On this page I will analyze the plot of A Thousand Splendid Suns.
The plot of A Thousand Splendid Suns had many twists and turns that impact the outcome of the book. The first turn is when Mariam is 15 years old wants to go to her dad's movie theater with all of her family. She is stood up by her father so she walks to his house and he won't let her in his home and she spends the night on his porch. In the morning her dad's chauffeur takes her home to Nana; only to see that her Nana has committed suicide. Mariam is now taken in by her father, Jalil, and his three wives and children. The twist is that Jalil's wives' won't have Mariam in his house because she is a harami so they find a suitor. At the age of 15 Mariam is married to Rasheed, a man who owns a shoe shop in Kabul. The abandonment shown by Jalil of Mariam shows the mistreatment of women in Afghanistan.
Mariam is his daughter but because she is a harami he gives into his wives and gives Mariam over to Rasheed, "Mariam fixed her eyes on Jalil, her heart somersaulting in her chest. Is this true? What she's saying, is it true," (Hosseini 47). Jalil's abandonment of Mariam completely changes the outcome of Mariam's life. He is a coward, when he is alone with Mariam he treats her like a loved one but when she is around him and his wives he favors his other family and doesn't accept Mariam as family. Mariam understands why his wives treat her poorly but she doesn't understand why Jalil ignores her around his wives and other children. Mariam's disbelief when Jalil can't even muster up the courage to explain the situation or stand up to his wives is pathetic. Mariam now thinks back to all those times she had with Jalil and how she use to idolize his way of life and character and can't believe that all those times are marred now by Jalil's abandonment and lack of morals. Jalil's abandonment doesn't only affect Mariam's feelings for Jalil; it completely changes the reader's opinion of Jalil. All those times in the beginning of the book where the reader thought of Nana as the early on antagonist since she is constantly telling Mariam how no one will like her and that she will have to live a life of isolation like she has had. Then Jalil would come once a week and make Mariam's day and the reader thought that Jalil would see how pessimistic Nana is and take Mariam in to live with him. The lack of action by Jalil in the meeting where Mariam is told about her suitor also shows basically the end of his character in the book. Outside of telling Jalil that she will never see or talk to him again for abandoning her, Mariam never talks to Jalil after the marriage and his name is brought up on rare occasion. Jalil's abandonment also shows the mistreatment of women in this book. Mariam is being married to someone who is 30 to 35 years older than her and she doesn't have a choice in the decision. The mistreatment of women vastly changes the life of Mariam. She gets shipped off to Kabul with Rasheed and is homesick but starts enjoying life more when she gets pregnant. Rasheed is treating her better and is excited about the child too, but then Mariam has a miscarriage and her life goes downhill from there. Rasheed abuses her frequently and treats her like an object instead of a human. Rasheed's mistreatment of women influences the reader to dislike Rasheed because of his poor treatment of women and his selfishness. The abandonment and mistreatment of Mariam derails her life to the point where she has a uneventful life.
Another turn to the plot of A Thousand Splendid Suns is when Babi and Mammy, the parents of Laila, are killed when a rocket strikes their house in Kabul. The killing of Babi and Mammy by a rocket shows the instability in the society of Kabul and the country of Afghanistan. Laila is thinking about the Taliban and how the way they work would have hurt Babi severely, "Laila was glad, when the Taliban went to work, that Babi wasn't around to witness it. It would have crippled him," (Hosseini 280). The state of Kabul and all of Afghanistan is the twist in the plot of this book. If the Taliban hadn't been given power over Kabul then Tariq with his family and Laila would be living with her parents and brothers. The Taliban rule leads to a distraught, poverty-riddled, strict society. The women who once were allowed to go to school, have good jobs and go out in public are now restricted to wear burqas and can only go out in public with a man. The Taliban fired a rocket at Laila's home so by default the Taliban caused a lot of depression in Laila's life. Laila's family was about to leave Kabul for better safety when the rocket killed her parents therefore the Taliban and the unstable society killed her family. The plot changes because of the instability of Kabul. The Taliban caused instability in Kabul and their action changes Laila's life. This impacts the plot because now instead of having Mammy away from where her sons died and Babi being happy again, she was led to believe that Tariq is dead. The instability leads to abusive relationship because the police don't interfere with personal living situations. Rasheed is abusive to Laila as Laila and Mariam try leave Rasheed and get caught; Rasheed locks Laila and her infant daughter in a very hot bedroom to the point where Laila thought they would die. The abuse impacts the plot because Rasheed almost suffocates Laila until Mariam hits him with a shovel. This is a relief as Laila was getting to know Tariq again as he found her but Rasheed wasn't okay with Tariq being in Laila's life again so he beat her. This shows the unstable and corrupt atmosphere of Kabul. Though the Taliban have taken many freedoms from men, they took all away from women leading men to believe they could control and abuse women and get away with their actions. When Rasheed was killed and Laila was free again,she left Kabul with Tariq and her children,showing that she needed to get away from the instability. Now, Laila can enjoy her life, the twists and turns of the plot are done. She and her family can live a more free life and escape the instability of Kabul that changed Laila's life forever.
