Melissa Simeon Ms Muzzi ENG4U-12 25 November 2014 A Thousand Splendid Suns: Khaled Hosseini Women are subjected to abuse and are oppressed worldwide. Their rights are stripped from them, and they are not allowed to be liberal or overcome oppression. Through narrative elements in Khaled Hosseini’s novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, he develops the theme that even in the face of intense adversity, women can still have hope while dealing with the realities of political and personal oppression. Hosseini demonstrates the ability of resilience with the female protagonists, Mariam, and Laila, showing how they endure unfortunate situations in Afghanistan. Women of the Afghan culture need to be resilient towards abuse and thus suffer in silence. Mariam …show more content…
Mariam had to undergo “character versus self-theory” which is an ideology of overcoming personal weaknesses to obtain one’s goal. She battles her insecurities, the guilt of her illegitimate birth and her mother’s death throughout the novel. Her mother, Nana, tries to inflict shame on Mariam by calling her names like bastard and harami, blaming Mariam for her existence. When Mariam chooses to go live with her father and his family in the city, Nana is furious by her daughter’s choice and says “I’ll die if you go. The jinn will come, and I’ll have one of my fits. You’ll see, I’ll swallow my tongue and die. Don’t leave me, Mariam jo. Please stay. I’ll die if you go.” (Hosseini, 27). This quote depicts the pressure put on Mariam and also guilt she felt after Nana committed suicide by hanging herself. At only the age of fifteen, she carried the burden of her mother’s death. Mariam also suffers from low self-esteem and lack of self-worth, which is typical for women in this patriarchal society. Mariam’s husband Rasheed abuses her for inability to bear children, and she holds a sense of responsibility, believing it is her fault. Mariam is in a continuous battle with herself though wanting a better life, she is subjected to oppression. She remains hopeful that one day she will be set free from under the rule of …show more content…
Hosseini organizes the novel to allow the reader to feel as if they are in the war, witnessing the disarray with the anticipation for a brighter day. The revolutionary war has taken the lives of Laila’s entire family. Her brothers Noor and Ahmed were fighting in the war and lost their lives in the name of Jihad, the house where she once grew up was destroyed by a blast and mother and father were amongst casualties. Laila’s childhood sweetheart and love of her life were thought to be dead. This left Laila with two options: die of starvation or enter prostitution as she had no one and no place to call home. She is saved by an eager Rasheed and an older, jealous Mariam. Laila compares the situation in Afghanistan to the plot of the Titanic. “Everybody wants Jack to rescue them from disaster. But there is no Jack, Jack is not coming. Jack is dead” (270). This illustrates the tragedy and catastrophe that is happening and how everyone wants a saviour but the people of Afghanistan cannot be saved under the Islamic Taliban rule. Hosseini portrays the atmosphere to be ironically invigorating as Laila and Mariam establish a bond of friendship and love in the middle of a disaster. Mariam is unable to bear children but develops a motherly relationship with Laila’s children; Aziza and Zalmai. “Aziza went over to Mariam’s and climbed in her lap. The two of them were inseparable” (297). Mariam loves and cares for them as they are her