Thousand Splendid Suns Analysis

“Like a compass needle that always points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a women. Always you remember that, Mariam.” In this quote its shows oppression women faced and how they were always blamed for everything because men had the power. The mood is tragic, filled with despair, and very sad; at other times, it is uplifting and hopeful. The tone had very sad moments in this novel, which emphasizes the oppression and hardships the women faced. The hopefulness comes from the women's actions and ability to continue to persevere towards their freedom. Women must endure much injustice in patriarchal Afghan society. In Thousand Splendid Suns, the book takes place in warfare. War is what destroys the soul of women in Afghanistan. War leads to women being oppressed in Afghanistan socially, culturally, and politically. The women in the novel are seen as oppressed yet hopeful. Socially Mariam and Laila are faced with oppression publicly in streets, abused, and didn’t receive an education. In the streets women were not to leave the house without a male or they would receive beating and lashes. When Rasheed tells Mariam “I will follow you to the ends of the world.” This shows the oppression that women weren’t allowed to leave a relationship they had to suffer and suck it up. This shows the misogyny and women shouldn’t be placed behind a male rather beside a male. Mariam was abused the most in this novel. She was physically beaten with belt, forced to eat rocks, and slapped. Rasheed controlled her physically but could not control her soul. “Taliban confiscated stuff, gave a kick to
Women that were not covered or acting in a certain matter were beaten and killed. Islam is used in this novel but the radical Islam where beliefs are taken by Taliban’s. In a Thousand Splendid Suns it says that before the Taliban’s came, women were allowed to wear short skirts, have a job, and live a normal life with