Man vs. Society

“We live in a dirty and dangerous world. There are some things the general public does not need to know and shouldn’t. I believe democracy flourishes when the government can take legitimate steps to keep its secrets and when the press can decide whether to print what it knows.” Katherine Graham explained society well in this statement.  What we know and how we live our lives depends on what society tells us. People conform to society. It shapes our views and through it do people encounter observation and experience.  

Who would people be and what would they do without society’s influence. I don’t believe they would be anyone. Everyone’s actions and decisions are affected by experience. Society is affected by government, media, advances in technology, war, money, time, communication, health, law, race, education, politics etc. Because of the advances in technology the media has grown. We, as beings of society, trust the media. We rely on media. The media tells us what we should deem as important.  Without this constant immersion in our lives people would not be anyone. Society is the one who “says” the individuals are the ones who “do.”

In A Thousand Splendid Suns I saw this same kind of effect on the Afghan citizens. They know there is better lives out there but their society is the only one they know. They live in a brutal world. There are so many changes in their government and reign over the country that the people are constantly bombarded with the rules of society. They can do this, can’t do this, must do this, changing has them conforming to society frequently.  The people there view the world as dangerous and treacherous because they are constantly exposed to war, revolutions, and oppression. Some of the laws of that society was no music, no movies, no TVs, no VCRs, they must do prayers every day, women must wear burqas, etc. Without these rules set what would they do?

Society in the United States of America is different than that in the Middle East. In America men and women may marry when they please and who they please and leave each other if so desired. In the Middle East they women are made to marry at a young age and are severely punished if they tried to leave their husband. For example when Mariam and Laila tried to run away from Rasheed he locked them away for many days without water or food.  They also had to marry because of a rule of society. If they did not have a husband then they would starve in their own house because women were not allowed out of the house without a male. In America it is against the law to beat anyone. On the contrary in A Thousand Suns the male was allowed to beat the women whenever he felt need to and “what happened in his house stayed in his house,” meaning the government could not do anything about it.

I believe the best example in A Thousand Splendid Suns of not knowing who you are or what to do without society guiding you, is Laila wanting to move back to Kabul. She was so accustomed to that society that she was not comfortable in another one. This is almost like the Amish.  The Amish are allowed a year to try out the “modern world.” Many Amish go back to the Amish society because that’s who they are at heart. Without a society a person is lost within themselves.