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A thousand splendid suns critical analysis
A thousand splendid suns critical analysis
A thousand splendid suns critical analysis
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In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, Hosseini illustrates the theme as social issue of domestic violence as women have been abused and treated as low class citizens for many years. The view point of a woman did not matter what's so ever and were not considered, and being loyal to your husband was what really mattered. Even if they were obedient to their husbands, woman's were their property and only for the thrill and likening to the husband. Rasheed and Mariam's marriage and relationship was an example of this. Mariam did all the what her husband required of her, nevertheless, there was one thing should could not do. Being a woman in a afghan society, it is expected that in some time in your life the idea of a child must take place, which Mariam could not. Mariam suffered a lot through her life, mentally and physically. Hosseini portrays the theme in the following quote: "Like a compass needle that always points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman. Always. You remember that, Mariam “ ( A Thousand Splendid Suns p. 7). This quote exemplifies one o...
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
Mariam’s strength is immediately tested from birth and throughout her whole childhood. She has been through a lot more than other children of her age, and one of those challenges is the hope for acceptance. She is looked at as an illegitimate child by her parents, and they say there’s no need to attend school. We learn right away what the word “harami” means when Nana uses that to describe her own daughter. She says, “You are a clumsy little harami. This is my reward for everything I’ve endured. An heirloom-breaking, clumsy little harami” (Hosseini 4). Nana especially pushed Mariam away from pursuing her goals. She said there was no need for education and men always find a way to blame it on a woman. This pushed Mariam away from her mom and closer to Jalil, but he refuses to acknowledge her and his wives look at her with cold stares of disgust. Mariam only feels loved by Jalil through all of this, mainly because he brings her things and shows her some love. She asks him to do something with her outside of the kolboa and he first agrees, but never brings her because of his fear with his wives and the structures of Afghan culture that frown upon it. He starts to act as if she was a burden to him and Mariam’s hope for acceptance is crushed. She realizes the truth, especially once she reaches adulthood. In Afghanistan, marriage is not all about love for eachother, it is about traditional role...
It revolves around the issues of gender oppression, sexual assault, and importance of social status. Alifa Rifaat manages to express her opinions towards these themes by writing about a typical Egyptian marriage. She puts in focus the strong influence that a patriarchal society has. She also manages to prove how important social status is in society. The uses of literally elements such as theme and irony help express this view. It shows that in a typical Egyptian society women are commonly oppressed by all males in society
The marriage has become a codependence for both of them, Stanley feeling the need to have control over Stella demonstrates his strength by destroying objects or striking her. Stella aware of the problem denies necessity for alarm. Stella has become a love crazed individual who is dependent on her husband for balance in her life. In Afghanistan half of married women were married before the age of 18 (Nasrullah). Many have reported physical abuse and threats as a means of control. Unlike Stella, many of the underage girls who were married came from low economic backgrounds, many who barely finished grade school (Nasrullah). Many experience the shaming, rape, and beatings. In a country where marital violence is normalized, speaking up against your husband is a choice many are afraid to do for fear of
The first chapter in the book dealing with marriage demonstrates a clear and precise attitude towards women and their social standings in society. The Zoé Mignault case was a perfect example of how the patriarchal system was in affect. The father controlled every aspect of a young girl’s life, including picking a husband for her. The legal system at this time simply encouraged this type of action and supported these types of power imbalances.
Ahmed’s mother is the first to fall into playing her stereotypical social construct after her husband; Hajji Ahmed beats her for not supplying him with an heir, a son. “One day he struck he struck her, because she had had refused to subject herself to a last, desperate ordeal…” This act shows Ahmed’s mothers weakness, a gender normative of women, compared to her husband. However instead of lashing back she accepts the fate she has put herself into. She punishes herself similar to the acts her husband acts onto her. “She, too, began to lose interest in her daughters…and struck her belly to punish herself.” At this point in the novel, it is evident that Ahmed’s mother is adjusting her own belief to match that of Hajji. His reoccurring distaste for his seven daughters has rubbed onto his wife. This compliance to accept her husband’s belief fits into that mold that says that women are not assertive and follow with what their husbands want. The next section femininity is seen in it’s natural essence is seen at the end of chapter three when Ahmed has been attacked and his father confronts him about his girlish ways.
