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C. L. Chua analyzes A Thousand Splendid Suns in an attempt to find out if it was as much of a success as The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini's first novel. The different literary devices that Hosseini used are mentioned to perhaps give validity to the various arguments Chua makes. A shortfall of the critique is that perhaps not enough emphasis was actually placed on an argument; a majority of the essay was a very well written summary of the novel with only a light touch at the very beginning and end of the essay on the actual argument. "He [Hosseini] felt impelled to tell an Afghan story different from The Kite Runner's. That book had been about men-fathers and sons, male friendship, male treachery. Hosseini now felt drawn to tell a contemporaneous story about Afghanistan's women." Chua uses a clear and logical argument to assert his opinion that Hosseini really delved into the life of an Afghanistan woman in the current times. The critique remains coherent but I wish it was more focused and consistent in the argument. It would have been overall better if Chua has also given more of their insight of this novel. I'm not sure if the author of this article is male or female but depending on their gender, it could create a bias. Another bias that may exist is that the author of this critique really enjoy Hosseini's first novel The Kite Runner so they may be more inclined to say that his second novel was just as good since they are already a fan. "Hosseini's two women are strategic contrasts physically, socially, and psychologically. Socially, Mariam is from the rural lower class; Laila, the urban middle class. Psychologically, Mariam is accustomed to humiliation; Laila, to consideration. Physically, Mariam's features are "unshapely," "flat," "unmemorable," "coarse," while Laila is a green-eyed blond beauty." The stark differences that Chua notes about Hosseini's protagonists help to understand a main theme of the novel which could

The Kite Runner Analysis Phillip Spires's purpose in his analysis is to examine how The Kite Runner's drama is important to the story that involves, informs, and enlightens the reader. He does a great job of keeping his focus on how Khaled can master a technique that many other writers can't, thus changing how his writing is viewed. His analysis is consistency and coherence is backed up by background from the book. The evidence he uses helps his case because it gives the reader of this analysis some background into what he is trying to prove. For instance, when he is talking about the changes in Afghanistan, "war dominated by the Taliban. Amir tries to uncover his past…his personal experience becomes both painful, taxing and trying." This is the drama that Spires addresses that enlightens the reader. There is plenty of evidence to make his case and prove his purpose. The evidence provided is typical because it helps make sure the purpose is understandable and he uses paraphrased passages in his analysis. Such as "with the arrival of the Russian, part of Amir's family flees to the United States, Amir along with them." Allowing him to conclude that it is a book that will take you on a journey. His beliefs are that he has been on many journeys himself that help contribute to allowing him to analyze the journey within this book. The implicit assumption is that he wants to be as great as Khaled in his writings. The explicit assumption is that he likes to write about journey just drawing the idea from the title of his book.

Argument: Khaled Hosseini gives a face to the Afghan people in The Kite Runner. It humanizes the culture and gives outsiders to the culture a little insight to the fact that we may not be that different from each other after all. The novel offers the theme of personal redemption that many have dealt. Literary critics have seen this book as being an allegory but Jefferess takes this a step farther by pointing out how this novel is really a political allegory that uses a humans shot at redemption in comparison to that of the country Afghanistan's chance to fix itself. Evidence: "Hence the novel "humanizes" Afghan culture, providing depth and meaning to the sign "Afghanistan" for the non-Afghan reader, otherwise a mere signifier of post-9/11 conflict" (Jefferess). "While Amir's quest for personal redemption may be read as an allegory of Afghanistan's national project of healing, I read the novel as a political allegory that reflects the way in which the "third world", marked by its difference from the "West", becomes a site to be transformed through the project of nation-building" (Jefferess). "This project is presented in the West as an ethical demand that is paradoxically conceived of as both a humanitarian project and a disciplinary one; to be recognized as human, Afghanistan must conform to particular western expectations of democracy, liberalism, and multiculturalism. While the novel's reception reflects an openness to, and a desire for, understanding the Other, it also reflects the limits of acceptable difference"(Jefferess) Thoughts: The view that Jefferess took on The Kite Runner is extremely interesting. Not many have seen the novel as merely an ethical allegory, but he argues this point well. The fact that since the US has entered the war in Afghanistan, many people view that the end of the war will be when Afghanistan becomes a democracy and adopts western ideals, but what isn't always understood is that with change, comes

Source#2 Argument: The Kite Runner it a novel of conflict. Claim: The conflicts range from warring armies, factions, worldviews, ethnic groups; as well as individual conflicts and gender. Evidence: Throughout the novel Amir constantly runs into a problem. If the conflict isn't obvious there is always an underlying conflict. For example, the relationship between him and his father and the judgement he recieves from being friends with Hassan.

