5 Quotes from A Thousand Splendid Suns

"Nor was she old enough to appreciate the injustice, to see that it is the creators of the harami who are culpable, not the harami, whose only sin is being born.” p.4

This quote really shows the culture and setting for the book. The main character, Miriam, is born illegitimately to a wealthy man of Herat and one of his housekeepers. It is so hard for her to understand why she is treated like filth for something that she cannot control. This relates to many issues concerning people today. No one can control their sex, ethnicity or race, or what family they are born in to. This quote helps people grasp the concept that some things cannot be controlled but there are ways to change it if you want it to happen badly enough.

"Learn this now, and learn it well, my daughter: Like a compass needle that points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman. Always. You remember that, Mariam." p.7

When Jalil Khan says this to his daughter Miriam, I begin to understand their relationship. He seems to be very wise and is being completely honest with Miriam about how people treat women in the real world. Although she is a child she still acknowledges his advice and uses it to defend herself. I really enjoy the analogy between the compass needle and a "man's accusing finger". It shows that there is no exception to this rule, women will always be blamed even if a man is truly at fault.

"And as her heart pounded, her mind wondered what excuse he would use that night to pounce on her. There was always something, some minor thing that would infuriate him, because no matter what she did to please him, no matter how thoroughly she submitted to his wants and demands, it wasn’t enough." p.90

This quote shows the theme of inner strength in women. Although Miriam tries very hard to please her dad, it never seems to be enough for him. Instead of this showing her weaknesses I believe that this shows her strength because she keeps fighting for his attention and love. He seems to reiterate that she has it tough and she needs to always defend herself, yet he sometimes backfires and becomes the person she needs protection from.

"A society has no chance of success if its women are undereducated" p.103

This quote again shows the underlying theme of the inner power of women in Afghanistan. Hosseini is expressing that there needs to be an equal balance of men and women in power because of the different qualities they possess. Although this is a shorter quote, I believe it can be interpreted very broadly. I would interpret as saying that there women need to be educated to help keep society and business in balance.

"The only enemy an Afghan cannot defeat is himself." p.121

In this quote, Hosseini is explaining the nature of human beings. We never will truly understand ourselves, nor will others. Although people can defeat their own enemies there are feelings within us that can not be defeated. The brain and the heart are constantly conflicting, but one never outweighs the other. Although it is frustrating, our logic and feelings will always conflict.