Topic B :]

In Khaled Hosseini’s apprehensive novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, Mariam’s husband Rasheed had been negatively affected by his past life which has made him into an abusive, tempered person, which becomes his downfall in the novel.

 Rasheed had a first wife and a son. Rasheed’s first wife had died in childbirth, and seven years after that, his only son drowned in a lake. “He too had a hard life, a life marked by loss and sad turns of fate.” (Hosseini 84). When Mariam became his wife, it was a new beginning for him seeing that he can rebuild a family that was tragically taken away from him. Things seemed to be going well for Rasheed and in time, Mariam became pregnant and it was a proud and exciting time for him. Being certain that the child would be male, Rasheed was swollen with happiness. That fateful day, Rasheed sent his wife to a bathhouse, and she ended up losing the baby. Ever since then, Rasheed had been giving Mariam the cold shoulder and treating her horribly as if it was her fault. “I’ve already buried one son. I won’t bury another.” (Hosseini 96).  Despite all the excitement, the sex of the child was not known, yet Rasheed still claims the child as his son; the same son that died years before. Deep down Rasheed blames himself for the miscarriage and uses that guilt in the form of abuse towards Mariam. Rasheed refuses to grieve for the child because the pain was unbearable for him. This tragic event is significant to Rasheed’s change of behavior from a thoughtful caring husband to a bad-mannered man. Seeing that tragedy has become common in his life, Rasheed lives life as if there is no purpose. Remarriage and the rebirth of children seemed to be the most ideal thing that could happen to Rasheed, considering what he’s been through. The wound from losing his first family becomes fresh when his second wife is unable to bear him a child. Rasheed’s past grief and anguish had morphed into bitter anger and violence which claimed his life later on in the book.

Topic C :]

n Khaled Hosseini’s intensifying novel, “A Thousand Splendid Suns”, the use of imagery and metaphors is utilized to showcase the inequalities of gender relations throughout the novel, exposing the blunt truths of the Afghan society.
As displayed throughout the novel, men and women are not considered equivalent and the value of a women is remarkably degraded when compared against any male counterpart, ensuring the powers and freedoms of a women to run scarce in the dry land of Afghanistan. From the beginning, Nana noted that “Like a compass needle that points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman.” (p.7) insinuating that no matter who the holds the underlying truth, the women will always be wrong and will always be punished accordingly whether they be beaten bloody or killed. This impetuous metaphor continues to hold true over and over throughout the novel as Mariam and Laila live a sort of servant life to their husband’s needs and wants whether it be food, sex, or children. Anything that may not have gone right in the eyes of the male beholder, the women are held accountable because it is always their doing and obviously women can’t do anything right since they are of no value or worth. Likewise, imagery is also portrayed in support of metaphors to further inhibit this notion of gender relations as “He shoved two fingers into her mouth and pried it open, then forced the cold, hard pebbles into it... Now chew” (p.104). This in depth visualization of Rasheed’s abuse towards Mariam demonstrates his ruthless acts and cruelty towards his wife despite their “companionship” together because he sees himself as the King of the household and everything should go according towards his wants. However, since the rice was not cooked to his liking, he forced pebbles down her throat to show her the “rocks” she was feeding him. The use of imagery is highly evoked throughout the novel, creating images of the pain and sacrifices the women endure day to day by the beatings from their husband and the Taliban who continuously degrade the women’s values as they restrict any sense of freedom a human might consider to be one of their own.