A Thousand Splendid Sun's - Critical Analysis Paper
The Life Story, Struggle, and Self Sacrifice of Two Courageous Women
10. The driver who takes Babi, Laila, and Tariq to the giant stone Buddhas above the Bamiyan Valley describes the crumbling fortress of Shahr-e-Zohak as “the story of our country, one invader after another… we’re like those walls up there. Battered, and nothing pretty to look at, but still standing.” Discuss the metaphorical importance of this passage as it relates to Mariam and Laila. In what ways does their story reflect the larger story of Afghanistan’s troubled history?
In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns Khalid Hosseini highlights the escalating conflicts in the Middle East and the fates of two Afghani women by highlighting their lives from childhood to death. The main characters Mariam and Laila, are two women that have to endure horrible obstacles throughout the novel such as being forced into marriage, hope for acceptance, love, death, and the search for a better life. Hosseini uses imagery and metaphors to show on a deeper level the struggles of not only Mariam and Laila’s life but also Afghani women’s life in general. Despite the struggles Mariam and Laila continue to endure throughout their life, they have to stay strong and Hosseini uses very important metaphors to describe this. In one passage, Hosseini describes the giant stone Buddhas above the Bamiyan Valley, “the story of our country, one invader after another… we’re like those walls up there. Battered, and nothing pretty to look at, but still standing,” (146) this passage is very symbolic because it not only describes the backdrop of war and danger in Afghanistan but it is also symbolic of Mariam and Laila’s life and struggles. The main character, Mariam, has been through much more than other children her age and from the very beginning of her life she is treated differently because she is a harami, also known as an illegitimate child. Mariam just wanted to be accepted like everyone
10. The driver who takes Babi, Laila, and Tariq to the giant stone Buddhas above the Bamiyan Valley describes the crumbling fortress of Shahr-e-Zohak as “the story of our country, one invader after another… we’re like those walls up there. Battered, and nothing pretty to look at, but still standing.” Discuss the metaphorical importance of this passage as it relates to Mariam and Laila. In what ways does their story reflect the larger story of Afghanistan’s troubled history?
In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns Khalid Hosseini highlights the escalating conflicts in the Middle East and the fates of two Afghani women by highlighting their lives from childhood to death. The main characters Mariam and Laila, are two women that have to endure horrible obstacles throughout the novel such as being forced into marriage, hope for acceptance, love, death, and the search for a better life. Hosseini uses imagery and metaphors to show on a deeper level the struggles of not only Mariam and Laila’s life but also Afghani women’s life in general. Despite the struggles Mariam and Laila continue to endure throughout their life, they have to stay strong and Hosseini uses very important metaphors to describe this. In one passage, Hosseini describes the giant stone Buddhas above the Bamiyan Valley, “the story of our country, one invader after another… we’re like those walls up there. Battered, and nothing pretty to look at, but still standing,” (146) this passage is very symbolic because it not only describes the backdrop of war and danger in Afghanistan but it is also symbolic of Mariam and Laila’s life and struggles. The main character, Mariam, has been through much more than other children her age and from the very beginning of her life she is treated differently because she is a harami, also known as an illegitimate child. Mariam just wanted to be accepted like everyone