...A Thousand Splendid Sun Even with the many examples of counter-factuals in A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, the characters remain strong, positive, and full of loyalty to their family and homeland. One strong example of a counterfactual happens near the beginning of the book. One of the main characters, Mariam makes a decision to go to her father, Jalil, against the pleading of her mother, Nana. Mariam remembers her mother’s words, “I’ll die if you go, I’ll just die.” (p. 27 ). As it turns out, Mariam is rejected by her father, Jalil and when she returns home, she discovers that her mother, Nana has committed suicide by hanging herself. Mariam tortures herself throughout her life with the despair of believing she caused her mother’s death, even though her close friend, Mullah reassured her that her mother was very ill and it was not Mariam’s fault. Another example of a counterfactual is that Laila continues to hope that her mother would acknowledge that she is still alive, despite the fact that both her brothers have died as soldiers in the war. “Laila wishes Mammy would notice that she, Laila, hadn’t become shaheed, that she is alive, here, in bed with her, that she has hopes and a future. But Laila knows that her future is no match for her brothers’ past. They have overshadowed her in life. They will obliterate her in death.” ( p.142 ) Laila continues to try to bring some hope and comfort to her mother despite her mother’s constant rejection. Both...
Words: 583 - Pages: 3
...A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini has done it again; A Thousand Splendid Suns is a triumph. This book is as unforgettable as his first book The Kite Runner that became a big success. It is a story about two women and their fight through a hard life. I will come back to the story later, first some facts about the author. Khaled Hosseini Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul in Afghanistan; he lived there with his mother and father. In 1980 they moved to The United States and started a new life there. In 1993 Hosseini finished an education as a doctor of medicine; today he is both an author and doctor. Khaled gets his inspiration form books he read when he was younger and all the memories he has from Afghanistan when he lived there. So far, he has written two novels, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. Summary “Mariam was five years old the first time she heard the word harami. It happened on a Thursday. It must have, because Mariam remembered that she had been restless and preoccupied that day, the way she was only on Thursdays, the day when Jalil visited her at the kolba. To pass the time until the moment that she would she him at last, crossing the knee-high grass in the clearing and waving, Mariam had climbed a chair and taken down her mothers Chinese tea set. The tea set was the sole relic that Mariam’s mother, Nana, had left of her own mother, who had died when Nana was two. Nana cherished each blue-and-white porcelain piece, the graceful curve of...
Words: 1007 - Pages: 5
...Mrs. Gore 2 I’ve never been to Afghanistan or even thought much about Afghan people. After I read A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, I personally took this book to heart. This book took me through the unthinkable as if I were there. This adrenaline rushed science fiction made me think and feel for the women and children in the middle east. The reader will read the historical fiction of 9/11 when the horrific tragedy of the Twin Towers falling and how Afghans felt. This story is about two women who were told that they will have to endure to survive and now are actually having to do so. The reader will see two totally different life stories come together in the end. The war battles, mistreatment, cruelty, and unfairness of life are...
Words: 876 - Pages: 4
...Alefa Chowdhury 12-09-13 7th Hour A Thousand Splendid Suns A Thousand Splendid Suns, written by Khaled Hosseini, is a story that is set place in modern-day Afghanistan. It is a story of two particular women who live under the control of a persecuting husband and the infamous rule of the Taliban. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini shifts the narrative perspective throughout the different sections. Overall, the story is told from an omniscient third person. The external character shows the reader world events as they happen and how it affects the main characters, Mariam and Laila, with a factual, unbiased perspective. As the story progressed, we switch to third person limited to understand Mariam and Laila’s individual struggles and experiences, yet we never know what any of the other characters are thinking unless it is said. By shifting narrative perspectives, Hosseini demonstrates how women help each other achieve a shared goal in a time of civil war and social inequality. And through these two women (Laila and Mariam), Hosseini creates a mind-blowing, adventure of regret, despair, tragedy, and more importantly, redemption. The book begins with separate perspectives of each woman, and how they consequently come together in the same household. Mariam, to start with, is actually a result of the shameful act that her father, Jalil Khan, a wealthy business man of Herat, committed when he impregnated one of his servants. As a result of this...
Words: 1591 - Pages: 7
...A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini & The Pangs Of Love: The Pangs Of Love The extract from A Thousand Splendid Suns shares an omniscient third person narrative perspective which provides greater breadth of character analysis. This third person allows the extract from A Thousand Splendid Suns is able to present the manipulation of Rasheed and the Seventh Mermaid to the fear and vulnerability of Laila and the Prince. ‘RASHEED TOOK HER to his shoe shop one day.’ Opens the extract, ‘RASHEED TOOK HER’ is stressed and emphasises the stolen possession that she is in the novel. It also objectifies her because Rasheed ‘took her to his shoe shop’. The use of pronouns also shows the power and control in the relationship. ‘took her to his shoe shop’ and ‘he walked alongside her’ are used as apposed to ‘they went’ or ‘walked together’. ‘RASHEED TOOK HER’ can be compares to how the prince was taken by The Seventh Mermaid through manipulation. However, the views from the reader contrast as the protagonist and antagonist in each story are swapped over. The manipulation of the prince by the seventh mermaid through intelligent, premeditated thought and to justify her sister’s death is shown as an amiable goal for the protagonist representing female empowerment. This is contrasted with the physical and mental abuse to manipulate and own Laila which makes Rasheed a more detestable antagonist. The innoncene of Laila and the prince is exposed in the extract to make the audience...
