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Symbolism In A Thousand Splendid Suns

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Hakim Laila’s feminist identity was influenced by her father, Hakim. Hakim is mostly referred to as Babi in the novel. Babi was a high school teacher, in other word, an intellectual. Intelligence is devalued by the majority in their society, therefore being a teacher makes Babi an extraordinary person in the novel. Since Fariba, Laila’s mother, was distanced from her, Laila had a special bond with her father. Babi’s doctrine of the importance of education was implanted into Laila. “I know you’re still young, but I want you to understand and learn this now. Marriage can wait, education cannot. You’re a very, very bright girl. Truly, you are. You can be anything you want, Laila. I know this about you. And I also know that when this …show more content…

In the progressive modern world, the ancient mindset of men’s superiority exists in many societies. Women who are opposed to such ideology are, in some cases, perceived as rebellious when words such as feminism has come to acknowledgement for over a century. Through the struggles that the characters of A Thousand Splendid Suns faced in the patriarchal Afghani culture, Khaled Hosseini delivers his feminist ideas. For her whole life, Nana endured the troubles given by men, and she is one of the “fallen female warrior” of the novel because she fought against the oppression and lost, due to the unfortunate circumstances of her life. Mariam also suffered the torments imposed on her by the men in her life, sharing a similar fate as her mother, Nana, in a way. Nevertheless, Mariam is not a fallen warrior but a victor. Contrasting from Nana, Mariam fought her battle with resistance rather than endurance. She broke free of the oppressive culture and realized her self-worth in the end. Fariba is one of first non-submissive females of the novel and was portrayed as the woman with a progressive mindset. However, after a long time of struggling against the society and the loss of her two sons in addition to that, her role as an ideal feminist challenger is no longer dominant. Much like Mariam, Laila is a victor. The difference between Mariam and Laila is Laila has been defying the norms of the culture throughout her life, unlike Mariam, who was submissive for the early years of her lifetime. Laila represents a hope for woman in the male dominated culture, as she goes on to escape from her abusive husband, finds happiness, pursues education, and contributes back to the society postwar. The male characters are also notable to observe from the novel because the patriarchal society, as well as for the comparison purpose. Hakim, Laila’s father, has an advanced

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On the other hand, in their neighborhood lived Laila, the youngest child of Hakim and Fariba. Laila is a beautiful smart child and Hakim has big dreams regarding his daughter. As Afghani war against the Soviets breaks out, both of her older brothers leave to join the war. The absence of her brothers make her mature for her age. In the same neighborhood lives a boy named Tariq, Laila’s best friend.

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One night when Mariam was constantly awaken by the scorching heat she went downstairs to drink a glass of water and she noticed Aziza lying awake beside Laila on the floor. Mariam immediately noticed that the little girl was “dressed like a damn boy” (243). A few days later Laila “found a stack of baby clothes, neatly folded, outside her bedroom door” (247). Laila knew that Mariam had generously given these clothes to her for the reason that Mariam knew that Rasheed was not going to buy any for her, and since Aziza was the first person to love Mariam “so undeservedly” (252) Mariam felt a connection between both of them. This interaction causes Mariam and Laila to come closer together also, and therefore the drinking of “chai” (251) became a “nightly ritual” (251).

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She knew how much of an abomination killing her husband would be to society, but she loved Laila enough to risk the punishment. Instead of running away from Kabul with Laila, Mariam stayed behind so that Laila would never get in trouble for killing Rasheed. She was then arrested and later shot for murder (371). Mariam sacrificed her own life so that Laila could marry Tariq and live happily and freely with her family. She gave up everything, even her life for those whom she loved, even though they biologically were not her children.

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Laila’s father Hakim, provides his daughter with the following, “Marriage can wait, education cannot. You can be anything you want, Laila. I also know that when this war is over, Afghanistan is going to

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Rasheed however asks her to wear a burqa before going out. He makes it very clear to Mariam and later on to Laila, that a “woman 's face is her husband 's business only”. However when Mariam fails to bear a child, after several miscarriages, Rasheed begins to torture her both physically and mentally. Rasheed also becomes cross on Laila when she gives birth to a girl child. Later on Laila gives birth to a boy, but this does not improve her status in front of Rasheed.

