A Thousand Splendid Suns is a fictional novel which was written by Khaled Hosseini. Khaled Hosseini was originally born in Kabul however his family was relocated to Paris due to the Soviet Army invading the land. Much later in 2006, He founded the Khaled Hosseini Foundation which is a nonprofit that supports the people of Afghanistan. A Thousand Splendid Suns was published in 2007 by Riverhead Books and has four hundred eighteen pages. This novel shows how much Afghanistan changes and how much these changes affect the lives of citizens. However, women are often given the short end of the stick when it comes to these changes.
The setting of the story is in Afghanistan from the 1960’s to the 2000’s. The main protagonists during the book are
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She is not smiling and her face is sullen which shows how Mariam and Laila will be unhappy wives because of Rasheed’s treatment towards women. Irony was also a common literary device in the story. An example would be how Mariam feels suffocated in Rasheed’s house when over the twenty-seven years of their marriage Rasheed has almost done the same to Mariam. One of the author’s themes in A Thousand Splendid Suns was no matter how much chaos occurs there will always be hope. Hosseini’s purpose for writing the book was shine light on the situation in Afghanistan and make a sense of empathy for Afghan people, and specifically women in Afghanistan. Hosseini values the idea of a peaceful Afghanistan and believes that women should have fair rights in not only Afghanistan but worldwide. Hosseini shows the treatments of women and the Taliban in a negative way and through the perspective of Mariam and Laila he wants to show a point of view that most people didn’t know of. Considering that the book is nine years old, I would say that the content of the book is still relevant today. With today’s ideals, the story would be impacted positively because since 2007 more people are learning about Afghanistan and the many different issues that occur
The book Boy Overboard by Morris Gleitzman shows Afghanistan through the eyes of a boy named Jamal. Gleitzman is expressing his sympathy for refugees. The story follows Jamal as he and his family daringly escape to Australia to evade the government. Jamal grows and pushes himself as he comes across difficult situations, and is forced to adapt and be versatile. Jamal has to be brave to help his family, or they will perish, and he has to take a leadership role to survive and make it to Australia. Jamal is forced to grow up quickly, and his personality changes to fit.
Weiss, M., & Maurer, K. (2012). No, Way Out: A Story of Valor in the Mountains of Afghanistan. New York: Penguin Group US. Retrieved November 05, 2010, from books.google.co.ke/books?isbn=1101560762
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
Women are beaten, and it is culturally acceptable. Like routine, women are beaten in Afghanistan almost every day. When a person purposely inflicts sufferings on others with no feelings of concern, like the women of Afghanistan, he is cruel. Cruelty can manifest from anger, irritation, or defeat and is driven by self-interest. An idea that is explored in many works of literature, cruelty also appears in Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns in the relationship between a husband and wife. In their case, the husband uses cruelties in the form of aggression are to force his wife to submit. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, Hosseini’s use of cruelty elucidates the values of both Rasheed and Mariam as well as essential ideas about the nature of
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...
The women of Afghanistan have been through every hardship imaginable. Khaled Hosseini uses his novel A Thousand Splendid Suns to show his readers how women’s rights changed through out the last half of the 20th century and how the different governments affected the women differently.
Since September 11, 2001, the Western world’s view of the Middle East, specifically countries like Iraq or Afghanistan, has shifted drastically. Whenever the media portrays the Middle East, they manage to spin a story negatively or violently. Due to these extrinsic influences, the youngest generation of Americans has never known an America that did not express at least some hatred toward certain parts of the Eastern world. Novels like The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini strive to encourage a healthy interest in Afghanistan and the Middle East while breaking the stereotypes that westerners have come to accept as fact about the culture and religion of Afghanistan. Hosseini manages to conjure a universal story line with relatable characters that introduce the world to the everyday people of postcolonial Afghanistan. On a grander scale, in The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini utilizes his own life experiences alongside his firsthand account of the contemporary history of Afghanistan to craft a novel that breaks down these negative stereotypes and offers a significant contribution to Afghan American literature.
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.
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.
Kowaluk, L., & Staples, S. (2008). Afghanistan and Canada: Is there an alternative to war? Montreal: Black Rose Books.
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.
A powerful, moving, eye opening novel is what should be taught in the grade 12 curriculum. A Thousand Splendid Suns written by Khaled Hosseini is just that. It is an incredible novel which gives students a better understanding of the 4U course. Firstly, the author explores literacy devices which illustrates effectively and is applicable for the 4U student and their journey to post secondary school. Secondly, A Thousand Splendid suns relates to the novel The Kite Runner as they both have main characters with tragic flaws in their lives similar to Amir, Hassan and Baba. It uses a woman protagonist instead of male, giving the reader a different prospective to life in Afghanistan as a female instead of a male. Lastly, the duality of human nature through the difference of characters, tying the novel to an important theme in the course. Therefore, Khaled Hosseini’s A thousand Splendid Suns is an incredibly moving novel which should be taught in the grade twelve curriculum as students would only benefit from reading this novel.
Qazi, Abdullah. "Plight of the Afghan Women". Afghanistan Online. 30 May 2005. 13 Mar 2006. .
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is an album of snapshots into the tumultuous culture of Soviet and Taliban struggling for
The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, depicts the life of Amir, a male from Afghanistan, and his maturation through the social and political turmoil that emerged in Afganistan. Although the story is fictitious, the plot and storyline involves political, social, and cultural problems in Afghanistan. The book also provides a small window of contrast to the contemporary problems of terrorism, cultural battles and coup d'etat in the middle east.