Both in The Color Purple and in A Thousand Splendid Suns it is evident that the thoughts, actions and personal growth of Celie and Mariam, protagonists of novels are influenced by those they surround themselves with, as well as other factors such as the setting of each novel and the major events that take place that lead to their personal satisfaction and happiness. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay A Thousand Splendid Suns set in Afghanistan from the early 1960s to the early 2000s that examines the limited role of women in an Afghan society and the hardships their face is seen through the protagonist of Mariam. She feels great shame for being an illegitimate child which makes her unable to stand up for herself and this contributes to her tolerance of being married to her controlling and dominant husband. With women of this period in Afghanistan having minimal rights and disobeying their husband's orders most likely leading to abuse, an important symbol at the beginning of this novel that highlights the patriarchy of this book, for Mariam in particular, is the burqa a which she obeys. Rasheed's order to wear it even though she strongly hates it. For Mariam, Rasheed's will seem "as imposing and immovable as the Safid-koh mountains looming over Gul Daman." These inner thoughts of Mariam highlight the evident domination of men over women in Afghanistan during this time of no escape. Comparing Rasheed's “will” to the “mountains” shows that Mariam feels that it would be futile to even try to fight back since not even a slight change will occur because of her gender in a country controlled by men. Furthermore, the idea of ​​the mountains "looming" over the village where Mariam grew up shows how the culture that Afghan man has from this environment is just like that of the mountains, it will always be there. “The suffocating way in which the pleated fabric kept pressing against her mouth” shows how a real object is personified and physically silences women while, as in The Color Purple, it is rather blackmail and male abuse that dominate and control women seen through Celia and Mr.'s relationship. The novel The Color Purple is also set in a discriminatory environment of early 1990s America, where women's rights are minimal and patriarchal control. Celie, the protagonist and narrator of The Color Purple, is a poor and uneducated fourteen-year-old black girl living in Georgia. As a young girl, Celie is constantly subjected to abuse and told that she is "not fresh". She then decides that she can best ensure her survival by making herself silent and somewhat invisible, doing what she is taught by the "superior" men around her and tolerating their abuse. Celie has been silenced for so long that she has become accustomed to having no voice with her natural reaction of saying nothing. Like Mariam, Celie often expresses her displeasure, anger, or rebellion in all of these situations in her mind; however, both Mariam and Celie only gain the confidence to speak out and actively rebel when they can no longer handle the pressure due to the influence of those around them and other major events, respectively. At the beginning of the novel, Celie does not speak out against her abuse, no matter how severe; she must first gain confidence in herself, through her development in the novel, and then take a stand. Instead he turns to the idea of ​​writing letters to God that are his only outlet for emotions. However, this being his only way of self-expression, he is still controlled by men, with Celiewho recognizes that "the God to whom he prayed and wrote is a man". His feeling of worthlessness, much like Mariam, a victim of abuse and control, is evident from the fact that he does not even sign his letters to God due to his lack of self-esteem. Normally, most people take pride in signing their names, but this doesn't show up with Celie. But despite this context of domineering domination that hinders her development, Celie, much like Mariam, shows great character growth throughout the novel due to a combination of major events that happen and the strong influence of people who come into their lives. . Despite the abuse that Celie faces throughout her life both from her stepfather with him continually raping her and asking her "better to shut up and get used to" the abuse from her new husband in which she feels entitled to abuse her stating "because she she is my wife,” to which she is exposed to various violent events in which she does not react because “what good is it? However, there is one important event that brings about a change in Celie: Nettie's long-lost letters, which Celie discovers with l Shug's help hidden in Mr. These letters strengthen Celie's sense of self by informing her of her personal history and the fate of her children she thought she had lost forever and to stop thinking of herself as a mistake and not worthy: "I'm poor, I'm black, I might be ugly and I don't know how to cook, I'm listening to a voice." As the progression of her letters shows, Celie gradually gains the ability to combine her thoughts and feelings into a voice that is fully her own: "The more I wonder, the more I love." This shows important development on the part of the shy and nervous little girl we met who refused to have her own opinion. Celie's process of finding her own voice reaches a climax with her outburst of anger towards Mr., in