Discussion Topic B

     Kimberlie Mateo 5th period






     In the novel "A Thousand Splendid Suns", Khaled Hosseini uses several different literary elements throughout the novel to convey the message of gender relations and its affect on society, leaving the characters in the novel with many different obstacles and barriers to overcome. Diction and imagery are seen as each main character has different aspects of their lives that show influences of sexism and gender conflicts.

     Mariam is born the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy man, Jalil, and a poor woman. If she had been a son, her relationship with her father most likely would have been much different. Similarly, when Mariam goes to live with Jalil and his wives and other children, if she had been a boy, she would have had more of a say in whom she marries. Because of her gender, she is forced into a speedy arranged marriage with an older, abusive man, Rasheed. Rasheed is the ultimate chauvinist in the novel. As he refers to women as "brand-new, first-class, shiny [Bentleys]" (p.222) , not only does he treat Mariam incredibly badly, but he views her only as a possession, which is being implied through the diction of the quote. He does the same when he marries Laila, and only his male child means something to him. Most significantly, all of the multiple marriages in the novel, involve men with several wives. Hosseini chooses to include polygamy in his novel not only because it is a realistic element of Afghan culture but also to demonstrate how sexist the practice is--never does one see a wife with multiple husbands.

      Laila's mother is a sexist because she is a product of society. She, like almost all others in her country, have been taught to view men as more valuable than women. This is clearly seen as she uses the imagery of how "a man's heart is a wretched, wretched thing. It isn't like a mother's womb. It won't bleed. It won't stretch to make room for you", really letting the audience feel the extent of how much a man differs from women. Hence, she treasures her sons and dotes on them while neglecting Laila. Her favoritism based on gender only serves to promote a poor self image for herself and eventually for her daughter.

     Most significantly, when the Taliban takes over, they establish strict religious and social laws. It is a recurring opinion in the book through the diction that "a society has no chance at success if its women are uneducated". This implies that ignorance is not a bliss in this case. While the laws do apply to all, the women have much more rigid standards to abide by such as wearing burqas, keeping quiet, staying inside the home most of the time, etc. In contrast, the men enjoy relative freedom as far as mobility and work go.