Shadow In A Thousand Splendid Suns

“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we

think of it; the tree is the real thing.” – Abraham Lincoln. The quote accurately uses a

tree and shadow as similes to separates the outside reputation from the inside character.

But how unfortunate is it that mankind often, to please society, fouls the inner character

in order to make the shadow acceptable. A person might abuse his family and disregard

his friends; all in the effort to protect his/her “untarnished” reputation in the eyes of the

outside world. Such efforts also cause restricted freedoms for those around the person;

they might be oppressed for reasons that they are not the cause of. The novel A Thousand

Splendid Suns
The societal

pressures that have influenced Rasheed’s thoughts are now indirectly oppressing Laila’s

and Hosseini efficiently uses the burqa to highlight this connection. Linking to the idea

of forcing ideals on others, the novel also illustrates how sometimes, the rash creation of

social pressures can also lead to oppression. Hosseini expresses this idea by the use of the

Taliban as an apparent symbol of a new social order succeeding the old. The Taliban

issued the laws, “You will not speak unless spoken to. You will not make eye contact

with men. You will not laugh in public. If you do, you will be beaten. You will not paint

your nails. If you do, you will lose a finger. Girls are forbidden to go to school. All

schools for girls will be closed immediately” (Hosseini, 248). These orders, combined

with repetition, present the symbol of the Taliban as a new social order; a new

overwhelming power that comes together with its own ideals and restrictions. This new

social order also places new social pressures, even though some of these pressures were

already present through Rasheed, now Laila and Mariam have to face additional
The elements of character and tropology expressed the dominantly present

theme that societal pressure can cause oppression and dismissal in the novel A Thousand

Splendid Sun by Khaled Hosseini. It was palpable that individuals in the novel, namely

Jalil and Rasheed, show unethical behaviour and pollute their inner-character with the

intention of making their reputation presentable. They override the rights and freedoms

of others just so their own status is be secured; so talk and gossip is averted from their

name. This type of behaviour was injustice to others like Mariam and Laila who had

committed no crime and hidden no fault; the behaviour led to oppression and restriction

of other’s freedoms. If character is like a tree and reputation its shadow, humanity is in a

difficult situation if the shadow is being preferred over the real object. One cannot only

blame the individual either because the social influences are vicious and cruel to the

honest and innocent, but situations like these emphasizes the strength of few