A Thousand Splendid Suns: Gender, Society, and Literature Essay

This essay analyzes Khaled Hosseini's novel, 'A Thousand Splendid Suns,' focusing on the themes of gender, societal oppression, and the resilience of women in Afghanistan. The essay explores the lives of Mariam and Laila, the two main protagonists, highlighting their struggles against patriarchal norms, domestic violence, and the impact of war. The analysis examines Hosseini's portrayal of Afghan culture, the role of love and sacrifice, and the characters' journeys towards self-discovery and empowerment. The essay also discusses the significance of the novel within the context of Afghan literature and its broader relevance to contemporary social issues. The author highlights the importance of education and the ennobling power of love in overcoming adversity, drawing parallels between the novel's themes and their own societal observations. The essay also examines the power dynamics within the novel and the changing roles of women, emphasizing the shift from restricted lives to greater control over their destinies. The essay references several sources to support its arguments, providing a comprehensive understanding of the novel's themes and characters.

Running head: A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS
“It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change
the course of a whole lifetime...”
The above quoted lines of Khaled Hosseini clearly outline the theme of most of the
literary works written by him. It is to be noted that most of the literary works of Hosseini
revolves around the history as well as the violence with which the nation of Afghanistan has
been inflicted in the recent times (Coleman). Hosseini is famous for his novels like “The Kite
Runner”, “A Thousand Splendid Suns” and “The Mountains Echoed” (Gopinath). It is to be
noted that the novel “A Thousand Suns” of Hosseini is often considered to be one of the most
important novels to come out of the third countries in the 21st century (Coleman). The author
Hosseini is famous for his vivid characterization and the portrayal of the human emotions in
the backdrop of the conflict which the nation of Afghanistan has been facing in the present
times (Indriany).
I would like to comment here that although the author Khaled Hosseini in the novel
“A Thousand Splendid Suns” narrates the conflicts as well as the nature of the society of his
contemporary Afghanistan but the incidents as well as the narrate has a connection with my
contemporary society as well (Gopinath). It is to be noted that the novel seeks to attain the
emancipation in its own way through lines like “A society has no chance of success if its
women are uneducated...” (Hosseini). I would like to comment here that the society in which
I live also focuses on the emancipation of women and recognizes the central role of women in
the society. Furthermore, the novel portrays the belief of Hosseini in the Islamic view of God
and his benevolent attitude towards the human beings in lines like “Behind every trial and
sorrow that He makes us shoulder, God has a reason” (Hosseini). I would like to say that this
is something which I find in the precepts of Christianity as well. Moreover, the novel tries to
portray love as the ennobling factor which can obliterate all physical hardships in lines like
“yet love can move people to act in unexpected ways and move them to overcome the most

2A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS
daunting obstacles with startling heroism” (Hosseini). This is something which my parents
had taught me from a very young age and also I find in the society around myself.
I think that the author Hosseini writes his novels from a perception that the readers
who are reading his novels have a basic idea about the history of the nation of Afghanistan
and its cultural traditions. His novels also require its readers to have a basic understanding of
the human emotions and the mysterious ways love can make a person act (Singh). Therefore,
I think that the kind of reader which Hosseini has when he is writing a particular novel is a
reader who has certain knowledge about the history as well as the culture of Afghanistan and
about the human heart and emotions. I do not think that I had any difficulty in suspending my
own views, beliefs and prejudices which were necessary for an effective understanding of the
novel as prior to this I have read other novels of the third world countries and even a few
authors of Afghanistan.
It is to be noted that there two protagonist in the novel “A Thousand Splendid Suns”
Mariam and Laila. I would like to say here that both are the victims of the oppression of their
husband Rasheed and also the conservative society of Afghanistan. Therefore, they look upon
the society as well as their husband as the dominant one and themselves as inferior ones. The
opening lines of the novel is significant to note here “Like a compass needle that points north,
a man's accusing finger always finds a woman. Always” (Hosseini). It is to be noted that
gender plays a significant role in the novel in determining the attitudes as well as the
character of the protagonists in the novel (Kazemiyan). The two female characters in the
novel are therefore portrayed as per the conventional ones of the Afghanistan society
(Kazemiyan). It is to be noted that at one point in the novel during the curfew the women are
not even allowed to go around the locality without the company of the male members of their
family (Islam). Therefore, it would not be too far-fetched to say that gender plays a
significant role in the novel. I think that the Hosseini intended to represent the women in the

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novel to be far superior beings in comparison to the men of the society. Thus he makes the
two characters of the novel to be emotionally as well as mentally better equipped than their
male counterpart (Islam). I found that Hosseini represented the women in the novel to be
catering to needs as well as the requirements of the house and the male members of the
novels to the bread earners. It would not be too far-fetched to say that the women in the novel
have been represented as domestic slaves who are there to cater to the sexual as well as the
family needs of the male members of the society (Islam). It is to be noted that the novel
narrates the events in the history of Afghanistan back in the 1970s and 1980s when women
did not have much choice or independence in the society and therefore their role was just
limited to the domestic choirs and family needs only (Islam). It is to be noted in the first part
of the novel the women are just reduced to domestic objects meant for the sole pleasure of the
male members of the society. However, in the second part of the novel the women
particularly Mariam gain power and kill her husband Rasheed which ultimately results in her
persecution and her death (Islam). However, even after her death she leaves the money which
she inherits from her father to Laila in order to ensure her safe future. Laila in the end of
novel also gins considerable freedom and teaches children. It is to be noted that in the initial
part of the novel the lives of the women are very restricted and they are not even allowed to
make any considerable decisions for themselves. However, towards the end of the novel
power dynamics changes and the women are shown to be in control of their lives.
Therefore, from the above discussion it becomes clear that Hosseini’s “A Thousand
Splendid Suns” is one of the masterpieces of the Afghan Literature. It tries to give a pertinent
account of the society as well as the culture of the nation. It is to be noted that through this
particular novel the author seeks to portray the changing nature of the society as well as the
power dynamics of the society of Afghanistan.

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References
Coleman, Kaitlyn. "Book Analysis of A Thousand Splendid Suns." A Novel by Khaled
Hosseini in http://bluefox99887. files. wordpress. com/2014/03/a-thousand-splendid-
suns_kaitlyn-coleman. pdf accesssed on January 21st, 2016 at 09: 38 am (2012).
Gopinath, S. "Tracing the history of war-trodden land: A study of Khaled Hosseini's A
thousand splendid suns." (2013): 1-7.
Hosseini, Khaled. A thousand splendid suns. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2009.
Indriany, Fajar Nur. "Mariam‟ s Search for Meaning of Life in Khaled Hosseini‟ s A
Thousand Splendid Suns." Unpublished Research Paper. Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic
University(2014).
Islam, Dr Md Sahidul. "Gender Discrimination and the Wretched Condition of Women in
Arundhati Roy’s the God of Small Things and Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid
Suns." Arts & Education International Research Journal: ISSN: 2349-1353.
Kazemiyan, Azam. A Thousand Splendid Suns: Rhetorical Vision of Afghan Women.
University of Ottawa (Canada), 2012.
Singh, Namita. "Feminism v/s Gender equity: Socio-Political Activism in Khaled Hosseini’s
A Thousand Splendid Suns." International Journal of Educational Research and
Technology4 (2013).