The Contrast of Women Today, and in a Thousand Splendid Suns

       For centuries now, women have pretty much always been treated differently than men in society. Luckily though, times have changed. Today, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, women are much more independent than they used to be. Times and times ago women were expected to just be housewives. They would take care of the children, the cooking, and the cleaning. The men would go out and work to make a living while the women stayed at home caring for the family. Society has drastically changed since centuries okay. This change has been for the better. It is now common for women to further their education and study at universities. Women have really paved a new path for themselves. No longer is the cookie cutter image of a woman depicted as a housewife. Today is is very common to women be successful business owners and hold well to do jobs that help to keep society in tact. Many many years ago, women wouldn't have dared tried to hold a job. Women still face the challenge of being put down to men, but it isn't as awful as it used to be. Women may not make as much as certain men do, but they still are successful career women. Most women today aren't just mothers, but they are working mother who take care of the family and hold a successful job as well.

     Luckily the society of Kenosha treats women in this respectful manner. In the novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, women are not depicted in a positive light. Women in fact are extremely inferior to men. Mariam and Laila are two of the main women characters in this novel and they aren't given any freedoms. It doesn't have to be like that, but that's just how it is in Afghanistan during the throughout the 1960s all the way to 2003. During this time period women were sheltered. They were kept inside to take care of the basic household chores and to watch after the children. Women were often covered up whenever they went out in public too. It was common for a husband to demand his wife to wear a burqa whenever she stepped foot in public. Men took complete control over their wives. Women were treaty like property, not as normal human beings. It is very said to think that women were treated in such a demeanor and still are treated in such a way. Women are constantly facing challenges in the Afghanistan society. They don't have special privileges. All they really have is the ability to either follow orders from their husband, or be left to pretty much die alone. Women don't have a voice in Afghanistan. If they did, things wouldn't be so unfair.

Swaddling Clothes

     The birth story in "Swaddling Clothes" is probably one of the saddest birth stories I have ever heard. The way Toshiko's husband acted was completely uncalled for. How could a man possibly treat a woman with absolutely no compassion as she is giving birth. It wasn't the nurse's fault that she went into labor while on the job. Women don't control when they are going to go into labor. Obviously the woman couldn't help that she started going in to labor while at her clients house. Toshiko was in shock and barely even moved, but her husband was more concerned about moving his expensive rug so it didn't get ruined during the birth. The worst part about it all was the fact that after the baby was born, he wasn't even wrapped in a blanket, rather dirty newspapers. How horrible. I honestly don't understand how Toshiko's husband and the doctor could be so cruel. Luckily Toshiko finally snapped out of her haze and went to fetch new flannel linens for the baby to be wrapped in.
     My birth story is way different from the birth story in "Swaddling Clothes." For starters, I was born via C-Section. The main difference, is that as a newborn, I was treated like a princess. The newborn in "Swaddling Clothes" was treated like an unwanted human being. I was wrapped in fresh new linens right away, the other baby was wrapped in dirty newspapers. What seems like such a minor detail, is instead extremely important.
     The connection between the short story and real life is that just like how Toshiko couldn't get the image of the birth out of her head, neither do those who witness actual births in real life. Bringing a new life into the world is an experience that every mother treasures and never wants to forget. The main difference between the short story and real life is that the images of the births aren't both magical. In real life they are. In the story though, the baby was just tossed to the side and treated like a chore, who could possibly want to remember such an image.
    A person's birth story relates to the rest of their live because it will never be forgotten. The birth of a baby is miraculous, it is never forgotten. People will always bring it up because they never want to forget the moment that their baby was brought into the world. A person's birth can potentially affect them for the rest of their life depending on the circumstances. A healthy baby's birth can affect them in a positive way. A baby that is born with complications, their birth story can be bittersweet. Every is told the story of their birth and it stays with them forever and ever because that was the starting point of them entering the world. Nobody wants to forget the moment that they were given a chance at life, whether the circumstances were good or bad.

About Me

Hello All. 

I am a senior who is currently looking forward to the next step in my life...college!!!

In my free time I love to run cross country. I am going to run in college too, which is exciting, yet extremely nerve-racking. I also play basketball and soccer. I love being outdoors and playing sports! My life is rather busy, but when I have down time I love to just sit back and watch funny chick flicks. 

I have a twin sister, which is pretty cool, especially since we look absolutely nothing alike. 

I LOVE country music! Luke Bryan  and Rascal Flatts are the bomb.com!

Oh and I love FREEZES They are so good. I was, however, extremely bummed when then switched from 69 cents to 99 cents. What a rip off! That's it for now.

Do Great Things!!!