which she curses him for his years of abuse and humiliation. Mister responds in his hurtful way, but this does not affect Celie as she now possesses the sense of self-worth she previously lacked. This is similar to the events that happen with Mariam when she finally realizes her self-worth when she stands up to Rasheed and ultimately kills him to protect those she loves. As with Mariam, this demonstrates growth in their confidence and therefore character development. Over the course of Mariam's life, multiple events occur that make her the shy, timid and nervous character we see and influence her character growth. Throughout the novel, we see that the dark cloud hanging over Mariam is the shame she feels about being a harami, “an unwanted thing, an illegitimate person who would never have a legitimate right to the things that others had, things like love , the family. , home, acceptance”, in addition to the greater sense of guilt he feels for having contributed to his mother's suicide. These feelings of lack of self-worth or confidence are introduced into her forced, unloving marriage, where Mariam struggles to have a child with Rasheed resulting in seven miscarriages and a feeling of being "a burden to him." This key event leads to her de-growth as a character and causes the eruption of abuse from Rasheed in which Mariam becomes the object of his frustration by forcing her to chew pebbles and explains how useless it is to give him only "bad food and nothing else" in their marriage. This lack of love and belonging is a constant theme throughout Mariam's life and a trigger for the desire to change, but hope is brought into her life as seen through Laila's arrival where they are able to form a sister-like bond and soon after the arrival of Aziza whohe questions Aziza's love by asking her "Why have you tied your heart to an old, ugly witch like me?" . It's clear that Mariam has finally found love and a sense of belonging. Ultimately, the culmination of Mariam's growth as a character is seen in her ultimate sacrifice, giving up her own life so that those she loves can be free after killing Rasheed. This turning point in killing Rasheed is an accumulation of the pain Rasheed caused her. , as well as the overwhelming love he feels for Laila. At first, Mariam is motivated by anger and a hunger for justice. Throughout her marriage, Mariam has accepted what destiny and fate have brought her, without asking anything of Rasheed and doing what is expected of a wife who does not he never objects, but there is a point in the battle with Rasheed, where he realizes "what a fool he has been". Now, when the person she loves most is threatened, Mariam sees her value and believes she never deserved the absolute violence she suffered. The powerful motivation to save Laila's life in danger is where true growth is evident in Mariam as she "couldn't, wouldn't let this happen" and lost the person she loved the most. Without the experiences and events that preceded this moment, Mariam would not have had the confidence and will to finally assert herself. Celie, like Mariam, is reaching the pinnacle of her development at this time. Once she leaves Mr. House, Celie is suddenly free and moves into her own home with Shug Avery, allowing this home to be a space where Celie now finally has the opportunity to grow in independence, self-confidence, and in true happiness. Celie takes the act of sewing and turns it into an outlet to express her inner creativity and ultimately turns it into a successful business. This shows a major progress of his growth within himself. When Nettie, Olivia, and Adam return to Georgia from Africa, Celie's circle of friends and family is finally reunited. Although Celie has endured many years of hardship, she says, “Don't think at all that we feel old. In fact, I think this is the youngest we've ever felt. This happiness indicates that she has evolved from the shy and miserable protagonist we are introduced to at the beginning of the novel. The pinnacle of Celie's development is marked by her words: "It took me long enough to notice your good company, he says. And he laughs. He's not Shug, but he's starting to be someone I can talk to." this shows that she has more self-esteem, forgiveness and confidence as she even uses these words to forgive Mr. after all the pain and abuse she has suffered from him. Ultimately, the character growth of the two protagonists is largely responsible due to the strong women who influence them and encourage them to stand up and have faith in themselves. For much of the novel, Celie is completely submissive and gives in to the constant abuse she faces. She meets other women who are much stronger than Celie, such as Sofia who tells Celie that she should defend herself and fight, but Celie feels that it is better to survive than to fight and risk not surviving. When Mister abuses her, she simply says, “Well, sometimes Mister teases me pretty hard. I have to talk to the Old Maker. But he's my husband. I shrug. This life will end soon, I say. Heaven lasts anyway. However, there are some triggers and influencers that lead Celie to take a stand. A trigger is that Celie demonstrates that she is willing to fight for the people she loves, seen with her rather than being the victim of Pa's abuse so that he leaves Nettie alone. In a smaller way, Celie also fights for Shug, as when Mr. Father arrives and.