The plot of A Thousand Splendid Suns had many twists and turns that impact the outcome of the book. The first turn is when Mariam is 15 years old wants to go to her dad's movie theater with all of her family. She is stood up by her father so she walks to his house and he won't let her in his home and she spends the night on his porch. In the morning her dad's chauffeur takes her home to Nana; only to see that her Nana has committed suicide. Mariam is now taken in by her father, Jalil, and his three wives and children. The twist is that Jalil's wives' won't have Mariam in his house because she is a harami so they find a suitor. At the age of 15 Mariam is married to Rasheed, a man who owns a shoe shop in Kabul. The abandonment shown by Jalil of Mariam shows the mistreatment of women in Afghanistan.
Mariam is his daughter but because she is a harami he gives into his wives and gives Mariam over to Rasheed, "Mariam fixed her eyes on Jalil, her heart somersaulting in her chest. Is this true? What she's saying, is it true," (Hosseini 47). Jalil's abandonment of Mariam completely changes the outcome of Mariam's life. He is a coward, when he is alone with Mariam he treats her like a loved one but when she is around him and his wives he favors his other family and doesn't accept Mariam as family. Mariam understands why his wives treat her poorly but she doesn't understand why Jalil ignores her around his wives and other children. Mariam's disbelief when Jalil can't even muster up the courage to explain the situation or stand up to his wives is pathetic. Mariam now thinks back to all those times she had with Jalil and how she use to idolize his way of life and character and can't believe that all those times are marred now by Jalil's abandonment and lack of morals. Jalil's abandonment doesn't only affect Mariam's feelings for Jalil; it completely changes the reader's opinion of Jalil. All those times in the beginning of the book where the reader thought of Nana as the early on antagonist since she is constantly telling Mariam how no one will like her and that she will have to live a life of isolation like she has had. Then Jalil would come once a week and make Mariam's day and the reader thought that Jalil would see how pessimistic Nana is and take Mariam in to live with him. The lack of action by Jalil in the meeting where Mariam is told about her suitor also shows basically the end of his character in the book. Outside of telling Jalil that she will never see or talk to him again for abandoning her, Mariam never talks to Jalil after the marriage and his name is brought up on rare occasion. Jalil's abandonment also shows the mistreatment of women in this book. Mariam is being married to someone who is 30 to 35 years older than her and she doesn't have a choice in the decision. The mistreatment of women vastly changes the life of Mariam. She gets shipped off to Kabul with Rasheed and is homesick but starts enjoying life more when she gets pregnant. Rasheed is treating her better and is excited about the child too, but then Mariam has a miscarriage and her life goes downhill from there. Rasheed abuses her frequently and treats her like an object instead of a human. Rasheed's mistreatment of women influences the reader to dislike Rasheed because of his poor treatment of women and his selfishness. The abandonment and mistreatment of Mariam derails her life to the point where she has a uneventful life.
Another turn to the plot of A Thousand Splendid Suns is when Babi and Mammy, the parents of Laila, are killed when a rocket strikes their house in Kabul. The killing of Babi and Mammy by a rocket shows the instability in the society of Kabul and the country of Afghanistan. Laila is thinking about the Taliban and how the way they work would have hurt Babi severely, "Laila was glad, when the Taliban went to work, that Babi wasn't around to witness it. It would have crippled him," (Hosseini 280). The state of Kabul and all of Afghanistan is the twist in the plot of this book. If the Taliban hadn't been given power over Kabul then Tariq with his family and Laila would be living with her parents and brothers. The Taliban rule leads to a distraught, poverty-riddled, strict society. The women who once were allowed to go to school, have good jobs and go out in public are now restricted to wear burqas and can only go out in public with a man. The Taliban fired a rocket at Laila's home so by default the Taliban caused a lot of depression in Laila's life. Laila's family was about to leave Kabul for better safety when the rocket killed her parents therefore the Taliban and the unstable society killed her family. The plot changes because of the instability of Kabul. The Taliban caused instability in Kabul and their action changes Laila's life. This impacts the plot because now instead of having Mammy away from where her sons died and Babi being happy again, she was led to believe that Tariq is dead. The instability leads to abusive relationship because the police don't interfere with personal living situations. Rasheed is abusive to Laila as Laila and Mariam try leave Rasheed and get caught; Rasheed locks Laila and her infant daughter in a very hot bedroom to the point where Laila thought they would die. The abuse impacts the plot because Rasheed almost suffocates Laila until Mariam hits him with a shovel. This is a relief as Laila was getting to know Tariq again as he found her but Rasheed wasn't okay with Tariq being in Laila's life again so he beat her. This shows the unstable and corrupt atmosphere of Kabul. Though the Taliban have taken many freedoms from men, they took all away from women leading men to believe they could control and abuse women and get away with their actions. When Rasheed was killed and Laila was free again, she left Kabul with Tariq and her children, showing that she needed to get away from the instability. Now, Laila can enjoy her life, the twists and turns of the plot are done. She and her family can live a more free life and escape the instability of Kabul that changed Laila's life forever.