseini emphasizes the struggle in the area between traditional beliefs and progressive changes, specifically as they relate to women’s rights. Throughout history it has been shown these that progressive reforms are unable to coincide with strict Islamic beliefs.
Read More
Who Is Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns?
604 Words | 2 Pages
Khaled Hosseini, author of A Thousand Splendid Suns, is indisputably a master narrator. His refreshingly distinctive style is rampant throughout the work, as he integrates diverse character perspectives as well as verb tenses to form a temperament of storytelling that is quite inimitably his own. In his novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, he explores the intertwining lives of two drastically different Afghani women, Lailia and Mariam, who come together in a surprising twist of fate during the Soviet takeover and Taliban rule. After returning to his native Afghanistan to observe the nation’s current state amidst decades of mayhem, Hosseini wrote the novel with a specific fiery emotion to communicate a chilling, yet historically accurate account of why his family was forced to flee the country years ago.
Read More
A Woman's Place: The Kite Runner
940 Words | 2 Pages
In both of his novels, Hosseini has both protagonists and antagonists originating from Afghanistan. He depicts the flaws of the broad generalizations many people believe due to a lack of information or insight into the concerning situations occurring in Afghanistan. As awareness about the indecencies taking place in Afghanistan increases, hopefully more individuals will take action to aide those being oppressed and help solve the turmoil occurring due to the presence of the Taliban. Works Cited Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner.
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
The Space Between Us andA Thousand Splendid Suns
1287 Words | 3 Pages
In architecture, contrast is used to create a dramatic entrance. The observer moves from a small, dimly lit space to a grand room full of light where they feel the impact of the room because of its contrast with the previous one. Similarly, authors, the architects of a book’s plot, use contrast to emphasize a character’s struggles and triumphs. In both The Space Between Us by Thirty Umrigar and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, the authors use the contrast between two lives to emphasize the power of money, education, and gender within Afghan and Indian society.
Read More
A Thousand Splendid Suns
1242 Words | 3 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.
Read More
General Criticism of Araby by James Joyce
1439 Words | 3 Pages
Joyce, James. “Araby.” Literature: The Human Experience. Abcarian, Richard et al.,. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010. 92-96
Read More

Open Document

Wait a second!

A Thousand Splendid Suns