Abstract

A Thousand Splendid Suns, published on May, 2007, was the second novel of Afghan-born American author, Khaled Hosseini. With the background of the thirty-year unrest of Afghanistan, it depicts an incredible chronicle of two women. Over the past years, the feminist spirit and tragic life of Afghan women vividly portrayed in this novel have widely been analyzed by the scholars. However, few critics have touched upon the firm beliefs owned by the Afghans to go through all the adversities.
Based on the research at home and abroad, this paper presents an overall exploration of the respective despairs on the three main characters—Mariam, Laila and Tariq in Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns. Meanwhile, by elaborate interpretation of Islamism as a survival philosophy for the despaired, this paper manages to dig out how the characters find their hope out of a life full of adversities. Eventually, by means of searching for the continual source of strength behind the Afghan people, it has provided thought-provoking enlightenments for people all over the world.

Key Words: A Thousand Splendid Suns; Islamism; despair; hope

摘要

出版于2007年5月的《灿烂千阳》是阿富汗裔美国作家卡勒德•胡塞尼的第二部小说作品。以阿富汗的30年动乱为背景，小说刻画了发生在两个阿富汗女人身上的一段令人揪心的奋斗史。在过去的几年中,学者们已经广泛研究了小说里生动刻画的女权主义和阿富汗妇女的悲惨生活。然而，对帮助阿富汗人走出困境的坚定信念这一主题的探讨却鲜有人涉及。
以国内外研究为基础，本论文对《灿烂千阳》中玛丽雅姆、莱拉和塔里克三个主要人物各自的绝望进行了全面探究。与此同时，通过对伊斯兰教义作为绝望者生存哲学的详细阐释，本论文成功地挖掘出小说中主要人物是如何从充满不幸的生活中找到希望的。最终，通过找出阿富汗人民精神力量的不竭来源，论文为世界各国人民提供了诸多发人深思的启发意义。

关键词：《灿烂千阳》；伊斯兰教义；绝望；希望