A Thousand Splendid Suns Comparison Essay

In Khaled Hosseini’s novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, the author presents the characters in the story in a way that focuses on their similarities and differences, which shows the reader the effects of hardships on relationships. Hosseini articulates various parallels, contrasts, and mild similarities between characters and the events that they have endured, particularly with the two main characters, Mariam and Laila. While Mariam and Laila are both women in a war-torn Afghanistan, oppressed by an abusive husband, they have numerous unique traits that make them similar and different in various ways, ultimately illustrating how suffering can be the uniting force for those experiencing oppression. The first point of comparison between Laila and

For example, Mariam never had anyone outside of Nana caring for her, and she seldom saw Jalil, as disingenuous as he was. However, Laila knew all of her family and had friends that lived nearby, and even had a caring relationship with her father. This difference shows a point of contention between the women that becomes more important in the later chapters of the book when they begin to develop a relationship. On the other hand, Laila and Mariam do have some similarities for this comparison as well. Laila and Mariam are now both without parents, siblings, or even friends living with Rasheed, and everyone of value to them has died or been killed. A quotation to emphasize the women’s despair and loss comes from one of Rasheed’s many abuses, with the narrator writing, “Rasheed raised the belt again and this time came at Mariam. Then an astonishing thing happened: the girl lunged at him. She grabbed his arm with both hands and tried to drag him down, but she could do no more than dangle from it. She did succeed in slowing Rasheed’s progress towards Mariam.” This quote is an excellent display of a similarity between the two on the basis of solitude, and it also shows a turning point in Mariam and Laila’s relationship with each