Discussion Topic A

J. Henry, 2nd period

In Khaled Hosseini's powerful novel, A Thousand Splendid suns, he portrays Afghanistan’s turmoil through the eyes of two women, Laila and Mariam. Hosseini uses characterization and point of view in order to give a firsthand account of the inequality of women in the Afghan society.

                Mariam had been abused all her life. From her mother calling her a harami, bastard, to her father denying to see her and betraying her trust. The author uses characterization to portray the amount of physical abuse bestowed upon her by husband Rasheed. Upon Mariam’s arrival at his house, Rasheed told her, “Where I come from, one wrong look, one improper word, and blood is spilled… do you understand?” This was Mariam's first glimpse at how intimidating Rasheed was. He was making sure that she understood that she was to obey him without question. Once he found out that Mariam was unable to bear children, he rejected and practically ignored her. Throughout the years of their marriage, Rasheed continuously abused Mariam for any reason that he could find. It was as if a feudal system existed where Rasheed was the king and Mariam was the serf, doomed to work the land. Hosseini characterizes Rasheed as having a violent personality. The smallest thing could make him snap. Once, when Mariam's rice was not cooled to his liking, he “forced cold hard pebbles” into her mouth and yelled at her to chew them. This shows Rasheed as a cold hearted person with no regard for his wife’s well being. He physically abused Mariam and, later on, Laila, because he felt superior. In fact, according to Afghan culture, he actually was superior and he took full advantage of this.
                Hosseini tells the story from two women’s point of view to allow the reader to experience a perspective that they would rarely come by. This view will most likely not be found in history books. Laila and Mariam do not get along well at first but come to realize that they have a common enemy, Rasheed. In some of Rasheed's abusive rampages, the two become some sort of tag team. In one instance, Mariam “saw fingers clawing at Rasheed’s face… the fingers were hers. He let go of Laila and turned on her… She watched Laila's hand rise overhead then come swooping down against the side of his face.” This quote shows them women working together. Hosseini chose to write this particular situation from Mariam’s point of view so that the reader would be able to see Mariam’s motherly instinct begin to come out and her growth from the beginning of the book up until this point. She just couldn’t watch Rasheed attack Laila. She could not allow him to take away the only thing she had left.
                Hosseini uses characterization and point of view to depict the issue of domestic violence in a different light, from that of those with firsthand experience. The two women constantly get abused but eventually unite and rise up against their abuser and, in essence, try to take control of their lives. This shows that one should not just follow the status quo; they should fight for a change.