A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini Book Analysis Example

There is no action that is completely unjustifiable. This is certainly true when I reflect on my experiences, biases, beliefs and values as a reader in literature. When I was young, I had a habit of immersing myself in books that were mature for my age. Exploring books discussing justice and equity made me understand how my life as a female will be scarier, harder, and inequitable compared to a man’s. Reading books developed my perspectives as a reader and it made me aware of the injustices girls like me can face. This led me to believe that reading literature can teach us about equity and justice to a great extent. 

Reading literature teaches us how someone’s life experiences directly influences their view of justice and equity. This is proven in the novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns. At the beginning of the novel, Mariam assumed she had to endure more than others because she was a harami. She states: “[I] was an illegitimate person who would never have legitimate claim to the things of other people” (Hosseini 5). Comparing this to her thoughts at the end of her life, “ [I] was leaving the world as a woman who had loved and been loved back.” (Hosseini 371), one can see how drastically her character develops throughout the novel. It connects to my point as it shows how her life experiences motivated her to find her own justice.  

As shown in the first quote, Mariam didn’t question the lack of equity because of her guilt as a harami. Her experiences as a young girl were limited to bitterness, fear and resentment because she always justified the cruel treatment as the consequence of being a bastard’s child. As she grows from the relationships with Laila and her children, her identity grows as a motherly figure. In the second quote, Mariam expresses her justice as a woman who knows how to receive love and give it back. Ultimately, her new discovery of justice led her to kill Rasheed and finally avenge her family. 

I connect Mariam’s hardships to find justice as a woman to the non-fiction essay, “Why I want a Wife” by Judy Brady. Judy exclaims, “I want a wife who will work and send me to school. And while I am going to school, I want a wife to take care of my children.” (Judy 3). This quote indicates the sarcasm behind the duties of a wife, as that expectation is unrealistic. As I compare Mariam’s hardships and this quote, my initial thoughts were how they both demonstrate the impossible expectations society had for women in the past. It was admirable to see how fast society matured in gender expectations. For instance, I had the freedom to be financially independent, something a woman in the past couldn’t have done. However, after I reflected on my personal experiences as a woman, I noticed that there were still many gender expectations I had to fulfill. For instance, I still have to cook for my family when my mother is away. It made me question, “Have gender roles really changed?”. 

By learning from Mariam’s search for justice, and comparing my personal experiences to the non-fiction essay, I can conclude that reading literature can teach us how to question and change our perspective on justice and equity.  

Even though reading literature helps us question our perspective on equity, I always wonder, “How do we form our initial understanding of it?” One of the major ways my perspective changes are my values and beliefs. Reading literature teaches us how someone's values and beliefs affect their response to justice and equity. When both Mariam and Laila heard about the Taliban rules, they had different reactions as expressed in the quote, “‘They can’t make half the population stay at home and do nothing.’ Laila said. “Why not?” Rasheed said. For once, Mariam agreed with him” (Hosseini 278). 

This quote connects to my answer to my inquiry question as it provides a contrasting perspective of Mariam’s and Laila’s values and beliefs. Mariam was submissive; she accepted her reality almost immediately, proven by her agreement with Rasheed. This demonstrates her lack of value for women’s rights as she was receptive to her new role as a Taliban follower, even though it was highly biased. Laila, on the other hand, was defensive and upset, as proven by her disbelief in the quote. Her strong reaction portrays her value for her rights which affected her response to the rules being imposed by the Taliban. 

Furthermore, I can connect Laila’s reaction to one significant event I learned in history class: The Famous Five. The Famous Five were women who valued human rights. They were famous for taking legal implications to the injustice that they faced and refused to give up until they were justified. Similarly, Laila questioned the injustices for women in the Taliban and initially refused to submit to their rules. In both situations, their values motivated them to fight against their oppressors which resulted in a positive outcome.

Therefore, when a reader uses their values and beliefs to understand justice and equity in literature, it teaches them how their values can determine their response to the injustices. 

Values and beliefs stem from many things, but the major factor is culture. In particular,  reading literature, culture, values and beliefs guide the reader as they are developing their perspective on justice and equity. During my book club discussion, one of my classmates posed a question “Is Rasheed a bad person?”. My immediate response was “No.” Rasheed verbally and physically abused both of his wives so how could he be a good person? As I was about to answer, my other classmate replied, “Rasheed was abusive, but perhaps he was taught to believe that”. 

This made me reflect on how Rasheed's religion led him to justify immoral things. For example, in the Taliban, it is said that men were always the dominant gender. This affected Rasheed’s perspective of equity and justice as he believes he will always be the stronger person, as expressed in the quote “What a man does in his home is his business” (Hosseini 266). From the perspective of a modern woman, I completely disagree with how he views women; however, our cultures are different, hence my justification differs to his. For instance, I was taught that I was equal to men versus Rasheed, who always had power and control. 

In addition, I would like to connect Rasheed’s morals and values to my personal biases. Rasheed was a misogynistic communist but was not deemed as evil because of his culture. Since the Taliban is biased to women, it was the moral compass Rasheed was used to. Similarly, I have a personal bias towards feminists as I was raised to believe that women and men should be equal. In both circumstances, we both are devoted to the principles we were accustomed to which developed our biases. This demonstrates how reading literature teaches us about equity and justice as it teaches us how the reader’s bias guides them to determine whether a person deserves justice and equity. 

Even after the reader determines whether a person is in need of justice and equity, this does not change the plot of the story. Not everyone is able to act on their opinion of justice and equity. In my book club discussion, we discussed the relationship between Mariam and Rasheed and one of my classmates exclaimed, “Even though Mariam was against [her] arranged marriage, it was Jalil’s decision, so she couldn’t have done anything anyways”.  

This connects to my answer to the inquiry question as it provides a perspective to Mariam’s understanding of equity and justice. She understood that her feelings on the matter would not be respected because Jalil planned to abandon her anyways; so rather than arguing, she adapted to the situation. Mariam’s situation was in need of justice, but she couldn’t do anything which demonstrates her lack of belief in justice and equity. 

Mariam’s understanding of justice and equity reminded me of an article called, “Why It’s Still Legal For Men to Rape Their Wives”. This connects to the initial point as the article states how the justice system allows men to legally abuse their wives if they are married. It begs the question, how are women able to go against their injustices if even the justice system is internally sexist? Similarly, Mariam’s situation is rooted from the injustice in the Taliban. It demonstrates the biases in the justice society as they are biased towards men. 

In summary, reading literature teaches the reader that not every case that deserves justice and equity will receive it, hence they are encouraged to challenge the injustice they feel should be appealed.  

After exploring the multiple perspectives of literature, including media, books, and history, I learned that the key to finding justice is more complicated than seeing what is wrong and right. Just like how Mariam searched for her own justice, we too can reflect and learn about  how to truly support justice and fight for what’s right!