Synthesis Paragraph

      Khaled Hosseini's use of figurative language and symbolism throughout his book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, shows that the Afghan culture values reputation and that having an illegitimate child tarnishes one's reputation. Mariam is the illegitimate child of Jalil, a man with money and a reputation in Herat. Although Jalil loves Mariam, as shown when he tells Mariam not to make the situation harder for him in a "thin, threadbare voice" (49), he needs to protect his reputation because that is what the Afghan society expects of him. His family expects him to protect his and their reputation and honor. Hosseini uses figurative language here to reveal how Jalil feels about giving Mariam away. It gives readers an insight on Jalil's hardships and his pressure to rise to society's expectations.
    Not only does Hosseini uses figurative language to show cultural values but also to reveal how illegitimate children are treated. Throughout the book, Hosseini uses figurative language to remind the readers that Mariam is being shunned and mistreated by her family because she is an illegitimate child. Through Hosseini's figurative language, readers realize that the Afghan society will treat illegitimate children as outcasts. In Afghan culture, one's social status is determined by birth and if one is born out of an love affair and is a girl, their status is lower than a maid's.
     Since Mariam is an illegitimate child, her social status is low but because she is also girl, her social status declined even more. Khaled Hosseini uses symbolism throughout the book to demonstrate how women are often so oppressed that they start to lose their identities. Through Hosseini's book, readers learn that the Afghan culture values men more than women and women are often treated poorly. Mariam's choices in marriage and where she lives is dictated by Jalil because she is a girl and girls are often placed in arranged marriages. Hosseini uses the literary technique, symbolism to show readers that women are mistreated because in Afghanistan, it is almost normal for men to rule their wives.
     Throughout the book, Hosseini's use of figurative language and symbolism showed readers that in Afghanistan, cultural values and different from American values. Afghans value reputation and will do anything, even send their child away, to protect their reputation while Americans value children more. Although in America, illegitimate children are not always accepted by families like how Mariam is not accepted by Jalil's family, in Afghanistan illegitimate children are more severely suppressed.