Words: 253 - Pages: 2
...Book:- Our book is A Thousan Splendid Suns, a 2007 novel written by an Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini, after his bestselling 2003 debut, The Kite Runner. Khaled Hosseini has mentioned that the novel was a “mother-daughter story rather than to The Kite Runner, which was a “father-son story”. It uses some of the theme used in The Kite Runner but has its focus primarily on all the female characters and how they live in the Afghan soceity. On 22nd May 2007, the book was released and received favorable prepublication reviews which led it to become the number one on New York Times bestseller for around fifteen weeks. It sold over one million copies just during its first week. Characters:- Mariam, born in Heart, 1959. She was boren an ethnic...
Words: 994 - Pages: 4
...A thousand splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini Music: Leonard Cohen – Hallelujah fade out in the background. Song ends play river flows in you by Yiruma in the background Host: Welcome back listeners, to literacy 98.3. That was hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. It’s time for our weekly review, as you all know this week we are exploring the theme oppression. This week’s book is A thousand splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, author of the bestseller the Kite runner. I have with me, Ms. Kathryn Stockett, Reclaimed author of one for the most insightful books, The Help. Welcome Kathryn, we happy to have you with us. Kathryn Stockett: Thank you for having me Host: Kathryn could you tell those who are listening, what oppression means to you, and if you don’t mind give us a summary of the book A thousand Splendid Suns Kathryn Stockett: Oppression to me means dominating somebody (or a group of people), through cruelty, or harshness. One is oppressive if he/she is the source of worry stress or trouble to others. A thousand splendid suns is at one an incredible chronicle of thirty years of Afghan history and a deeply moving story of family, friendship, faith and the salvation to be found in love....
Words: 1092 - Pages: 5
...“A Thousand Splendid Suns” written by Afghan author Khaled Hosseini is an example of the portrayal of the lives of women in Afghanistan. The challenges and oppression in the lives of two Afghan women; Laila and Mariam are shown Throughout the novel, which provided or facilities on the relationship between both these women. This novel is a good representation of the cruelty experienced by the Afghan women in their everyday life. “A Thousand Splendid Suns” is a significant piece of text that bring the predicament of the women who have lived under the debilitating shadow of patriarchal oppression on women. Using the vales, the authors comprehension kills and the contributing factors to emphasize key aspects of of this essay. In countries...
Words: 1235 - Pages: 5
...The phrase “a thousand splendid suns” from the Saib-e-Tabrizi poem, signifies the peace and hardships that Afghanistan, Laila, and Mariam face throughout their times. When it first appears in the book, Laila’s Babi, mammy, and herself were packing up their things so that they could leave Afghanistan because living there became too dangerous with the war. Babi quotes the poem “One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs, Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her wall” (Hosseini 192). Here, the phrase is used to express the hidden beauties that Afghanistan had before the war such as the buddhist statues that Laila, Tariq, and Babi once visited. The other time it is used is when Laila expresses Mariam as being in her own heart, “where she shines with the bursting...
Words: 810 - Pages: 4
...A Thousand Splendid Suns transports the reader to an unimaginable, unforgiving world. Khaled Hosseini wants the reader to understand, to experience, and to feel the depths of this place. A world unimaginable by many is brought to life through the experiences of the two women. Through the use of characterization, structure, and setting, Hosseini is able to express the despondent tone, while at the same time convey the idea that hope and endless courage are the only ways to survive in a world tarnished by violence and consumed by hatred. Hosseini’s choice to illustrate women from two generations emphasises the injustice felt throughout the ages. Mariam and Laila both come from noticeably different backgrounds, but end up walking the same path in life for many years. While Mariam is considered a bastard child and lives in isolation with her mother, Laila grows up well-educated with two caring parents. The women are first mentioned together when Lalia, still a young girl, “and Tariq were...
