For my final paper for my English class i have to write a research essay on A Thousand SPlendid Suns by Khaled Housseini. It cannot just be a plot summary of the story and I started it but I dont know if its going in the right direction or if Im doing too much plot summary. Can someone please help edit this so far and give me some criticism?
To persevere is to maintain purpose in spite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement and to continue consistently. To endure is to continue or to last despite hardships, pain, and loss. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Housseini, tells the story of two Afghani women with completely different lives who are brought together by a series of unfortunate circumstances in a misogynist nation. The two main characters, Mariam, an illegitimate child of a wealthy and powerful man, and Laila, a young girl who was raised with a loving family and faithful friend, are brought together through loss and heartache, mostly associated with the war in their city of Kabul, Afghanistan. Housseini's novel focuses greatly on the lives and struggles of poor, uneducated women who have to endure the "hardships of life, the slights of men, and the disdain of society" (Kakutani). Housseini makes clear in his novel that perseverance and endurance are absolutely necessary to survive as women in a society of men who oppress and disparage women.
A Thousand Splendid Suns begins with the story of Mariam by telling the story of her childhood and continues to tell the story of how she endures and perseveres through her marriage with Rasheed. Mariam is an illegitimate daughter of Jalil, the wealthiest man in Herat, and although Jalil is equally responsible for Mariam's birth as her mother, Nana, is however all the blame is placed upon Nana. Since Nana was a housekeeper for Jalil, she brought great shame to Jalil and his family and was forced to live in isolation in a kolba outside the city of Herat. This is one of the first injustices a woman in the novel suffers due to her gender. In Part One of the novel, Nana speaks to Mariam about the blame Nana was forced to endure and tells her, "Like a needle that points north, a man's accusing finger always finds a woman" (Housseini). This statement shows that no matter who is really at fault, a woman will always be given the blame over a man because she is a woman. Before her death, Nana advises Mariam by stating, "It's our lot in life, Mariam. Women like us. We endure. It's all we have" (Housseini, 19). This lesson essentially becomes prophetic for the end of the novel and it shows how these women had to endure in order to survive in their society.
Endurance is something familiar to Mariam. Early in her childhood, Nana spoke to Mariam about what women need in life:
'Look at me.'
Mariam did.
'Only one skill. And it's this: tahamul. Endure.'
'Endure what, Nana?'
'Oh, don't your fret about that,' Nana said. 'There won't be any shortage of things.' (Housseini, 18)
Very soon after her mother died, at the age of fifteen Mariam was forced to marry a vindictive shoemaker who was at least thirty years her senior. Mariam was forced to push aside any feelings of sorrow and guilt over her mother's death as well as her father's rejection, and had to deal with what she was given, despite her strong dissatisfaction. Mariam had absolutely no choice in her life's plan and begged Jalil to let her stay but her wishes were disregarded because she was a female. However, the forced marriage is not the last of the troubles Mariam had to face as a woman. Being the wife of an abusive man in Afghanistan during the Taliban's rule made life extremely painful and arduous.
Part Two of the novel tells the story of Laila. Unlike Mariam, Laila was raised with a loving and loyal family as well as a childhood playmate and lover, Tariq. Before leaving Kabul for Pakistan, Tariq and Laila made love and soon after, a rocket hits Laila's house, killing what remained of her family. This is the beginning of the long and brutal downward spiral of Laila's life. At this time, Rasheed takes Laila in and it is then that she realizes she is pregnant with Tariq's child and agrees to marry Rasheed. Laila knew that raising a child in the streets of Kabul during the war would be nearly impossible, so she was left with no choice but to endure her friendless and somber life and marry Rasheed.
