Justice through Truth in A Thousand Splendid Suns
Many people use lies to further their own well-being. However, justice cannot be reached until those lies have been discovered. Khaled Hosseini’s novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, follows the journey of two Afghan women, Mariam and Laila, through their lives where they struggle to survive in a time of fear and war. Through his characters and their relationships, Hosseini reveals the relationship between truth and justice, specifically that justice is only served through truth. One character that conceals the truth before being served justice is Jalil. Jalil and Nana tell Mariam conflicting stories to get her on their side. For example, Nana says she was all alone in her house while struggling to give birth to Mariam. However, Jalil says Nana was cared for and in a hospital when she gave birth. At first Mariam sides
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After Jalil is cruel to her, Mariam recognizes that she should have listened to Nana. Once the truth surfaces, justice is served to Jalil. Mariam cuts ties with Jalil: “Don’t come. I won’t see you. Don’t you come. I don’t want to hear from you. Ever. Ever” (55). Mariam cannot forgive Jalil for his cruelty and lies, allowing Jalil to get punished for his deceptions by being separated from Mariam. When Jalil is close to dying, he tries to see Mariam to mend their relationship: “He’d stood there for hours, waiting for her, now and then calling her name” (308). Mariam refuses to see Jalil even though he waits a long time for her. Jalil cannot be relieved of the guilt he feels for abandoning Mariam. When Jalil finally walks away from Mariam’s house, Hosseini describes his