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On this page, we take the voices of the four main characters from this book and talk about their experiences from their points of view.
Rasheed-by Cole Crump
What does it mean to be a man? A man must be strong, independent, strong willed, and must care for his family. It is also his duty to assert himself as the higher of the sexes. Is it a woman's job to work? To show her face on the street? To have guests over? No. Women of old wore burqas. They stayed home with the kids. They prepared meals, and cleaned the house. The jobs that men do are not a woman's, and the jobs of women aren't to be done by men. We are a strong people not to be governed by women.

{CRW_4391.jpg} Symbolism:
On this page, I'll discuss the rhetorical devices used in A Thousand Splendid Suns.
Symbolism: In Khaled
Allusion: Babi played a very intellectual role in the book and as he and Laila packed up there lives to leave Afghanistan he recalls a line from a poem that said "one could not count the moons that shimmer her roofs/ or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls" (Hosseini 172). This image Babi gives to Laila before they reluctantly leave Kabul alludes to the fact that they themselves have waited so long to leave because of the relentless hope that they carried shown by the thousand splendid suns that lay in wait behind walls and the many moons that light up Kabul. This also alludes to Mammy's constant pull towards her sons legacies. She truly believes that those suns and moons are just around the corner and if she just waits for it then it will come and all would be right with Kabul, Afghanistan and her family. It is as if the sun has eclipsed in Mammy's life and she thinks that just a moment longer the sun will shine again.
Metaphor: Hosseini was able to carry many metaphors of women's struggle in Afghanistan some of which were even recognized by the female characters to fully embody there unheard and mostly unwanted thoughts. As Miriam was going through the loss of another miscarriage she thinks to herself of something that her mother said to her. "She remembered Nana saying once that each snowflake was sigh heaved by aggrieved woman somewhere in the world. That all the sighs drifted up the sky, gathered into clouds, then broke into tiny pieces that fell silently on the people below." (Hosseini 82). In this quotation Miriam was able to truly understand her mothers anguish as a women in a world that does not hear there cries but only sees them like a trader sees chattel. It also shows that the sighs of women were great because they can gather in such large quantities to be able to fall from the sky and covers the city. It quickly becomes omnipresent laying quietly and it is only upon close examination that you see snowflakes individuality and beauty but as the tradition of life follows the snow quickly melts and even the reminder of it just becomes a puddle in the street.

On this page, I'll discuss the characters in A Thousand Splendid Suns.
Mariam- Mariam had a hard childhood. She lived in poverty, almost exile due to her mother's sin, realizing her father's rejection, being given to Rasheed, and experiencing seven miscarriages. All of these hardships built up inside of her since Rasheed didn't let her show emotions because "[he didn't] have patience for it" (Hosseini 59) She released all of her built up frustations and anger by killing Rasheed. He threatened those that she loved, and she shattered at this breaking point, and released all of those emotions that had been cooped up for so long inside of her.
Laila- Laila was a young girl that was very involved with her schooling. Her dad used to be a teacher, until he got fired. She hung out with Giti, Hasina, and especially Tariq. As they grew up, Laila began to fall in love with Tariq. They had a "relationship", but he announced to her that his family was fleeing the country to Pakistan. Befure he left though, they had sex and concieved Aziza. Soon after Tariq's departure, her house was hit by a rocket, killing her parents, and making her hard of hearing in one ear. After her fling with Tariq, the "news" of his death, and the death of one friend and the moving away of another, and the death of her parents, her daughter, Aziza, was what kept her going. Aziza was her beacon shining in her dark world. After a while living together, Laila and Mariam became friends, and it was them against Rasheed. He overpowered them, until Mariam reached her breaking point and killed him. She recently learned that Tariq wasn't dead, and Rasheed's death allowed Laila, Aziza, and Zalmai to go live with Tariq in Pakistan and live a better temporary life there.

