A Thousand Spledid Suns Discussion B

      In the tumultuous novel A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, Hosseini shows the readers how men treat women in societies that are patriarchal. It also shows how some societies take the word of a man more seriously than that of a woman. In the novel, Afghanistan constantly changed due to the wars that have been going on. At the beginning of the book Afghanistan started of as a communist society that gave women liberties and opportunities and by the end of the novel, all those opportunities that the women had were taken away from them by the Taliban. Hosseini's used of imagery and diction will let the readers understand the issue of gender relations.

      Hosseinis use if diction lets the readers know how unfair society is against women. In A Thousand Splendid Suns the Taliban has taken possession of Kabul. The Taliban spread out flyer's letting the people know how things were going to be from now on. In this flyer the only requirement that men had to do was "grow their beards...at least one clenched fist beneath the chin. If (they) do not abide by this law, (they would) be beaten..." (Hosseini, pg. 277) This shows how men's freedom were not taken away from them. The women on the other hand had to "stay inside (their) homes at all times...(they could) not...show (their) face.." not only were woman not allowed to walk outside they were forbidden to "speak unless spoken to...make eye contact with men...laugh in public.." (Hosseini, pg.278) This shows how much restrictions were put upon women. Not only were the restrictions on women more severe, but if a woman would fail to follow any of the laws their punishments would be more drastic. If a woman did not follow the law they would either get "beaten and sent home...severely beaten...lose a finger...(or) stoned to death..." (Hosseini, pg 278) This shows the difference between men and women and how the Taliban put more restrictions on women than on men. This also show hoe men degrade women and in a way lower their value down to the level of a servant or by looking at the punishments, the women are treated worse than a dog with rabies.

    In A Thousand Splendid Suns, Hosseini used imagery to show how women are treated in a society were men are the law makers.  Mariam was told by her mother that "Like a compass needle that points north, a mans accusing finger always finds a woman. Always..." (Hosseini, pg 7). This shows that in a place were man is the leader, women suffer and get punished for crimes that men commit themselves. This simile between the compass needle and a mans accusing finger create a picture of how women are found guilty for crimes that weren't committed by the women themselves. When Laila was forced to give Aziza to an orphanage home in order to keep her from starving. Due to the Talibans awful rules and Rasheed's horrible attitude at not taking Laila to go see Aziza, Laila is forced to find "ways to see Aziza.Half the time she never made it to the orphanage...if she was lucky, she was given a tongue-lashing...Other times, she met with assortments of wooden clubs...slaps often fists..." (Hosseini, pg 320-321) This shows Laila's hardships that she has to suffer in order to see her child. What Laila is going through happens to many other women that live in a patriarchal society like in  Afghanistan. Hosseini's use of imagery makes the reader feel Laila's desperate attempts at seeing her daughter, her pain at getting caught, and the ever gut-churning fear of getting caught and beaten to death.  After another failed attempt at trying to see Aziza at the orphanage; Laila "lay on her stomach, feeling like a stupid,pitiable animal.." (Hosseini, pg 321) Being beaten like a dog every time a woman leaves the house without their husbands or male relatives usually brings a women down and makes them feel like dirt because of the horrible way they are treated. Hosseini's imagery makes the reader see Laila's emotions and frustration and humiliation at being beaten everyday for just trying to go see her daughter, something that does not cause any harm to anybody.

    Khaled Hosseini's novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, is a novel that shows people how unfair women are treated in a society that is controlled by men. Hosseini achieves this purpose by his incredible use of imagery and descriptive diction. Khaled Hosseini 's work lets the reader know that in this planet there are men that think this is a world cut out for men and not women.