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Men And Women In Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns

1520 Words7 Pages

Many people unfairly judge and stereotype others in the Muslim culture based on the actions of certain members in their society. They begin to think that all Muslims are the same, which is not true, which is a message conveyed in A Thousand Splendid Suns. In this novel, the author, Khaled Hosseini, portrays the different Muslim lifestyles by using fictional characters in possible scenarios. Throughout the story, the contrast between the roles of men and women prove that their ways of living and their personal beliefs are not all the same.
The author used the men in the story as devices to prove the differences in their beliefs and actions, contradicting the stereotype that all Muslim men are mean, controlling, or terrorists. Throughout the story, Jalil, Babi, and Rasheed …show more content…

Even though Rasheed was against women’s freedoms and did not mind the Taliban, he still never joined in with them or become a terrorist. By the comparison of these three men, a broader view of Muslim men’s beliefs and lifestyles is created, which supports the fact that not everyone in the Muslim culture is the same.
Fariba, Laila, and Marriam were three Muslim women that Hosseini also used to compare and contrast their qualities and ways of life. Unlike Laila and Marriam, Fariba’s husband did not control or abuse her, in fact, she showed more authority over him than what the stereotypical Muslim wife would. She was unafraid to fight with her husband Babi, and she did not receive any consequences or beatings for lashing out against him. For example, as Fariba would yell at Babi, he would nod obediently and quietly wait for her to stop raging (Page 108). Furthermore, she did not become forced or stuck in a marriage she did not want like Laila and Marriam did. Babi and Fariba’s marriage were consensual, for Fariba had actually

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