The theme I found most prevalent was loyalty. It existed in many of the characters, but was lacking in others. Fariba was very loyal to Afghanistan for staying there even as it spewed corruption and as the Taliban terrorized civilians every day. For better or for worse, she was very anti-communist because it was different than the traditional political system in Afghanistan. While she had good intentions, her actions didn't exactly help her daughter's future, nor did it agree with her husband Hakim's views on the communists, as he supported them since they supported women's rights, especially regarding education. She also wanted to honor her two sons, Ahmad and Noor, who died while fighting for the Mujahideen, by staying in the country.
Similar to Tariq, Mariam's loyalty was very strong to some people, like her father, Jalil, and to Laila, who she developed a sisterly relationship with fighting Rasheed and too weak to at least one other, that person being her mom, Nana. In addition to revealing the innocent foolishness that led her to try to move in with Jalil, defying Nana's demand that Mariam not leave, she was too loyal to Jalil and that drew her away from Nana, who was in shock and committed suicide after Mariam left. Of course, Jalil didn't return much of her loyalty until the end, when he sent Mariam a letter apologizing for not answering the door when Mariam showed up on that day so many years ago. Rasheed was incredibly disloyal by our society's standards, marrying both Mariam and Laila. Hypocrisy was okay for men, while women had no rights anyway so they weren't writing the rules of how people should act anyway. The most demeaning acts of hypocrisy by Rasheed was that he made his wives wear burqas, yet looked at pornographic magazines in his spare time. "On every page were women, beautiful women, who wore no shirts, no trousers, no socks or underpants...Her stomach revolted with distaste. Was this what he did then, those nights that he did not visit her room? Had she been a disappointment to him in this particular regard? A woman's face, he'd said, is her husband's business only. If so, why did Rasheed insist that she cover when he thought nothing of looking at the private areas of other men's wives and sisters?" (Hosseini 75). Traditionally, people of the same ethnic group would have agreed about most things, but because of the Taliban's extreme hypocrisy, even other Pashtuns disagreed with them, such as Zaman, the orphanage director. He said that the Taliban had "disgraced the name of" his people, such as by not allowing women to "go out and make a living" (Hosseini 283).
Rasheed, which makesmade Mariam's frustration (Hosseini 54). The reader learns so much about the positive values of Afghan culture and the ones that people are trying to change thanks to Khaled Hosseini's use of themes in A Thousand Splendid Suns, in addition to plenty of life lessons.

The theme I found most prevalent was loyalty. It existed in many of the characters, but was lacking in others. Fariba was very loyal to Afghanistan for staying there even as it spewed corruption and as the Taliban terrorized civilians every day. For better or for worse, she was very anti-communist because it was different than the traditional political system in Afghanistan. While she had good intentions, her actions didn't exactly help her daughter's future, nor did it agree with her husband Hakim's views on the communists, as he supported them since they supported women's rights, especially regarding education. She also wanted to honor her two sons, Ahmad and Noor, who died while fighting for the Mujahideen, by staying in the country.
Similar to Tariq, Mariam's loyalty was very strong to some people, like her father, Jalil, and to Laila, who she developed a sisterly relationship with fighting Rasheed and too weak to at least one other, that person being her mom, Nana. In addition to revealing the innocent foolishness that led her to try to move in with Jalil, defying Nana's demand that Mariam not leave, she was too loyal to Jalil and that drew her away from Nana, who was in shock and committed suicide after Mariam left. Of course, Jalil didn't return much of her loyalty until the end, when he sent Mariam a letter apologizing for not answering the door when Mariam showed up on that day so many years ago. Rasheed was incredibly disloyal by our society's standards, marrying both Mariam and Laila. Hypocrisy was okay for men, while women had no rights anyway so they weren't writing the rules of how people should act anyway. The most demeaning acts of hypocrisy by Rasheed was that he made his wives wear burqas, yet looked at pornographic magazines in his spare time. "On every page were women, beautiful women, who wore no shirts, no trousers, no socks or underpants...Her stomach revolted with distaste. Was this what he did then, those nights that he did not visit her room? Had she been a disappointment to him in this particular regard? A woman's face, he'd said, is her husband's business only. If so, why did Rasheed insist that she cover when he thought nothing of looking at the private areas of other men's wives and sisters?" (Hosseini 75). Traditionally, people of the same ethnic group would have agreed about most things, but because of the Taliban's extreme hypocrisy, even other Pashtuns disagreed with them, such as Zaman, the orphanage director. He said that the Taliban had "disgraced the name of" his people, such as by not allowing women to "go out and make a living" (Hosseini 283).
best friends thenfor so long it really

