Justice through Truth in A Thousand Splendid Suns
Many people use lies to further their own well-being. However, justice cannot be reached until those lies have been discovered. Khaled Hosseini’s novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, follows the journey of two Afghan women, Mariam and Laila, through their lives where they struggle to survive in a time of fear and war. Through his characters and their relationships, Hosseini reveals the relationship between truth and justice, specifically that justice is only served through truth. One character that conceals the truth before being served justice is Jalil. Jalil and Nana tell Mariam conflicting stories to get her on their side. For example, Nana says she was all alone in her house while struggling to give birth to Mariam. However, Jalil says Nana was cared for and in a hospital when she gave birth. At first Mariam sides
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After Jalil is cruel to her, Mariam recognizes that she should have listened to Nana. Once the truth surfaces, justice is served to Jalil. Mariam cuts ties with Jalil: “Don’t come. I won’t see you. Don’t you come. I don’t want to hear from you. Ever. Ever” (55). Mariam cannot forgive Jalil for his cruelty and lies, allowing Jalil to get punished for his deceptions by being separated from Mariam. When Jalil is close to dying, he tries to see Mariam to mend their relationship: “He’d stood there for hours, waiting for her, now and then calling her name” (308). Mariam refuses to see Jalil even though he waits a long time for her. Jalil cannot be relieved of the guilt he feels for abandoning Mariam. When Jalil finally walks away from Mariam’s house, Hosseini describes his
Please share your thoughts and impressions about Alain Locke's explanation of the "New Negro. "(See page 343-348) Write two well developed paragraphs describing how and why one becomes "new?" Define architect. Share how you can/can-not identify with the concept of a “New Negro” presented by Locke.
Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia emphasizes the intense connections and relations among three generations of Cuban women during the Cuban revolution. Their memories, dreams and hopes are gradually revealed and connected, and the importance to them of Cuba and what it means to be Cuban is explored. Every character in the novel Dreaming in Cuban has been through a specific struggle, whether it is physical, psychological or even both. The novel focuses on the similarities of their different experiences of each character, and the family ties, intuitions, and dreams that bind them together. One of the most dynamic characters in the novel is Pilar.
Mariam was just something else on earth that was in his way. This proves what Nana said in chapter 2 to be right. That she and Mariam were nothing but a mug wort, they were just ripped out and thrown aside, made unnoticeable to anyone because it looked
Woman Hollering Creek People say not to get to close to the creek’s edge or her hand will reach up from the water and pull you in. This creek is said to be haunted by the spirit of a beautiful woman named Maria Some, she walks along the banks trying to find her two children. Maria let them drown in The Woman Hollering Creek because she wanted revenge. In some cases, she has seemed to have appeared headless with wailing coming from her detached head.
Laila is the representation of the woman yearning to be something more, resisting the control that is over them. Time has changed Mariam's perspective. Unlike her mother, Mariam had forgiven the faults of those who had mistreated her in the past. She has matured and learned to thank the little things in
In the book Jalil never does what he wants he always does what his wives say to him, as in when Nana committed and Jalil wanted to stay with Mariam, but his wives said she had to get married no matter what and that’s exactly what he did he gave her in too an older man. When he let his wives' control what he didn’t
Regardless of social standing love can make people act crazy. When one uses another to find love, suffering and disorder is bound to happen. Maria helps to develop this theme by her actions against Malvolio to get with Sir Toby. Maria acts cunning and witty to get with Sir Toby because Maria wants to have a higher social standing. Maria likes to have control, so when she is disrespected, her manipulative nature comes out to control other characters with no concern for their feelings.
Symbolically, Mariam’s signature represented her life that she was surrendering in order to protect her loved ones. Once again, Mariam made her own life changing decision in which she had to make sacrifices. The first time Mariam signed a document, she freed herself from Jalil, whereas the second time, she freed herself from Rasheed by standing up to him. In addition to this, Mariam’s growth is shown through signing the document because her reasons for the signing the wedding contract were for herself, while this time, Mariam reasons are for the benefit of others. This shows that Mariam has grown more loving, compassionate, and confident towards the end of her life because she
The injustice Mariam endures in the novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, leads Mariam on a struggling journey impacting her future path in life. The injustice that Mariam endures leaves a permanent mark on her life and impacts her from the beginning. Life wasted no time throwing the cruel injustices of life at Mariam. Mariam was marked a harami, otherwise known as a child without a father, even though her father Jalil was alive, near, and well. “She understood then what Nana meant, that a harami was an unwanted thing: that she, Mariam, was an illegitimate person that would never have legitimate claim to the things other people had, things such as love, family, home, acceptance.”
“I admit to what I did, brother,” Mariam said, “But, if I hadn’t, he would have killed her. He was strangling her” (P365). This shows that Mariam is willing to take responsibility for her action she knew that there would be conscious, but she also knew that what she did was to save Laila and her children. Mariam’s actions would lead to this moment, “Kneel here, hamshira. And look down.”
Laila on the other hand was raised by both parents except her mother did not focus much on her. She therefore had a strong bond with her father than her mother. The two grew up with the knowledge they were brought up with. My essay will focus on the comparison between Mariam’s relationship with her mother and Laila’s relationship with her mother and how these relationships prepare them for adulthood.
She knew how much of an abomination killing her husband would be to society, but she loved Laila enough to risk the punishment. Instead of running away from Kabul with Laila, Mariam stayed behind so that Laila would never get in trouble for killing Rasheed. She was then arrested and later shot for murder (371). Mariam sacrificed her own life so that Laila could marry Tariq and live happily and freely with her family. She gave up everything, even her life for those whom she loved, even though they biologically were not her children.
The novel starts by introducing Mariam, in the beginning, she’s a self-conscious young lady with a mother who is despicable and suffers from depression. Her father has entirely different family and shuns her when she tries to be indulged in his life. Mariam is the banished child, due to Nana and Jalil having intercourse while unmarried, resulting in Mariam being illegitimate. At a young age, she was forced to marry a severely abusive man named
When Mariam unexpectedly killed Rasheed, Laila was terrified by what had happened and Mariam “had Laila lie down, and, as she
In the short story “The Birthmark”, Nathaniel Hawthorne writes about a scientist, his wife, and the unhealthy relationship they share. The story follows Aylmer, a scientist, who is determined to remove his wife Georgiana’s birthmark. One aspect of their unhealthy relationship is Georgiana’s sole dependance on Aylmer. Furthermore, Aylmer does not view Georgiana as his equal. Not only this, but Aylmer frequently belittles her, continuously pointing out her flaws, which drives her to do something dangerous.