Clothing- Throughout the novel, A Thousand splendid Suns, clothing act as a motif. The burqa, an Afghanistan head covering for woman, allows women to see out and no one is able to see in. In the novel, Rasheed makes Laila wear a burqa whenever she leaves the house. This restriction lets Laila see the world outside and no one sees her. This burqa symbolizes the way women were treated and felt during this time period. Like the burqa, women were able to see the world, witness horrors and wonders but she is not able to speak about her views or express her opinions. Women were trapped in this “burqa” or “shell” that didn’t allow people to see their feeling and who they are. Laila becomes this weak person who watches Rasheed bet Mariam and herself but she cannot rebel. She cannot go to Aziza by herself because she needs Rasheed. Women are ignored in the community as if this wall is in front of them. Likewise, the burqa creates this barrier that doesn’t allow men to see them.
Throughout this novel, women must overcome the injustice placed in the community. This burqa that must be worn really shows us how women were treated. Women were not allowed to wear jewelry, make-up, show herself, or any other freedom that man has. This burqa is a total injustice that does not allow women to express themselves or show themselves to the world. This burqa is just another way for men to control their wives and not give them liberty.
Cigarettes- In the novel, when Mariam meets Rasheed the first thing she smells when meeting Rasheed is cigarette smoke. When Mariam meets him the novel tells us, “Mariam smelled him before she saw him. Cigarette and thick, sweet cologne.” (Page 47) This cigarette reappears every time she meets a Taliban member or any other Afghanistan man. The cigarette is one of the only objects that has an innocent effect on your body but then kills you years later. Likewise, when Mariam meets Rasheed he is a man that is kind and generous to Mariam. He lets her stay in her room until she is ready to leave, she gives her flowers, and compliments her cooking. But at the end of the novel Rasheed turns like a cigarette into a vicious husband that beat her and sent Aziza to the orphanage. Likewise, these men she meets that smoke help her out in the beginning but then turn on her and beat or become mean to her. Cigarettes are a motif that symbolizes bad and evil; people that give a good impression on their lives and then turn on them.
