Khaled Hossein uses the main male characters, Rasheed, Jalil, and Hakim, to personify political mindsets in afghanistan.
Throughout the book Rasheed is used by Hossein to portray the thoughts of traditional afghan men with strong right winged views with character traits such as dominance, violence, and manipulation. Which strongly reflect aspects of the Taliban.These three characteristics of Rasheed all steam from his beliefs. His dominance is shown through the control he takes over Mariam and Laila once they agree to marriage. He believes that women should be dressed in burqas while in a public setting to display their commitment to their husbands. While also believing that women should never leave the house unaccompanied by a male. …show more content…
In the beginning stages of each of his relationships Rasheed is a sweet and caring man which leads the women be comfortable with marrying him. His first marriage to Mariam was arranged by Jalil which gave her very little say in the matter however, his second marriage to Laila was led by acts of manipulation. After Laila lost her family when a rocket hit her house she was left alone and for a women in Afghanistan that leaves you subject to possible abuse, sexually and physically, so Rasheed took this as an opportunity. He decided to take Laila in during her darkest time and bait her with a charming personality. Mariam notices the odd behaviour coming from Rasheed and describes it as a “staged delivery” (191) that is “an attempt on his part, both sly and pathetic, to impress. To charm” (191). However, Laila is naive because she barely knows Rasheed and she agrees to marry him. She soon discovers that although she escaped the danger of living on the streets, she couldn’t avoid the sexual and physical abuse. The manipulation of Laila by Rasheed is reflected later in the novel when the Taliban is coming to power. At first the Taliban raise the public's hopes with promises and motivational speeches , but one day a flyer is placed on every home’s doorstep with the limiting rules that everyone must follow. This rules are not new to Rasheed as he is the traditional male and the Taliban
Throughout the book Rasheed is used by Hossein to portray the thoughts of traditional afghan men with strong right winged views with character traits such as dominance, violence, and manipulation. Which strongly reflect aspects of the Taliban.These three characteristics of Rasheed all steam from his beliefs. His dominance is shown through the control he takes over Mariam and Laila once they agree to marriage. He believes that women should be dressed in burqas while in a public setting to display their commitment to their husbands. While also believing that women should never leave the house unaccompanied by a male. …show more content…
In the beginning stages of each of his relationships Rasheed is a sweet and caring man which leads the women be comfortable with marrying him. His first marriage to Mariam was arranged by Jalil which gave her very little say in the matter however, his second marriage to Laila was led by acts of manipulation. After Laila lost her family when a rocket hit her house she was left alone and for a women in Afghanistan that leaves you subject to possible abuse, sexually and physically, so Rasheed took this as an opportunity. He decided to take Laila in during her darkest time and bait her with a charming personality. Mariam notices the odd behaviour coming from Rasheed and describes it as a “staged delivery” (191) that is “an attempt on his part, both sly and pathetic, to impress. To charm” (191). However, Laila is naive because she barely knows Rasheed and she agrees to marry him. She soon discovers that although she escaped the danger of living on the streets, she couldn’t avoid the sexual and physical abuse. The manipulation of Laila by Rasheed is reflected later in the novel when the Taliban is coming to power. At first the Taliban raise the public's hopes with promises and motivational speeches , but one day a flyer is placed on every home’s doorstep with the limiting rules that everyone must follow. This rules are not new to Rasheed as he is the traditional male and the Taliban