On this page, I'll discuss the themes in A Thousand Splendid Suns. All in-text citations' page numbers are based off of the hard-cover version of the book.
The theme I found most prevalent was loyalty. It existed in many of the characters, but was lacking in others. Fariba was very loyal to Afghanistan for staying there even as it spewed corruption and as the Taliban terrorized civilians every day. For better or for worse, she was very anti-communist because it was different than the traditional political system in Afghanistan. While she had good intentions, her actions didn't exactly help her daughter's future, nor did it agree with her husband Hakim's views on the communists, as he supported them since they supported women's rights, especially regarding education. She also wanted to honor her two sons, Ahmad and Noor, who died while fighting for the Mujahideen, by staying in the country.
group would have agreed about
The darkest theme was the huge amount of conflict that went on during the book, especially among adults. From the lack of hospitality among strangers to the Taliban's inhumanity, Laila and Tariq's relationship seemed more unique since they got along so well and got married in the end. Since they met each other as young kids and were best friends then it really symbolizes the innocence of youth. In contrast, Rasheed was presumably the oldest character in the book and was by far the biggest antagonist. Even though it was to a much lesser extent, Tariq's parents didn't get along very well either and "could easily pass for his grandparents", according to Laila (Hosseini 116). Mariam resented Laila when they first met because Laila was marrying Rasheed, which makes Mariam's frustration reasonable, but Laila just wanted to get along with Mariam. While Rasheed was far from the best father in Afghanistan, his treatment of Zalmai was leagues better than his treatment of Laila and especially Mariam. This was of course because they were women and Mariam was a harami as well. Rasheed rudely said "'What's this crying about?'" and dished out similar rash complaints when Mariam cried (Hosseini 54).

On this page, I'll discuss the themes in A Thousand Splendid Suns. All in-text citations' page numbers are based off of the hard-cover version of the book.
The theme I found most prevalent was loyalty. It existed in many of the characters, but was lacking in others. Fariba was very loyal to Afghanistan for staying there even as it spewed corruption and as the Taliban terrorized civilians every day. For better or for worse, she was very anti-communist because it was different than the traditional political system in Afghanistan. While she had good intentions, her actions didn't exactly help her daughter's future, nor did it agree with her husband Hakim's views on the communists, as he supported them since they supported women's rights, especially regarding education. She also wanted to honor her two sons, Ahmad and Noor, who died while fighting for the Mujahideen, by staying in the country.
revealing the immaturityinnocent foolishness that led
The darkest theme was the huge amount of conflict that went on during the book, especially among adults. From the lack of hospitality among strangers to the Taliban's inhumanity, Laila and Tariq's relationship seemed more unique since they got along so well and got married in the end. Since they met each other as young kids and were best friends then it really symbolizes the innocence of youth. In contrast, Rasheed was presumably the oldest character in the book and was by far the biggest antagonist. Even though it was to a much lesser extent, Tariq's parents didn't get along very well either and "could easily pass for his grandparents", according to Laila (Hosseini 116). Mariam resented Laila when they first met because Laila was marrying Rasheed, which makes Mariam's frustration reasonable, but Laila just wanted to get along with Mariam. While Rasheed was far from the best father in Afghanistan, his treatment of Zalmai was leagues better than his treatment of Laila and especially Mariam. This was of course because they were women and Mariam was a harami as well. Rasheed rudely said "'What's this crying about?'" and dished out similar rash complaints when Mariam cried (Hosseini 54).

On this page, I'll discuss the themes in A Thousand Splendid Suns. All in-text citations' page numbers are based off of the hard-cover version of the book.
The theme I found most prevalent was loyalty. It existed in many of the characters, but was lacking in others. Fariba was very loyal to Afghanistan for staying there even as it spewed corruption and as the Taliban terrorized civilians every day. For better or for worse, she was very anti-communist because it was different than the traditional political system in Afghanistan. While she had good intentions, her actions didn't exactly help her daughter's future, nor did it agree with her husband Hakim's views on the communists, as he supported them since they supported women's rights, especially regarding education. She also wanted to honor her two sons, Ahmad and Noor, who died while fighting for the Mujahideen, by staying in the country.
(Hosseini 75).
TheTraditionally, people of the same ethnic group would agreed about most things, but because of the Taliban's extreme hypocrisy, even other Pashtuns disagreed with them, such as Zaman, the orphanage director. He said that the Taliban had "disgraced the name of" his people, such as by not allowing women to "go out and make a living" (Hosseini 283).
The darkest theme (Hosseini 54). People disagreed

