Alejandra FelixA thousand splendid suns by Khaled Hosseini

“She said she wanted to live somewhere removed, detached, where neighbors wouldn’t stare at her belly, point at her, snicker, or, worse yet, assault her with insincere kindnesses” (Hosseini 8).

1. The passage is from the opening paragraphs of the book. Marian is speaking to the reader while discussing her situation: being an illegitimate child of Jalil and Nana.2. She mentioned, she would like to live somewhere far away and disconnected, where her peers wouldn’t look at her body, judge her, sniggers, or lie to her to make her feel better about herself.3. The author, Hosseini, includes this passage in an effort to give us a sneak peek on the protagonist’s relationship with her family and the roots of her problems at an early stage of her journey in life.4. Perilously our society has developed this behavior were we point at, judge, or lavishly attack people who do not convey to our predispositions of what’s wrong and what’s right; when in fact we are all just ordinary men.

“Yes. But I’ve seen nine-year-old girls given to men twenty years older than your suitor, Mariam. We all have. What are you, fifteen? That’s a good, solid marrying age for a girl” (Hosseini 47).

1. Mariam has been told that she is already suitable for marriage as Nargis explained. Mariam has been looking at Jalil, her future husband, for a while now.2. Indeed. I have noticed that nine-year-old girls such as you have married twenty-years-older men. That’s absolutely normal. How old are you, fifteen? That’s good enough.3. Mariam is filled up with doubt. From a biological perspective she might be ready to be married but not from a psychological point of view. Nevertheless, she is already looking for a husband or at least after one, due to the cultural peer pressure.4. I don’t think men or women are ready for marriage live, having kids and responsibilities at such early ages. Although this might be a cultural axiom in middle eastern countries that does not mean culture sometimes it is simply wrong.

“Mariam signed her name – the meem, the reh, the ya, and the meem again- conscious of all the eyes on her hand.” (Hosseini ).

1. Mariam is signing the papers at her weeding with Jalil.2. Mariam signed the papers with her name. First - the m, then the r, then the y and the m again- fully aware of the expectations set upon her.

3. As she succumbs to the peer pressure, Mariam is getting married and she sees how everybody was expecting her to do so. Maybe this is a step she has to take regardless of what she feels.4. I don’t believe that the experiences you get to live in your life should be delimited by the culture you were born or raised on. You should always do what makes you happy regardless if others like it or not. Life is not a matter of likeness but a matter of happiness.

“Now all those familiar things were gone. Nana was dead, and she was here, in a strange city, separated from the life she’d known” (Hosseini 59).

1. Mariam was introduced to his new life as a wife and to her new house with Rasheed. She starts to compare her new life with her past with her parents.2. Everything seemed new to me. Nana was gone and Mariam was all alone, in a new city, alienated from her early years and what she knew best.3. Mariam’s youth, naivety, the death of her mother and the fear to the unknown left her in a lost. The only person she could rely on was an antagonist husband.4. I don’t think this is right at any level. Leaving a poor young girl merciless to the willingness of a husband, that is just stupid and in a way sadistic.

“And she felt for the first time a kinship with her husband. She told herself that they would make good companions after all.” (Hosseini 85).

1. Mariam was doing laundry and started to reflect about her position as Rasheed’s wife. She questioned herself whether they had things in common or if the decision in general was right.2. She felt some sort of connection with her husband. She convinced herself that things weren’t profusely wrong; they could make a great couple after all.3. Mariam is trying to reassure herself for what she has done with her life. Truthfully in her heart, she knows she rather be doing something else but4. It is very easy for us as human beings to hide ourselves behind our problems. So we elaborate the most complex and bolded fantasies in order to avoid our problems and sooner or later that bubble of lies will explode in our faces.

“The era of aristocracy, nepotism, and inequality is over, fellow hamwatans. We have ended decades of tyranny” (Hosseini 101).

1. Rasheed was listening to the radio while a battle was being fought near their town. Apparently a democratic government had been established.

2. Comrades! Today the doors of freedom are opened. The epoch of nobility, partiality, and disparity is over. We have terminated years of oppression.3. The author tries to exemplify the situation the protagonists were living in; a country at war. Not only did women like Mariam had to deal with the women segregation but also with this war, which was taking thousand of lives.4. We are incredibly lucky to have “woken up” in a planet that accounts for all the necessities to sustain life. Furthermore, we are privileged to have the ability to understand existence. Capitulating to greed and stupidity in all of its forms such as ignorance and war would inevitable destroy our civilization. Humanity walks seeking for a better world.

“It’s what I always remember about being up here, Babi said. The silence. The peace of it. I wanted you to experience it.” (Hosseini 149).

1. Laila and Babi had a conversation while they were contemplating the vastness and beautifulness of the Bamiyan Valley.2. Nothing has changed, just as I left it. The stillness. The harmony of it. You should live this moment you won’t regret it.3. The author, through Babi, expresses the restlessness that some women might feel in Afghanistan. Living under poor conditions and with both their hearts and minds seeking for freedom when their culture prohibits them from reaching them.4. Worst case scenario this women will always have their minds to escape from the demagogy and the misogynism of unsecure and coward men. These men will remain in the ignominy of history as those who had the power but never the reason.