According to Cheryl Reed, A Thousand Splendid Suns is a multi-generational story that spans a 45 year time span, told from dual perspectives of powerless Afghani women. While The Kite Runner was a story of redemption, A Thousand Splendid Suns is a story of survival in a war ridden country where women are beyond powerless and must hide behind their burqas. Hosseini uses many of his own experiences to build his stories of fictional characters. From his recent visits back to Afghanistan, A Thousand Splendid Suns was made. Reed states her argument clearly although it isn't presented until the end of her critique. Her critic is logically and coherently written starting with the emotions reading this book makes one feel. Overall she is fairly focused in the entire essay making sure to give examples of interviews with Hosseini. There does not appear to be any biases in Reeds critic except for the main one that A Thousand Splendid Suns is written about two women who must endure many hardships in Afghanistan and Cheryl Reed is a woman. The one thing about this critique that also got in the way of her argument was the long summary she put before she actually critiqued the novel. "Readers will certainly wince at the brutality of this book--the bruises beneath the burqa, the grotesque murders--but ultimately their faith in humanity will be rewarded." This statement is true about this novel, it is hard to endure and imagine that this happens to women everyday in Afghanistan but the fact that some humans are still good inside is also seen. The best quote though, in my opinion of this essay is when Reed notes the main difference between The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns: "There is a subtle difference, of course, between imagining the depravity of war and actually smelling the orphans left in its wake. That is the difference between these two haunting novels."

The author, Ray Conlouge, presents a complelling argument that the works produced by Hosseini are that of commercial and well rounded novels. His claim is that: his works present an element of "credibility" due to his apparent backround and life experiences. Arugment: The credibility of Hosseini is dirrupted by the "fictional" events that preceed through out the story. This article suports my thesis that Hossseini was compelled to write a novel pertaining to his life in the "Kite Runner" but then uses literary credibility in "A thousand Splendid Suns" to make both novels very strong by drawing from personal experiences.

Source#1 Argument: The author describes the characters, their social status, and their relationship. Claim: Melodramatic and overly symmetrical. Evidence: At certain points the novel becomes melodramatic but not enogh to be made a big deal over. The novel needs to be melodramatic at times because the tone needs to flow with the story to emphasize the mood. In addition the story closely relates to the known fact about the authors life which is an element of being overly symmetrical.

A thousand Splendid Suns is about women being abused by the men. Many people have read this book but Cheryl Reed saw it as "nearly impossible for a novel a work of fantasy and fabrication to deliver a formidable blow, a pounding of the senses, a reeling so staggering that we are convinced the characters and their dilemmas are genuine" (Reed). The two stories are similar but different at the same time because of the different women and different time periods. Reed goes onto explain that the two stories are about such young women being married off to much older women, while these men have multiple wives. An example of this is would be, "The man who saves her, who digs her from the rubble, is 60ish Rasheed, a shoe salesman, who has a penchant for young girls. His wife, Mariam, was given to him when she was only 15" (Reed). Mariam's mother dies in a hanging and she is married off by her dad. However, they are married to men much older than them and have to deal with the beatings and abuse. Although before they may be married off many things could happen to them. For example when Rasheed wives try to escape and get caught their punishment is brutal. "Rasheed's dissimilar wives team up to offer each other support from the beatings and the verbal lashings. They plan a risky escape but when that fails, the powerlessness of their plight couldn't be more palpable: Strangers turn them in to the authorities, and police officers shrug their shoulders at the likelihood that Rasheed may kill them for causing dishonor" (Reed). However, as punishment for trying to escape from a life of torture, they are brutally beat. Seems all they want is freedom but to get that they have to escape. Reed describes this the best "While The Kite Runner was the story of redemption, of male friendship and the bond between fathers and sons, Suns is a multigenerational story with a larger cast of characters, spanning 45 years and told from the dual perspectives of two powerless women