Hope and Oppression in A Thousand Splendid Suns

Hope and Oppression is a huge theme throughout A Thousand Splendid Suns, in the novel the only thing the women in that culture have is hope, that is what keeps them moving and striving to fight for their rights that they deserve. The trouble that the women have in this society is that they are oppressed and there is very little hope for the women in this society. Mariam and Laila do not want to be Rasheed's husband, but they are forced to because that is what their society believes and they follow it until their hope grows stronger and they form a bond with each other. 

The people in the novel often work to retain hope while dealing with the realities of political and personal oppression. At significant points throughout the novel, characters express their individual hopes. For instance, when Mariam asks Mullah Faizullah if she may attend school, her journey of hope begins. For Laila, hope lies in Tariq and an attempted escape from Rasheed. Most characters walk into such events with high levels of hope for the future, but once reality sets in, a character's hope is crushed. Not only do these waves of hope provide the reader with suspense and emotional attachment to the characters, but this cycle appears to reflect the cycles of hope and dashed dreams that Afghan women suffer, time and time again. The personal stories of hope, moreover, are mirrored in the political hope of the Afghan citizens. With every new ruler, people express their convictions that finally Afghanistan will be free. Yet, similar to the personal hope of individuals, Afghanistan’s hope often turns to despair after the realities of each new regime leave the nation unfree.

The women forge strong bonds despite the efforts of their husbands and their government to reduce women’s power and strive for hope in their society. The bonds differ in nature. For instance, Giti, Hasina, and Laila form a bond of girlish friendship, but Mariam and Laila form a much more powerful familial bond later in the novel. Nana finds strength from her daughter Mariam, and Mariam finds an admirer when she arrives in a Taliban-controlled prison. The novel thus suggests that women have a strong ability to find strength and support in one another. Mariam never would have gained the strength to fight Rasheed if she had not gained confidence and love from Laila.

In our society there is still a lot of hope and dreams that are diminished by our society. I mean look at engineering and science department, there is barely any woman in that field because I think that they are intimidated by how many men that are in that field and do not aspire to try and work in that type of job. I think that men and woman are equal and should be allowed to have the same hope and less of being oppressed from society and have society dictating where women and men should and should not work. It should be based on the work ethic of the individual and who wants that position more.