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In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, the author Khaled Hosseini emphasizes the importance of education in woman. With the importance of education in women comes the endurance of woman. Hosseini displays the endurance of hardships that women face in Afghanistan through his female characters in the novel. In the beginning of the novel, Mariam wants to go to school and be able to learn like other children,“She pictured herself in a classroom with other girls her age.

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Buy the book and read it. The story revolves around two women, Mariam and Laila, born 20 years apart, but whose lives are intertwined through the events of the novel. Mariam (born in 1959) is the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy merchant named Jalil who has 3 wives and 9 “legitimate” children. Mariam’s mother, Nana, was a servant in Jalil’s house whose affair with Jalil resulted in Mariam.

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Laila and Mariam are influenced by their mother’s behaviors. At times, both girls have hard feelings towards them, but at other times are empathetic. Nana and Fariba have experienced a lot of grief in their lives, but both of them can not look past it. Their inabilities to overcome the different losses in their lives affected the egos of their daughter’s, which is why Laila and Mariam feel much closer to

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When Aziza was born Laila was at one of the happiest points of her life. In the beginning of chapter 34 Laila is admiring how much she truly loves Aziza, “Of all earthly pleasures, Lailia’s favorite was lying next to Aziza. Her baby’s face so close that she could watch her big pupils dilate and shrink.” this shows how truly compassionate Laila was for her children. Later in the story when Lailia ran off with Tariq and her children, even though they were haunted by their past Laila felt like a natural family as if she had done the right thing for the children.

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Laila on the other hand was raised by both parents except her mother did not focus much on her. She therefore had a strong bond with her father than her mother. The two grew up with the knowledge they were brought up with. My essay will focus on the comparison between Mariam’s relationship with her mother and Laila’s relationship with her mother and how these relationships prepare them for adulthood.

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Maria is trying to grow up too fast and she put her family to the side instead of being grateful. In this story, conflict, characterization, and symbolism all have an effect on the overall theme.

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“But in Rasheed’s eyes she saw murder for them both. And so Mariam raised the shovel high, raised it as high as she could, arching it so it touched the small of her back.” (349). This quote was the moment before Mariam’s life would end, she killed Rasheed to save the people she loved which was Laila, Aziza, and Zalmai. But, Mariam’s action would have conscious she knew that she would have to admit to the police.

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In A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini exposes the scenario of that time of society under the rule of fundamentalist government like Taliban and with this also exposes the suffering of women in that environment. He reflects the cultural, political and social structures of Afghanistan in degrading Afghanistan women. At various instances in novel Khaled Hosseini tries to reflect the situation of women or how they are being treated by the male dominant society which reflect other themes as well as relates with their oppression and hope, the senselessness of War, also points toward women education with other issues. Throughout the novel one may see in the characters who retain themselves with a particular hope dealing with certain oppressions.

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In regards to the historiography of gender politics in the Victorian era, the social position of women and femininity had become a problematic issue. Similarly, the gender apartheid instilled prior to the civil war in Afghanistan. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, initially published in 2007, is set in Afghanistan from the early 1960s to the early 2000s. In this, it explores the story of Mariam and Laila as the protagonists, who teach the reader the reality of life as a woman in a backward Islamic country. The story covers three decades of anti-Soviet jihad, civil war and Taliban tyranny seen from the perspectives of these two women and observes how they become to create a bond, despite having come from previously living in very different backgrounds.

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Women have limited opportunities to have a prosperous life due to the unequal treatment that is based upon gender roles in society. The suffrage of women in Afghanistan is based on; the constant abuse and control over women by men, the loss of freedom, expression of oneself, and the authority’s use of severe restrictions that dominates their way of living. Forced marriage is one of the many aspects in the oppression of women that is evident in Afghanistan. Young girls who are forced into an unwanted marriage, begin to face many challenges such as enduring the cycle of abuse and losing self-control. Mariam becomes more submissive and fearful of Rasheed, whose temper and displeasure dominate her life.

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