Tope Oyerinde

Mrs. Kerry Day

ENG 3U1

January 14 2011

A Thousand Splendid Hopes

There is quite a remarkable and somewhat confusing logic that states, in a difficult situation in life

acknowledging that the situation could not become any more hopeless is the real beginning of hope in that

situation. But in all seriousness the truth in this statement is that the spirit of human resilience allows the

possibility of finding hope in the most hopeless of situations. In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled

Hosseini the theme of finding hope in the face of adversity is the most prominent over all other themes. The two

main characters Laila and Mariam both struggle for survival while facing the enormous challenges and difficulties

that Afghan women have had to endure for the last 40 years. The two women find hope to overcome the

challenges of being women in Afghanistan by finding hope through their relationship with each other, finding

solace in religion, and believing in a better future for themselves and Afghanistan.

In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns (Hosseini) there are many important character relationships but none as

important and as significant as the relationship between Laila and Mariam. Though they do not get along at first

Laila and Mariam do eventually become the best of friends and maintain almost a mother-daughter relationship

(seeing as Mariam is childless and Laila lost both her parents at 15). Despite the difficulties and hardships they

have to endure Laila and Mariam find hope through their solidarity and love they have for one another; this

quotation by the author about Mariam illustrates the this idea: “The years had not been kind to Mariam. But

perhaps, she thought, there were kinder years still...two new flowers had unexpectedly sprouted in her life.

“(Hosseini 229).
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This quote shows the that Mariam has hope for the future because of the two “flowers” in her Laila and Laila’s

daughter Aziza are there to lighten load of the unhappiness that she faces. Laila herself also shared the hope

that Mariam had for the both of them when she said: “We could make a new life for ourselves—peaceful,

Solitary lives—and ere the weight of all that we’ve endured would lift from us...” (Hosseini 315). Laila and

Mariam’s love for each other is a true testament to how friendship can inspire and nurture hope for a better

future.

In his previous novel (The Kite Runner) Khaled Hosseini portrays many of his characters as very religious people,

this trend continues in A Thousand Splendid Suns through Mariam and Laila. Despite the devastations and

hardship that they have to face on a daily basis both Mariam and Laila still show strong faith in religion (Islam)

which fuels their hope for salvation from their hopeless situation. The quote that really brings the reader

awareness of this comes very early on in the novel when Mariam’s childhood friend and religious tutor Mullah

FaizullahKhan said: “You can summon them in your time of need, and they won’t fail you. God’s words never

betray you.”(Hosseini 16). These words would stay with Mariam for the rest of her life and be one of the main

motivators in her struggle to survive in the rest of the novel. For the rest of her life Mariam found solace and

comfort in religion and never once stopped believing, her faith was so strong that as when she was about to be

executed by the Taliban her final thoughts were:”He hath created the heaven and the Earth with the

truth...surely he is the Mighty, The Great Forgiver.”(Hosseini 329).

The most astonishing and inspirational sign of hope in the novel was Laila and Mariam’s incredible ability to

believe in a better future for themselves but also their country Afhanistan. Over most of the course book

Afghanistan is embroiled in war and political instability that make life very hard for the populace, but the most

difficult time for women was after the take over of Afghanistan by Mujahideen factions that would eventually
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start a civil war and the repressive rule of the Taliban. It was especially during these difficult times that Mariam

and Laila showed the most faith and belief that their lives could improve. In Laila’s case some of that belief

comes in the form of daydreams the most notable being after she lost her parents:”eyes staring at nothing she

let her mind fly on. She let it fly on until she found the place... where she could dip her feet in the stream and

dream good dreams.”(Hosseini 188). This quote showed Laila’s longing for a peaceful Afghanistan and what

beauty being free can bring. The best example of hope that effectively sums up the theme if the novel is when

the author reveals Laila thoughts:” Laila has moved on. Because in the end she knows that is all she can do. That

and hope. This quote as simple as it is effectively captures the theme of finding hope in the face of adversity.

In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini the theme of finding hope in the face of adversity is

the most prominent over all other themes. The two main characters Laila and Mariam both struggle for survival

facing the enormous challenges and difficulties that Afghan women have had to face for the last 40 years. The

two women find hope to overcome the challenges of being women in Afghanistan by finding hope through their

relationship with each other, finding solace in religion, and believing in a better future for themselves and

Afghanistan. In our world today people often let adversity out shadow hope but these two women through

resilience are able to overcome every difficulty in life that they face.
 Works Cited

Hosseini, Khaled. A Thousand Splendid Suns. New York: Riverhead, 2007. Print.