A Textual Analysis of A Thousand Splendid Suns: Citizenship Perspective

Abstract

This article presents a citizenship analysis of Hosseini’s novel A Thousand Splendid Suns. Cogan (1998) defines citizenship in terms of identity, rights, duties, and acceptance of basic societal values, which is the theoretical work used in this study. This research investigates how gender inequality in fiction can be studied from a citizenship perspective. Through textual analysis of Khalid Hosseini’s novel A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007), the researcher presents a citizenship perspective that lies within the text of the novel. Researcher suggests that the citizenship themes of identity, rights, and acceptance of basic societal values have been depicted throughout the text. My findings suggest that various issues gender discrimination, class difference, religious and socio-cultural issues, can be discussed under the umbrella of Cogan’s concept of citizenship, and used as a theoretical framework. The research has recommendations for future researchers, teachers, and readers of fiction.