Historians commonly agree that while marriage limits a woman’s social mobility, it greatly increases a woman’s status, grants them security, and provides them an important role in the family (Frassetto 401). For example, a married woman’s status will usually increase since women tend to be married to men of a higher status. Also, a married woman’s life is much more secure than an unmarried woman’s life because they have a man providing for them(St. Augustin). But, in The Black Arrow, most women dread marriage. For example, when explaining her situation to Richard, Joanna says, “So here was I, poor babe, with two great and rich men fighting which should marry me, and I still at nurse!... and from then to now it went on ill betwixt the two of them, and I living in a state of misery”(Stevenson 129). This quote expresses Joanna’s negative attitude towards having two extremely wealthy men fight over her hand in marriage. Joanna completely disregards all that she would gain from marrying a man of high status, like wealth, land, and power. This unrealistic depiction of women's attitude towards marriage shows that Robert Louis Stevenson inaccurately portrays marriage’s effects on women’s status and women’s role in marriage in The Black
Next let us examine Mariam's plight. She is denied the chance to go to school. "What's the sense schooling a girl like you? It's like shinning a spitspoon." She lives with a cruel mother. "You are a clumsy little harami. This is my reward for everything I've endured. An heirloom-breaking, clumsy little harmi"(4). She has a neglectful father. "Mariam kept thinking of his face in the upstairs window. He let her sleep on the street. On the street. Mariam cried lying down"(35). Her mother commits suicide and Mariam blames herself. "You stop that. These thoughts are no good, Mariam jo. You hear me, child? No good. They will destroy you. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't your fault no". Mariam nodded, but as desperately as she wanted to she could not bring herself to believe him"(44). She is forced into marriage to a man she does not love. "I don't want to," Mariam said. She looked at Jalil. "I don't want this. Don't make me"(47). She is sent to live in a strange city were she does not know anyone. She has a physically abusive husband. "Then he was gone, leaving Mariam to spit out pebbles, blood, and the fragments of two broken molars"(104). Her husband is cruel and says hurtful words to her. She can not do anything right in his eyes. When he is not ignoring her he is being verbally or physically abusive towards her.
In the book, Women in the Middle East, a Saudi Arabian proverb states, "A girl possesses nothing but a veil and a tomb" (Harik and Marston 83). The key words, "veil" and "tomb" lend evidence to the fact that many Middle Eastern women lack identity symbolized by the “veil” and lack the right of ownership except for their veil and the tomb. This statement further enforces the notion that many women in the Middle East are expected to serve and tolerate the oppression of the men in their lives throughout their lives on this earth. Moreover, it confirms that many of these women do not get the opportunity to obtain education, join the work force, and even participate in the political affairs of the country. This arrangement further helps the Middle Eastern men to view women as their properties, servants, or even as slaves. Ultimately, there are three main reasons why Middle Eastern men engage in the act of oppressing their women.
explores not only the way in which patriarchal society, through its concepts of gender , its objectification of women in gender roles, and its institutionalization of marriage, constrains and oppresses women, but also the way in which it, ultimately, erases women and feminine desires. Because women are only secondary and other, they become the invisible counterparts to their husbands, with no desires, no voice, no identity. (Wohlpart 3).
In Nujood’s culture, women are married quite young and the marriages never result in a divorce. Nujood’s judge stated that it was because no little girl had the courage to show up at a courthouse in order for them not to disgrace their family honor (Ali & Minoui, 2010, p. 44). This shows how women in Yemen were afraid to speak up for themselves which results in gender discrimination. Nujood was a central figure in Yemen’s forced marriage and child marriage, and her story brought awareness to others that didn’t know about the issues.
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.
The Sun Also Rises written by Ernest Hemingway is an accurate portrayal of the “lost generation” of young adults who had to once again discover who they really were after much disillusionment and a lost sense of purpose following World War I. The distinction of what is socially acceptable becomes lost in the attempts of the lost generation to establish their own code of ethics by which to follow. Within the story, Brett Ashley, Robert Cohn, and Jake Barnes have no specific goals for themselves, but they are constantly seeking to find pleasure and happiness within their life. It is not until the end that Brett admits that she and Jake would have had fun together, and Jake simply replies, “Isn’t it pretty to think so?” There is a constant search for acceptance, fulfillment, and conclusiveness to make their lives count and rise above the mediocrity of everyday.
In Arab societies , the wife is fully responsible for the violence against her , for being beaten because she obviously did something that annoyed her husband . According to Haj Yahia’s findings (1998 a ;1998 b ) , " Arab men and women are prone to justify violence towards wives if the wife does not obey her husband , undermines his authority , insults him in front of his friends , does not respect his parents and siblings , and does not live up to his expectations for functioning as a wife and a mother " (p.167). In rural Egypt , it is common for a husband to beat his wife if she refused to have sex with him ( El Zanaty et al. ,1996 ). To grasp the full meaning , the nature of Arab societies facilitates beating women
This thought only reinforces the cultural and sexist question that over the time has subjected the woman to domination and masculine strength, differentiating the gender painful and inhumane way. It 's what Safiotti (2004, p. 44) considers of "domination-exploitation regime of women by men."