The theme I found most prevalent was loyalty. It existed in many of the characters, but was lacking in others. Fariba was very loyal to Afghanistan for staying there even as it spewed corruption and as the Taliban terrorized civilians every day. For better or for worse, she was very anti-communist because it was different than the traditional political system in Afghanistan. While she had good intentions, her actions didn't exactly help her daughter's future, nor did it agree with her husband Hakim's views on the communists, as he supported them since they supported women's rights, especially regarding education. She also wanted to honor her two sons, Ahmad and Noor, who died while fighting for the Mujahideen, by staying in the country.
Similar to Tariq, Mariam's loyalty was very strong to some people, like her father, Jalil, and to Laila, who she developed a sisterly relationship with fighting Rasheed and too weak to at least one other, that person being her mom, Nana. In addition to revealing the immaturity that led her to try to move in with Jalil, defying Nana's demand that Mariam not leave, she was too loyal to Jalil and that drew her away from Nana, who was in shock and committed suicide after Mariam left. Of course, Jalil didn't return much of her loyalty until the end, when he sent Mariam a letter apologizing for not answering the door when Mariam showed up on that day so many years ago. Rasheed was incredibly disloyal by our society's standards, marrying both Mariam and Laila. Hypocrisy was okay for men, while women had no rights anyway so they weren't writing the rules of how people should act anyway. The most demeaning acts of hypocrisy by Rasheed was that he made his wives wear burqas, yet looked at pornographic magazines in his spare time. "On every page were women, beautiful women, who wore no shirts, no trousers, no socks or underpants...Her stomach revolted with distaste. Was this what he did then, those nights that he did not visit her room? Had she been a disappointment to him in this particular regard? A woman's face, he'd said, is her husband's business only. If so, why did Rasheed insist that she cover when he thought nothing of looking at the private areas of other men's wives and sisters?" (Hosseini 75).
either and were old enough to be"could easily pass for his grandparents,grandparents", according to Laila.Laila (Hosseini 116). Mariam resented

On this page, I'll discuss the themes in A Thousand Splendid Suns. All in-text citations' page numbers are based off of the hard-cover version of the book.
The onetheme I found
Similar to Tariq, Mariam's loyalty was very strong to some people, like her father, Jalil, and to Laila, who she developed a sisterly relationship with fighting Rasheed and too weak to at least one other, that person being her mom, Nana. In addition to revealing the immaturity that led her to try to move in with Jalil, defying Nana's demand that Mariam not leave, she was too loyal to Jalil and that drew her away from Nana, who was in shock and committed suicide after Mariam left. Of course, Jalil didn't return much of her loyalty until the end, when he sent Mariam a letter apologizing for not answering the door when Mariam showed up on that day so many years ago. Rasheed was incredibly disloyal by our society's standards, marrying both Mariam and Laila. Hypocrisy was okay for men, while women had no rights anyway so they weren't writing the rules of how people should act anyway. The most demeaning acts of hypocrisy by Rasheed was that he made his wives wear burqas, yet looked at pornographic magazines in his spare time. "On every page were women, beautiful women, who wore no shirts, no trousers, no socks or underpants...Her stomach revolted with distaste. Was this what he did then, those nights that he did not visit her room? Had she been a disappointment to him in this particular regard? A woman's face, he'd said, is her husband's business only. If so, why did Rasheed insist that she cover when he thought nothing of looking at the private areas of other men's wives and sisters?" (Hosseini 75).
during the book.book, especially among adults. From the Taliban's inhumanity, it really made Laila and Tariq's relationship seemseemed more unique.unique since they got along so well and got married in the end. Since they met each other as young kids and were best friends then it really symbolizes the innocence of youth. In contrast, Rasheed was presumably the oldest character in the book and was by far the biggest antagonist. Even though it was to a much lesser extent, Tariq's parents didn't get along very well either and were old enough to be his grandparents, according to Laila. Mariam resented