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Abuse In Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns

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No matter the form of abuse, a child’s future actions are influenced by what they were exposed to as adolescents. Mental abuse forms the basic perspective the person will use to perceive the world and the thoughts that dictate their behavior. Physical abuse develops the interactions the person will make with other people. Even though these experiences are shown to be negative, the person can overcome their hardships to make sure a better outcome is handed to those beginning to be abused. The person’s hardships will teach them what type of behavior is acceptable in order for them to save the lives of others beginning this cycle of abuse.
Within Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns, the physical and mental abuse Mariam received through her adolescence would directly correlate to her future perspective and actions to save the lives of others found in her initial position.
Mariam’s status proved to be the foundation of the mental abuse she suffered from her early childhood. From the point of conception, she was designated a harami or illegitimate child. This name …show more content…

This feeling of being unwanted among the legitimate family could be seen through “unspoken words exit[ing] Khadija’s mouth” and the constant push to marry her off (Hosseini 45). While the dissatisfaction of her presence was expected among the wives, the unwillingness of Jalil to make Mariam feel like she belonged in his family ultimately made Mariam disregard any affection towards him, and the adored perception of her father would cease to exist in her mind. This new perspective of his parenting gave Mariam a reference to how a father shouldn’t behave towards his children, which guided her decision to kill her husband near the end of the novel. Her husband, Rasheed, neglected to acknowledge his daughter Aziza from the point of birth because she was a

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A Thousand Splendid Suns Forgiveness is often regarded as a big part of society and the relationships that hold it together. In a place like Afghanistan where human rights are limited, life is harsh to the people around the and the ability to forgive can be considered a blessing. In the book A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, three powerful females showcase the ability to forgive and show how amazing of a character traits it can be One of the books main characters is named Mariam. She is introduced as a teenager girl living in inhumane circumstances. She is abused by her mother mentally and physically but shows no hate towards her mother even after all the things she does to her.

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Rasheed treated Mariam as property instead of an actual spouse. Mariam had no voice of her own, Rasheed controlled every aspect of her life, from what she wore to where she went. Mariam could not carry out a pregnancy causing Rasheed to build anger against Mariam, this led Rasheed to lash out and abuse her. Mariam dealt with endless beatings from Rasheed, over the simplest mistakes, because she was too afraid to stand up for herself or leave Rasheed. “It wasn’t easy tolerating him talking this way to her, to bear his scorn, his ridicule, his insults, his walking past her like she was nothing but a house cat.

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Mariam sacrifices her freedom for Jalil by marrying Rasheed. In the novel, when the wives told Mariam they found a suitor for her, she tells Jalil to say something and he says “‘Mariam don’t do this to me’”(49). Even though Mariam did not want to marry Rasheed, she knew Jalil wanted her to and so she did, forever surrendering her freedom to him. Marrying Rasheed deprived Mariam of her freedom because when Rasheed tells Mariam “‘a woman’s face is her husband’s business only’”(70), it indicates that she is his and he controls her.

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The novel starts by introducing Mariam, in the beginning, she’s a self-conscious young lady with a mother who is despicable and suffers from depression. Her father has entirely different family and shuns her when she tries to be indulged in his life. Mariam is the banished child, due to Nana and Jalil having intercourse while unmarried, resulting in Mariam being illegitimate. At a young age, she was forced to marry a severely abusive man named

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The Significance of Motherly Sacrifice Many people take the sacrifices that parents make for them for granted. Specifically, many mothers give up important aspects of their lives for their children. Khaled Hosseini, author of A Thousand Splendid Suns demonstrates the significance of motherly sacrifice in several different ways through Nana, Laila, and Mariam.

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The character of Rasheed is an epitome of the male dominated Afghan society. He is an unsympathetic patriarch who treats his wives as pieces of property. He exercises his power over them and uses them for the satisfaction of his physical needs. In the beginning after marrying Mariam, Rasheed treats her well. He takes her out to show around the City of Kabul and also buys a beautiful shawl for her.

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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.

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Khaled Hosseini not only shows the discrimination of minority groups but introduces the notion that people will discriminate not based on their personal views but upon which they believe as their role in society. In Afghanistan culture “Nang and namoos” defined as "pride" and "honor or dignity" is incredibly valued in the culture with people outwardly going out of their way to maintain their reputation. However, in his two novels Khaled Hosseini presents the idea that this pride inevitably leads to the discrimination of another. This is demonstrated In a Thousand Splendid Suns by the characters Jalil and Rasheed due to the way they treat those closest to them. For instance, Jalil ousts Nana outside of his home upon receiving news that she is expecting his illegitimate child.

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Hardships endured by Two Afghan women. If we could all put our problems in a pile and see other people's; we'd take ours back. According to Sighn (2013) "women in Afghanistan have been going through gender equity in its severe form since ages. Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns depicts the plight of women behind the walls of Afghanistan during several invasions in the country".

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When the word love is heard, what comes to mind? Is it that special connection once shared with a long lost lover? Or maybe it wasn’t a lover at all but a friend, who not only loved you for you, but showed you how to love yourself. In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns,author Khaled Hosseini portrays love in many different ways. Three vital themes concerning love outshines many of the themes throughout this novel.

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The novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, is a story written by Khaled Hosseini about two women and the lives they had and what they faced as they grew up. It focuses on Mariam and Laila. The two were brought up in very different ways and they were raised by very different parents. Mariam was raised by a single mother since the father was mostly absent, only visited occasionally and she was a bastard child. Her mother bore her before marriage; she got pregnant for Jalil while working as a housekeeper at Jalil’s place who later threw her out.

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For instance, for this student, before reading this book, I would categorize this different types of abuse differently, from more severe to less severe, and perhaps giving less importance to those I viewed as less severe. But it is important to understand that for each of these victims, each abuse was very serious, very severe, and they should be treated equally. This book is also a great source of understanding for those who were perpetrators of abuse, especially against children, it will help them to understand the consequences of their actions, and how perhaps once act, have completely changed the life of a child. This book is also important to parents and those who work with children, when we, as adults understands the risks that children, adolescents and any person who is not able to protect themselves are facing, we hopefully can be more vigilant of children, women and any possible

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“The greatest sacrifice is when you sacrifice your own happiness for the sake of someone else”. In the book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, the author Khaled Hosseini writes a story about an Afghan girl name Mariam. Throughout the book it shows her life and growing up in Afghanistan. She learns about her country from events from her personal life and others. As these events grow throughout her life the color black appear more.

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