At first, Laila's marriage to Rasheed was rather peaceful and even respectful, but after she delivered a girl and not the son that Rasheed had hoped for, he turned on her like he did on Mariam. At this point in the novel, the Taliban had taken total control of Kabul. For the men of the city, the Taliban was seen as a good sign for the nation; however it was not a mutual feeling with the women. The Taliban placed tremendous restrictions on women. For example, women were not allowed to wear jewelry or makeup and had to wear a burqua outside of the home. Moreover, women were not allowed to make eye-contact with men, speak unless they were spoken to, or leave their homes without a male relative with them, under the threat of beating or arrest. Many women had no choice but to endure this and stay in the city and wait for the Taliban to leave. However others chose to persevere and try to change their lives, although it was not easy. For example, Mariam, Laila and Laila's daughter, Aziza, tried to run away one day when Rasheed was at work. They did not get very far though and were brought back home to the wrath of Rasheed. Rasheed locked Mariam and Aziza in a bedroom with no food or water for days and Laila just had to endure and survive those days and persevere to get out and save her child.
The Taliban definitely exacerbated the lives of women in the novel and pushed them to endure more and more but it was not the beginning or end of their problems. A book review of A Thousand Splendid Suns states "The struggle of women against traditional forces dates back before the Taliban," showing how before the Taliban even entered Afghanistan, women were fighting for their rights and survival ("GoldLogout"). For the years before the Taliban arrived in Kabul, Rasheed was physically, mentally, emotionally, and verbally abusive to Mariam and then to Laila. For eighteen years before Rasheed married Laila, Rasheed abused Mariam to the extent where nothing pleased him. Rasheed had a very short temper and would ridicule and then hit Mariam over minor things such as food and housekeeping. For the beginning years of their marriage Mariam persevered to gain approval from Rasheed but it never came. To accurately describe how Mariam felt and was treated as a woman Housseini wrote, "And as her heart pounded, her mind wondered what excuse he would use that night to pounce on her. There was always something, some minor thing that would infuriate him, because no matter what she did to please him, no matter how thoroughly she submitted to his wants and demands, it wasn't enough" (99). Until Laila became a part of the family and the two became friends, Mariam endured Rasheed's abuse because it was the only option she had.
Although Mariam suffered and endured a lot during her marriage with Rasheed, Laila often suffered more because of her daughter. There were several times throughout the novel that Laila wanted to leave Rasheed with her daughter but she was unable to. To instill good behavior in Laila, Rasheed threatened to get rid of her daughter and eventually he did. Rasheed placed Laila's daughter in an orphanage. Despite the Taliban's strict rules, Laila left the house almost every day (without Rasheed) and suffered many beatings and whippings by the Taliban in order to see her daughter. The beatings could not stop Laila because she persevered and was determined to see her child even if it meant enduring countless, brutal beatings. "Laila never would have believed that a human body could withstand this much beating, this viciously, this regularly, and keep functioning" (Housseini). Laila's ability to withstand the beatings shows how she was able to persevere and that is why she was able to last so long in her marriage and in Afghanistan.
Women of Afghanistan endure a lot of adversity and suffering at the hands of men. But it is heartache and loss that pushes a woman, such as Laila or Mariam, to endure and persevere, even when the odds are not in their favor. Khaled Housseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns tells the stories of two women whose perseverance allowed them to endure forced marriages, lack of educational opportunities, and Taliban restrictions. It is evident that perseverance and endurance are a woman's only chance of survival in a society where women are demoralized and oppressed by men.
if Im doing too much plot summary.
Yes, you are not contributing anything new. This is just a plot summary, and you also gave a sentence about the main theme. But you need to make a unique observation. It's not as hard as you think. Some observation will come to mind. Maybe it will involve the Taliban and a commercial for a fabric softener. The sky is the limit when discussing literature.
You have to start with an idea you get while reading. That is all that it is. While you read it, I bet you get some unique ideas. Try expressing one of them in an essay.
Your idea might have something to do with the empowerment of women. It might have something to do with events that are happening now in 2011. You can make any observation you want to make, but before you do, Google this: themes, thousand splendid suns
When you think about the themes you will get great, original ideas. All you need is one good idea, and maybe you will need to explain a few examples to share the idea.
This is just like having a conversation with some friends about the book. :-)
