"A Brave, Honorable, Bighearted Book" -The Washington Post

Recap

Through analyzing A Thousand Splendid Suns from a reader’s response perspective, an archetypal perspective and a feminist perspective, I was able to better understand Hosseini’s purpose of writing this novel. The fictional story was clearly intended to be an empowerment to women, and to illustrate the social inequalities that have been caused by the Taliban’s rule in recent years.

In my first blog post from a reader’s response perspective, I was able to connect the book to my knowledge of the importance of education for children and youth (especially women). Mariam’s desire to be educated reminded me of my right to education, and how fortunate I am to be able to learn and interact with classmates at school. I feel that too many youth take their education for granted, and fail to realize that it is a gift which they should be thankful for. Therefore, it is through instilling the value of education from a young age, that children will become more receptive to learning in school. This novel reaffirmed my belief that education is a critical tool in eliminating ignorance and naivety so that kids can mature into knowledgeable adults. 

Einstein on Education 

The contrast between Mariam’s lack of knowledge, and Laila’s story about her family’s support for education, made me think more deeply about my view of learning. I was able to find an inspiring TED TALK  that is about a woman who was educated in Afghanistan and has since devoted her time to helping educate girls in her country: Dare to educate Afghan girls. This video helped me to draw parallels to how the Taliban were described as being cruel and heartless in the novel, and how family plays a huge role in a child’s disposition.

In addition to my connection to the importance of education, I was touched by Mariam’s struggle to feel loved and appreciated by her mother. Nana often calls Mariam mean names and blames her for problems she doesn’t create. This abuse results in her low self-confidence and inability to stand up to Rasheed during their marriage. The author uses this form of pathos help readers realize that confidence is instilled by one's family, and having a firm foundation within the home leads to better self-worth. Although Laila’s mother is distant due to her depression, her father was very supportive of her education, and demonstrated real parental love, (unlike Mariam's father, Jalil). Seeing the difference between their family situations, I was able to conclude why Laila might have been a more confident character, and why Mariam was unable to stand up for herself in the beginning of the novel. Personally, my family has helped me get through many hurdles in my life, and I am thankful that have such supportive people in my life who make me smile when I need it. This novel reinforced my belief that confidence is dependent upon who you surround yourself with. Overall, I think that the reader's response perspective allowed me to make the most connections to my life, and current-day society.

Final Connection to the Kite Runner

Although The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns were set in the same country, and contained similar themes, I think that there were many differences that made A Thousand Splendid Suns much more enjoyable for me to read. Firstly, I really liked that Hosseini wrote this novel from a third person perspective rather than a first person perspective. This helped me better form my opinion on the characters because the narrator was not speaking as character, but rather as a story teller. I find that it is much easier to analyze a character’s qualities, flaws and abilities when I read from a neutral stance. I additionally thought that Hosseini was able to effectively execute emotion in his novel. The Kite Runner had more emotionally flat tone, as the main character was a male who tried to deny his feelings of guilt throughout his life. This novel was clearly written with the help of female editors and/or influences who could contribute to how Mariam and Laila may have felt during their struggle to be equal in their marriage, and in society. Also, there were some idioms and terms written in Farsi that I couldn’t understand. I think the author makes the novel more interesting by incorporating these mysterious words into the text. Likewise to The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns tracks the development of a relationship over time. The romance between Tariq and Laila blossoms throughout their lives, and after 10 years of being separated by war, they are reunited together. The connection they share at the end of the novel is an additional touch that made this book a great read.

Final Remarks

This novel was one of the top novels I have read in high school English class. I definitely shared

Source: Quoteaddicts.com 

many connections with the characters, and their struggle to feel loved and supported. Laila and Mariam's friendship is one that I can one day share with a very special, deserving friend. At this point, I do not have any questions for the author, as the story line, the writing and the characters all morphed together to create a phenomenal novel. I would definitely recommend A Thousand Splendid Suns to any female grade 11/12 student who is looking for an insightful and captivating ISU novel!

Works Cited

Khaled Hosseini. A Thousand Splendid Suns. New York: Riverhead Books, 2007.

"Transcript of "Dare to Educate Afghan Girls"" Shabana Basij-Rasikh: Dare to Educate Afghan Girls. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 July 2016.

"Quotes Like." Quotes By Albert Einstein On Education Quotes -. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 July 2016.

Tags: Family, Learning, Friendship