Thousand Splendid Suns Symbolism

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Recommended: Critical interpretations of a thousand splendid suns

The novel a “Thousand Splendid Suns” tells the tale of a oppressing story about two women by the name of Mariam and Lila who undergo tremendous difficulties firstly because they belong to the discriminated gender women. These two women are surrounded by war, domestic abuse, family losses and violence. Hosseini through the use of various imagery and symbolism unearths the plight of women. Novel the "A Thousand Splendid Suns" set against the backdrop of Afghanistan’s recent history it narrates the tale of two woman who were born decades apart but are pitted against each other and brought together through a series of extremely tragic events. Mariam, the illegitimate child of a wealthy businessman from Heart who lacked the courage to marry Nana, Mariam’s mother after having dishonored her. After the suicide of Nana, Jalil is compelled by circumstances to refuge to Mariam. Mariam resents to the limited place in her father's life. On her arrival in Jalil’s house she is exposed to the realities of life and she realizes that her father's place is her life has completely turned since his other wives considered her to be a burden then an asset. She is discriminated at every juncture. She is further tormented for her illegitimacy as coming under pressure from this wives, Jalil decides to get this 15 years old daughter Mariam married to a brutish widowed cobbler 30 years her senior. Pitted against the vagaries of life once again Mariam sees her condition being static. Her married life is filled with fear and her repeated miscarriages dishearten Rasheed and he feels that he shall never be able to father a son. Seeing his hopes being destroyed of fathering a son he subjects Mariam to regular and frequent cruel acts of physical punishment. He ... ... middle of paper ... ...d that she becomes completely afraid of Rasheed and makes no efforts at all to stand up against Rasheed. Mariam … for her father for having married her off to a … man thirty years her senior. With the passage of … Mariam … her father and throughout her life preserves since all long she was made to believe that she represented slave. She realizes her wrong of eliminating her father from her life. Paired by her experiences becomes inexpressive in all her relationships. Mariam has experienced only … in her life. Destiny plays a very bitter role in the life of Mariam. Completely shattered and broken down by the … and abuses in her marriage, Mariam has learned a lesson in life and that is not to stand up and fight for her rights. After the arrival of Laila in her life and when she realizes Rasheed … towards Laila and when he compels her to make Laila … for the marriage

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    Rasheed tries to convince Mariam that the only way to keep Laila safe is by marrying her. He ends up hiring a man named Abdul Harif to tell Laila that he had met the love of her life, Tariq, in the hospital and that he had died. Laila is told this right when she finds out that she is pregnant with Tariq’s child. Rasheed had hired Abdul Harif to tell Laila this because he wanted to get Laila to marry her. When Rasheed brings up marriage to Laila, she jumps on board right away, and falls into Rasheed’s trap. After Rasheed and Laila get married, he treats her like a queen. He becomes very protective of Laila. Almost all his attention is spent on her, and in a sense, forgets that he is even married to Mariam. But him acting affectionate and caring does not last very long. When Laila gives birth to a baby girl, named Aziza, Rasheed starts to treat Laila how he treated Mariam when she could not successfully carry a child full term. Again, Rasheed ends up not getting what he wants, and therefore he turns onto Laila. The abuse, both verbal and physical, starts to get worse in the household. A particular situation that displays just how violent the abuse in their household can get is when he locks Laila and Aziza in their room, and Mariam in the shed because they tried running away from Rasheed and the abuse. He leaves them without water or food, and it ends up almost killing Aziza. This is where Rasheed falls into the paradox of power again. “ ...the 16th century Italian philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli insisted that compassion got in the way of eminence. If a leader has to choose between being feared or being loved, Machiavelli insisted that the leader should always go with fear. Love is overrated” (Lehrer The Power Trip). Rasheed would rather have his own family be completely afraid of him and almost

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    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

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