Violence crushes hope of fairytale ending From a very young age, children are filled with stories. Their mothers will hush them to sleep with promises of a prince charming and a happily ever after. But how much of their tales are actually true? What if…
A Thousand Splendid Suns Essay Examples and Topics
by Khaled Hosseini
Best topics on A Thousand Splendid Suns
May 22, 2007
Khaled Hosseini
Novel
Historical fiction
- Mariam
- Laila
- Rasheed
- Tariq
Mother-daughter connection, shame, privilege, feminism
Mariam, who was born from an extra-marital relationship, has always been shamed for her origin. Her father marries her to Rasheed, an abusive and psychologically imposing man. Rasheed mistreats her for not being able to have a child. Rasheed takes a second wife, Laila, who is already pregnant. Initially, Mariam sees Laila as a threat, but grows close to her with time. Laila becomes like a daughter to her, and they support each other against Rasheed.
People from all around the world make assumptions about Afghani women based on the news they see and misconceptions they read online. This book presents them as raw, living women trapped in a reality they fight against. Each one has her own battle.
Forced marriage, miscarriage, extra-marital affairs, women joining forces against abusers
- “Learn this now and learn it well. Like a compass facing north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman. Always.”
- “And that, … is the story of our country, one invasion after another… Macedonians. Saddanians. Arabs. Mongols. Now the Soviets. But we’re like those walls up there. Battered, and nothing pretty to look at, but still standing.”
- “A society has no chance of success if its women are uneducated.”
Hosseini’s first popular book, The Kite Runner, was a male-dominant story that represented the connection between a father and his son. His idea for A Thousand Splendid Suns was to focus on Afghan women and their heartbreaking stories. According to the author’s own words, this novel was much more difficult to write than the first one.
It’s a beautiful novel that haunts the reader for a long time. Mariam and Laila are among the most powerful female characters in literature, ever.
The book may be too difficult to read at times. Some of the situations are very upsetting, especially to women readers.