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A Thousand Splendid Suns Essay Examples and Topics

by Khaled Hosseini

Essay Examples
Essay Topics
Brief overview
Summaries
Reviews
date
Date

May 22, 2007

author
Author

Khaled Hosseini

type
Type

Novel

genre
Genre

Historical fiction

characters
Major Characters
  • Mariam
  • Laila
  • Rasheed
  • Tariq
symbols-motives
Symbols / Motives

Mother-daughter connection, shame, privilege, feminism

plot
Plot

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.

purpose
Why Is This Topic Important?

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.

idea
Main Ideas

Forced marriage, miscarriage, extra-marital affairs, women joining forces against abusers

quotes
Key Quotes
  • “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.”
interesting-facts
Interesting Facts

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.

argument-for
Arguments For

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.

argument-against
Arguments Against

The book may be too difficult to read at times. Some of the situations are very upsetting, especially to women readers.

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