All Roads Lead to a Theme
While reading A Thousand Splendid Suns a theme may be discerned through text analysis and comprehension. Khaled Hosseini, author of A Thousand Splendid Suns, uses both main characters, Laila and Mariam, to represent two separate generations, one consists of youth and the other of the elders of a society. The overall theme states that though the two generations have their differences, it may become apparent that in order to survive, differences must be put aside, for both have one thing or another to offer for the other to survive. There must be a reverence for the distinct levels of experience.
In this storyline Laila is the youth representation while Mariam is such for the elderly of a society, having a much higher level of life experience. This level of experience enables Mariam to teach, encourage, and instruct Laila on how to survive in the world. As unfortunate as it may be, her higher level of life experience enables her to have such the dislike for Laila that she does. She has full prerogative to dislike Laila for waltzing into her home, and becoming the wife that she wished she could be to their husband, Rashid. Laila, on the the other hand, has no reason to dislike Mariam, but the he right to fear her as she does. She realizes that she’s taken Mariam’s home, and life away by marrying Rashid. Though it seems as though she has nothing to offer Mariam because of their age difference, one may come to realization that Laila, because of her ability to have children, is beneficial to this somewhat unfair marriage. She also begins to help Mariam with the chores around the house, giving Mariam less stress and responsibility. Given these examples, it is shown that Mariam and Laila, having descended from two different generations, and two altogether different backgrounds, are, in fact, beneficial to each other, especially during hard times.
In this storyline Laila is the youth representation while Mariam is such for the elderly of a society, having a much higher level of life experience. This level of experience enables Mariam to teach, encourage, and instruct Laila on how to survive in the world. As unfortunate as it may be, her higher level of life experience enables her to have such the dislike for Laila that she does. She has full prerogative to dislike Laila for waltzing into her home, and becoming the wife that she wished she could be to their husband, Rashid. Laila, on the the other hand, has no reason to dislike Mariam, but the he right to fear her as she does. She realizes that she’s taken Mariam’s home, and life away by marrying Rashid. Though it seems as though she has nothing to offer Mariam because of their age difference, one may come to realization that Laila, because of her ability to have children, is beneficial to this somewhat unfair marriage. She also begins to help Mariam with the chores around the house, giving Mariam less stress and responsibility. Given these examples, it is shown that Mariam and Laila, having descended from two different generations, and two altogether different backgrounds, are, in fact, beneficial to each other, especially during hard times.