Topic B

J. Trinh
2nd Period


Prompt: Analyze how Hosseini uses literary elements to explore the issue of gender relations.



The bleak and heartbreaking "A Thousand Splendid Suns" is a novel by Khaled Hosseini that examines a difficulty that is vastly faced by women. Through cultural emphasis, the common somber tale of misogyny is heightened due to the variables that comes along with being set in Afghanistan - a country that undergoes war and governmental and social progression struggles. Using the two literary devices of symbolism and diction, Hosseini is able to explore the oppressed role of womanhood.


Due to the sheer overpowering that men possess in a society of archaic social mindsets, abuse is dispensed not only through the men themselves, but also manifests as self-infliction of the women, the result psychological distortion. Life thrives on the belief that men are the superior beings in Afghanistan; women feel menial as a by-product. This feeling of lowliness contributes to women putting down other women as displayed when Mariam is mocked by her mother: “I’m the only one who loves you. I’m all you have in this world, Mariam, and when I’m gone you’ll have nothing. You’ll have nothing. You are nothing!” She claims that "A man's heart is a wretched, wretched thing..." (27) The diction used by Hosseini to exhibit this case is strong: the repeating of "wretched, wretched" blatantly demonstrates a woman's opinion of the patronizing Aghani men. The words "only", "ever have", and the repetition of "nothing" spoken with such emotion shows the apparent pain and defense-mechanisms that women have deeply instilled within themselves. The occurrence of  domestic violence is also so prevalent and widely accepted as the norm, and it is another example of how women have no choice but to submit to men. In a scene after Mariam was beat by her husband, Rasheed, she crawls back into her bed and "waited for the shaking to stop" (241). The efforts she takes to silently conceal her suffering symbolizes women's inferiority and expectations to be submissive. During the beating, Mariam is also seen to suppress her torment: “Through the mouthful of grit and pebbles, Mariam mumbled a plea. Tears were leaking out of the corners of her eyes” (104) The word "mumble" reflects her understanding of her gender, as it is a modest attempt of expressing pain, as opposed a retaliated yell. The "tears...leaking" shows her obvious effort to withstand the lashing that is put out towards her.


By using symbolism and diction, Hosseini is able to illustrate the gender inequality in Afghanistan, and to arrest the reader's attention and sympathy towards  the Afghani women. The women are the ones who suffer, by living standard, desolate lives with forlorn futures due to this social issue.