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Discrimination In A Thousand Splendid Suns

814 Words4 Pages

Discrimination and inequality is one of the most sensitive subjects in American culture as well as other cultures worldwide. Few people want to admit that another race or a certain type of person has more or less rights just because of what they look like or where they come from. In The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini; Hosseini shows the effects of discrimination and inequality as two characters, Hassan and Mariam, struggle to gain social equality. Both works of literature take place in the postmodern era in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan. During the postmodern era, authors create a setting that depicts a cruel and unfair world which has fallen apart and can not be fixed. The two novels take place during a major …show more content…

In The Kite Runner Amir was free to go outside and play sports and other active activities with friends since he was a male. “Real men – real boys – played soccer just as Baba had when he had been young... He signed me up for soccer teams to stir the same passion in me” (Hosseini. Pg.27). Amir was practically forced to go play sports outside with other boys his age. On the other hand, in A Thousand Splendid Suns Mariam wishes she could go outside freely just like the other modern women in her neighborhood. “The women in this part of Kabul were a different breed from the women in the poorer neighborhoods—like the one where she and Rasheed lived, where so many of the women covered fully” (Hosseini, Pg.43). Mariam is not allowed to go outside mainly because she was a women and in her culture it is disrespectful for a women to walk outside the gates of her house alone. Although, Amir and Mariam live in the same city, Amir has a different experience than Mariam mainly because of their gender difference. Despite being around the same age and being similar in every aspect, Amir and Mariam are denied the same opportunities. With their point of views, we view the Muslim world from a radically different view points, which creates a stark contrast with each

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