Words: 3078 - Pages: 13
...The Book Report---- A Thousand Splendid Suns The story follows the lives of two Afghan women, Mariam and Laila, who become caught up in the repression and misogyny of conservative Islamic culture. Events span the decades from the rule of Afghan kings, the Soviet invasion, the civil war of the Mujahideen warlords, the takeover of the Taliban and the eventual liberation by Allied forces. It gives compelling details about the tragic struggles and sacrifices of the two principal characters as they try to survive through anarchy and extremism in what would become a brutalizing culture. I have read the writer, Khaled Hosseini’s last book, The Kite Runner before. I'll try steer away from comparing the two books here. They're both very good reads and worth your time. But I will say that I consider A Thousand Splendid Suns to be the better of the two. The author's narrative style is stronger and less predictable and he stretches himself, very effectively, to look at the events of the last 35 years in Afghanistan from a woman's point of view. Hosseini does an excellent job of referencing the global and regional political issues in the story without making them a main plot point. The large events are a backdrop, a scene setting device that serves as a canvass for the personal tribulations the main characters endure. In doing this, he avoids being overtly preachy and opinionated. The result is a narrative that keeps its focus on the subjects of the story, while exposing the reader...
Words: 425 - Pages: 2
...In the book “A thousand splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini, a few significant themes were clearly brought out by the author in the story. Most of these themes are related to public social issues such as, poverty, education, and women. In part 3, chapter 38, paragraph 22, Rasheed, Jalil’s friend and Mariam’s husband, once said to Laila, Rasheed’s second wife, “What good are all your smarts to you now? What's keeping you off the streets, your smarts or me? … Half the women in this city would kill to have a husband like me. They would kill for it." This quote is very significant in this story because it brings out the theme of poverty in the book, and shows readers the upper class thoughts of the Afghanistan society. When Rasheed expressed his inside thoughts in this quote, it shows that Rasheed possesses a violent, cruel and manipulative character. The fact that Rasheed says this also tells readers that in the Afghanistan society, it is not uncommon to have poor people do horrible things in order to obtain a better way of living, which is hard to imagine in the modern society. In the end, this quote brought Laila to a realization that perusing dreams requires financial support. And without enough money, perusing dreams will be difficult and sometimes even impossible. In the end, the quote ignited an internal change of values for Laila and brought out the theme of poverty, which is why this quote is one of the most powerful quotes in the...
Words: 256 - Pages: 2
...A woman can take so much suffering without being knocked over. They are very strong and are capable of accomplishing many things. A Thousand Splendid Suns, Hosseini exemplifies the oppression women face, and how it eventually allows them to become stronger, more confident individuals. In Kabul, Afghanistan, the government does everything in their power to diminish women’s rights. They are forced to wear burqas which erases their identity and could not go out in public without a man. Mariam’s monstrous husband Rasheed, has parallel views with the government. He makes her do whatever he wants, and puts her in near death situations. Through these atrocious experiences, Mariam develops many wounds and scars and a fear for Rasheed. In the book...
Words: 539 - Pages: 3
...A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini Staged in pre-Taliban Afghanistan, A Thousand Splendid Suns is the story of two women and the tales of their intertwined lives. It shows how few rights they had before the Taliban came in to power and how they were stripped from them under Taliban control. Hosseini shows many examples of how these women were abused and seen as 2nd class citizens. I decided to read this book for the required assignment due to many different reasons. One of reasons I selected this book are the current conflicts going on right now in that area of the world. Another reason was that I wanted to learn a little more about that culture. I also got a positive review about the book from my cousin who read the book in his free time and loaned me the book to read. The main reason I read the book was to see how women in Afghanistan are treated before and during the Taliban control. I knew from what I had previously learned in your class on how greatly discriminated Muslim women are treated. I also knew how strict the Muslim religion is, but I wanted to read about it, even if it was fictional. My cousin had told me about the two women in the novel before but never told me specifics on how the girls were treated. I just had to read for myself to find out. A Thousand Splendid Suns was written by Khaled Hosseini, an American writer and physician who originally came from Afghanistan. This is his second book, he first wrote The Kite Runner which was a U.S...
Words: 1779 - Pages: 8
...The Power Within From the present day to thousands of years in the past, there has been controversy with women in society. They are stereotyped, judged and looked down upon in many places and times in the world. Whether it be their clothing, manner, beliefs or actions they have been scrutinized and analyzed far more than their male companions. Yet women have still stood tall and strong in the face of opposition. Nothing is more evident than in the novels Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Though each book is written in a different era and continent from each other, both authors have taken a profound look into the lives of women who, in submission of the society they live in, persevere and carry on their lives no matter what. Though Hardy’s Victorian countryside and Hosseini’s war ridden Afghanistan have very different plot lines, both novels develop the theme of inner strength of women through the protagonist’s characteristics, the conflicts in the plot and setting. In 1891 Hardy wrote Tess of the d’Urbervilles. The novel received a public outcry and was criticized for its taboo topics and insight into a ruined woman’s private life. The passionate and intense Tess Durbeyfield, whom the novel is centralized around, faces more tragedy and injustice in her adolescent years than any women could bear and perseveres through out. Tess’s character, as well as the women around her, shows the true inner strength women possess...
Words: 4291 - Pages: 18