“It was dizzying how quickly everything unraveled” (Hosseini 171).

1. Here we can see a value judgment done by the author were he speaks about the prematurity of the election of the leadership council of the country and the nepotism behind the president’s election.2. It was mesmerizing how rapidly everything collapsed.3. The narrator makes a statement by using a metaphor on dizziness on how our current governmental system it is nothing but a vicious cycle of submission to leaders and hostility to outsiders.4. Utopia exists so we can move forward. We as a group, we move two steps

towards utopia and utopia moves two steps forward. We would never reach it but it helps us move forward.

“She felt lost then, casting about, like a shipwreck survivor, no shore in sight, only miles and miles of water” (Hosseini 231).

1. During the winter of 1992 Laila frittered and wasted her time while washing Rasheed’s clothes and cleaning the house.2. She felt numb then, like a plane with a failing engine, no airport in sight, only miles and miles of pure, empty air.3. This is an exemplification of a severe criticism against the marginalization of women in our society. In today’s modern society, and in the past with more severity, women have been marginalized into only and solely being able to do certain activities and are constantly discouraged for attempting to expand into new fields.4. Men and women emerged into consciousness to find themselves in the need to solve their primitive necessities (hunting and shelter). Men had greater physical strength thus they mainly performed these activities. Unfortunately that premise propagated down through the centuries and powerfully affected the way we distribute tasks in our productive society. Nevertheless, physical strength is no longer a ‘must’ and women are starting to get back on their feet and be as independent as they should be.

“Mariam slowly grew accustomed to this tentative but pleasant companionship” (Hosseini 251).

1. After Laila’s parents tragic death and her marriage to Rasheed, Mariam’s started to see an opportunity to join forces with Laila against Rasheed’s tyranny.2. Gradually, Mariam realized that her new companionship was more an ally rather than a threat per se.3. The author tries to explain how human nature is a stronger force than cultural aspects imposed to our nature. These women, although they have to share a home and a spouse together and that might label them as rivals they decide to become allies due to their common seek for freedom.4. It is only the group who had made changes in society. An individual can have an idea that could potentially change the world but if this person were not able to convince other about the power of this idea nothing would change.

“That in the eyes of the Taliban, being a communist and the leader of the dreaded KHAD made Najibullah only slightly more contemptible than a woman” (Hosseini 279).

1. During a discussion with Rasheed Laila is astonished by the strong accusations Rasheed is mentioning while Mariam is listening.2. From the Taliban’s point of view being a communist was just slightly better than being a woman.3. The Taliban were fighting a war against communist during which they loose thousand of men and resources. Nevertheless, their war with women was more relentless and perpetual than any other.4. Hating another human being for whatever the reason behind that hatred, gender, race, sexual preference, religion, is nothing more than a sign of cowardice, insecurity and inferiority.

“This isn’t some village. This is Kabul. Women here used to practice law and medicine; they held office in the government” (Hosseini 279).

1. During a discussion with Rasheed Laila explains how she finds unconceivable the fact that women used to be able to be free before the Taliban arrived.2. Back in the day Kabul was a modern and avant-garde city were women were able to work in the government or exercise as doctors or lawyers.3. The author gives us a sneak peek on the abrupt change that women suffered once the Taliban arrived. They were threated as worthless beings.4. In a utopian society everybody must get the same opportunity but not the same result. Women and men have to prove themselves as valuable assets in todays ever-changing world.

“We have to leave! We can’t stay here, Laila said in a broken, husky voice.” (Hosseini 353).

1. After killing Rasheed with a shovel in the head, both women find themselves both relief but at the same time facing another major obstacle which is getting rid of the body and running away.2. We must go! It is too dangerous to stay here, Laila said in a dry, insecure voice.3. The author expresses both his advocacy and support for gender equality by killing the antagonist and also the fact that for every human being there is a certain point where there is no return and that’s the point each one of us has to reach.4. When facing any sort of hard situation one should not run and make drastic decisions out of momentary feelings; one

must keep calm and think about the consequences.

“That’s how you get there, he says. There is a path there. The path is rough, winding and dim, beneath the vegetation and undergrowth.” (Hosseini 398).

1. The driver that took Hamza and Laila to Heart suggests his passengers the best way to get to their destination.2. That’s the way you do it. There is one trail you can follow. The trail has many obstacles, is constantly twisting and lumpy.3. It is not the driver who is speaking but Laila’s consciousness that tells her that although the obstacles she managed to pull through the oppression by killing the oppressor.4. Only death fish swim with the stream. There is no one-way of happiness that everybody must mold to. One can make chooses and find happiness in many different ways.

“But the game involves only male names. Because, if it’s a girl, Laila has already named her” (Hosseini 415).

1. Laila remembers her now death loyal companion, Mariam, how the Taliban’s buried her and she sees her help and camaraderie in retrospective while her kids and husband are with her.2. The game can only be played with male names. Otherwise, if one could play with female names as well, Laila already had one in mind.3. The reminder of Mariam’s death reaches beyond one single women but encompasses all men and mainly women who fought and have been constantly fighting to gain freedom, respect and opportunities in a chaotic and disgusting society.4. Sooner or later, the great malls through which free man and women walk will open, to build a better society.