A Thousand Splendid Suns is a book by Khaled Hosseini that consists of past events that changes the book. The main character, Mariam, goes through many of the events that will impact her life. She starts off living a decent life with her mother but from then on finds out the truth that changes how she views things.
Characters
edit- Mariam - The book is written in her point of view, therefore she is the main character that experiences all the events that will change her.
- Nana - She is Mariam's mother that really hates Mariam's father. Nana always talks bad about him to Mariam because he left her alone because he was ashamed of her.
- Jalil - Jalil is Mariam's father that really changes Mariam's life. He will do anything to get rid of any shame.
- Rasheed - The man that Mariam was arranged to marry. He is a shoe maker that lives far away from Mariam's hometown. Therefore, requiring her to leave her home.
Plot
editThe book is made up in four parts, and this will explain the first two.
Nana was one of Jalil's housekeepers, and when she got pregnant, Jalil's other wives and family were furious and wanted her to be kicked out. Jalil makes her pack her bags and live in a small shack in the middle of nowhere. That's why Nana hates him; he abandoned her with Mariam, the baby.
Mariam is a young teen that is about 16 years old and she starts off by living with her mother. She does not enjoy living with her because Nana is always angry and strict. She says she loves Mariam, but Mariam doesn't think so. Every week, Jalil comes to visit the both of them and always brings something for Mariam. Mariam loves Jalil, but Nana says he is a lier, cheater, and that she doesn't love Mariam. But obviously Mariam won't believe her mother because of all the nice things Jalil has done for her.
One day Mariam decides to visit her father in where he lives. Mariam's mother begs her not to go and says she will die if she goes. But she goes because she doesn't believe that she will really die and she says that she'll come back. Mariam does on a long walk to visit Jalil in Kabul. Jalil is a rich man with many wives and another family. Once Mariam arrives at his house, Jalil's chauffeur opens the door and says Jalil isn't home. Mariam said that she would wait for him and so she waited and slept outside. Jalil lied to Mariam, because he was home the whole time.
This is when she finds out that all of what Nana said was right and that Jalil was ashamed of both of them. She gets a ride home from Jalil's chauffeur ,but once they arrive at Mariam's house. They both realize that there is a hanging body. Nana had hung herself because she was afraid that Mariam would not come back home.
Mariam is now forced to live with Jalil, which is obviously the last thing she wants to do. Jalil is now trying to get rid of Mariam because he doesn't want the people in Kabul to see his shame. So he finds a man (Rasheed) that lives far away in Pashtun and wants to marry her. She is then married to Rasheed which is a complete stranger to her. Mariam is given a burqa; a clothing that covers her whole body, except her eyes. She is then treated nicely for a little while ,but then Rasheed starts to get annoyed from her. This can lead into an abusive relationship for Mariam.
Events
editThe main events that shape up the book is when Jalil leaves Mariam and Nana in the beginning of the book. This is important because if he didn't leave them, then they could've started off with a better life and a better family. Another changing event would be when Mariam goes to visit Jalil. This is when she finds out the lies that Jalil was holding from her. She finds out that she is an embarrassment to him and she views her father with more hatred. Now that Mariam hated Jalil, she could only turn to Nana. But as stated before, Nana has suicided. So she has no where else to go to but Jalil. This changes her life greatly because of the loss of the only one that truly loved her and the fact that she has to live with Jalil and his family. One last impacting event is when she marries a complete stranger that is far away from home. Mariam has changed so much in this book within a short amount of time. She is now more aware than ever and quiet. Rasheed is a dominant husband that believes in veiling his wife and so Mariam can not speak much or express herself. These are the events that change the book.