A Thousand Splendid Suns - Mariam's Arranged Marriage
When Mariam's mother passed away and was left on her own, Jalil and his wives decided she would need to get married as soon as possible. Once she married Rasheed, he took her out everyday, showed her around the city, and bought her new things regularily. Did you think this would last? That Rasheed was a very kind and generous man? Or did you believe this was just a front for Rasheed and he would treat her poorly the rest of her life?
at first it was seen as tho he would treat her well and do all these things for her but with time everything changes. people change and other factors affect his way of treating her. many dont see it at first but only time can tell.
ReplyDeleteI believe that when Mariam was forced to marry Rasheed, he was being all nice by taking her out to the city and buying her gifts, but internally he had a very cruel heart. All he wanted from Mariam was sex and he treated her very poorly till the end, untill Mariam couldnt stand Rasheed anymore and ended up killing Rasheed.
ReplyDeleteAt first it did seem like Rasheed could treat Mariam well and take care of her, because he seemed sweet and caring. Then his true color's came out when he started becoming abusive toward Mariam. Then I knew it wouldnt last and Rasheed was a bad choice for Mariam.
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ReplyDeleteAt first he seem like a good person, but when he told Mariam to always cover herself when she leaves, and do not leave the house without him, even though he gave "reasons", I started to think that things were going to go bad for Mariam. When I read the part that Rasheed lost his son, and he started to try having a baby with Mariam, I believed he would get mad if she gave him a daughter. When she lost her child, Rasheed began to treat her coldly, he would not talk to her, he started to snap at her more. He complained about things he never did before. So I believe Rasheed was just trying to use her to get a son, and when she was unable to he found little use of her.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of their relationship, I believe that Mariam and Rasheed would have a wonderful relationship. I believe all of this changed when Mariam became infertile. Rasheed set his sights on having a boy and not having a child at all turned him into a ruthless man. This, treating her poorly for the rest of her life
ReplyDeleteI believed at first that Rasheed was a creepy 40-year old pedophile who likes 15-year old girls.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Rasheed was kind to Mariam at first because he thought she was of some worth. Rasheed was a lonely man and his first wife and son died, so he was depressed and probably desperate for another wife and son. (As we know he is a bit "show off-y".) After Mariam was known to be infertile, I think that made him upset and he takes out his anger on Mariam. I agree with Mohamed Ali when he said that he just wanted a son because even when he was kind at first to Laila, when she did not give him a boy at first he started abusing her too.
I knew that Rasheed’s generosity wouldn’t have lasted because even though he tried to make her feel at home he started to become fed up with her when she wouldn’t come out of her room and when she kept crying, from there his behaviour started to change and when he found out that she was infertile his true personality came out. Therefore this is why I believe it was a front
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sola, I thought at first that Rasheed was a creepy pedophile. But then once Mariam moved in and by looking at the way Rasheed treated her I thought it would last. I thought Rasheed was a respectful man that enjoyed Mariam and respected her limits. But I guess I should've known after hearing about how this book is sad and that it only get worse.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit I was fooled.
I agree with MahamedAbdi that the cause of Rasheed acting the way that he does towards Mariam is because she became infertile. It was just the fact that Mariam crushed his hopes and dreams. When Rasheed bought the jacket he was so happy and excited. Showing that this was the only thing Mariam had left to remember this tragic accident. It goes to show that men don't understand what we as women have to go through as well. It will sometimes make things better if they took the time to actually think about things logically and position themselves in our place.
ReplyDeleteI actually thought that for once Mariam actually found a trustworthy person in her life. Rasheed sounded like a harmless man that would not intend on hurting Mariam. The reason why I thought that way because when Mariam came back from her nikah, he tried to calm her down because she was emotional. I always secretly hoped that he would be that person who would let Mariam free and understand the difficult circumstances she is in with this marriage.
ReplyDeleteThe only reason i feel that Jalill forced Mariam to get married was becuase he obviously was embarressed of her. For example he even didnt let her come into the house the time she went to meet with him, he left her to sleep on the front steps. WE also see he wanted her furthest possible. As for Rasheed's nice acts to mariam didnt last, and this was to to her not being able to give him the son that he wanted.
ReplyDeleteWhen Mariam first married Rasheed I knew that there would be conflict between them because the marriage took place in the beginning of the novel, and because of the fact that the story was being told through Mariam's perspective we would see problems that she were to face in the future. The arranged marriage was merely a recipe for disaster and I believe that Rasheed's kind actions were only to reconcile with Mariam and get her to open up to him so he would feel less guilty of putting her through the pain of their marriage.
ReplyDeleteMariam was betrayed by the father she loved the most, he forced her to get married to a 45 year old man. I felt as if this marriage would be a disaster because of their age difference, but when I saw how Rasheed comforted Mariam I was so happy. I thought finally she found someone who was actually going to care for her, Rasheed seemed so nice he treated her with care. Even if he had a bit of a short temper in the beginning I was like this is better for Mariam than anything else. Mariam felt happy with him. But I knew that Rasheed was not the best for Mariam when he raped her, even if people say it was not rape I believe it was. I thought his bad characteristics were alright bacuse of his beliefs, but it all changed after this part. Even though she told him to stop he did not, and Rasheed became a hateful person. That was when I started to realise that Rasheed was not a good person but selfish to fulfill his needs, and that this would not last.
ReplyDeleteI knew from the beginning he was bad news. The way the book described him. I felt horrible for Mariam because I feel she didn't even have time to heal from the pain she felt from when her mother passed. I maybe thought that hopefully he would treat her right but considering the age difference, it was probably unlikely.
ReplyDeleteI honestly believed that Rasheed was a lonely,sad man who was looking to move past the loss of his wife and son. Even though Mariam described him as old and kind of unclean, I felt that he would provide a good life for her. I still believed this during her first pregnancy and they were on the bus ad Rasheed protectivly puts his hand over her pregnant stomach, I should have realized he was only interested in Mariam because she was young and thought she could easily conceive and that all he wanted was a son. When Mariam described how Rasheed was acting I didn't understand and then she said she had several miscarriages I knew Rasheed was a bad character and I wanted him out of Mariams life.
ReplyDeleteI knew from the start that Rasheed was not who he pretended to be. Although I don’t even think Rasheed tried very hard to seem like a good man in front of Mariam. He wanted a wife, he didn’t really Care for who it was and so he did a little sucking up to gain what he wanted and reverted back to his old self. I think Rasheed tried harder to impress Laila because he actually cared for her. Mariam was nothing to him and I felt that early on when his character was first introduced.
ReplyDeleteFrom the beginning I knew Rasheed was someone not to be trusted with. He built a connection with Mariam for the sole purpose so that she has no reason to not trust him and to have an heir. For that reason, that is why I believe Rasheed’s false genosrity didnt last. Also, in the novel you can tell from the satisfaction Rasheed gets when he puts fear in Mariam's eye that he is not who he pretends to be.
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