Selflessness In A Thousand Splendid Suns

The Power of Selflessness in A Thousand Splendid Suns The bond created between family is one that is often unbreakable. Even if not related by blood, being family means supporting and protecting one another throughout life, no matter how difficult it may be. A family relationship oftentimes requires making sacrifices for others. Making these sacrifices for one another to help achieve goals and stability shows the true strength of a family connection. These sacrifices can change someone else for the better, even if there is no personal benefit. The depth and fortitude of a familial connection can be seen throughout Khaled Hosseini’s novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, where Mariam makes a life-altering sacrifice for Laila, whom she considers family.

After Mariam killed Rasheed, she insisted that Laila and her family flee to avoid the consequences they would face if they associated with her. After Laila pleads with Mariam to come with them, Mariam says, “When they do [find you], they’ll find you guilty of me. Tariq. I won’t have the two of you living on the run, like fugitives. What will happen to your children if you're caught?” (Hosseini 357-58). The disregard for her own outcome shows Mariam’s selflessness, as she does not want Laila’s kids to have to live without a mother. Mariam’s sacrifice allowed Laila and Tariq to help other children at the orphanage by renovating it to provide them with adequate housing and education. Education was not only important to Laila, but also to her father. By providing children with some form of education, she is carrying on her father's legacy. Laila was also able to make her friends proud when she remembered what her friend Hasina had talked about, saying “By the time we're twenty, Giti and I, we'll have pushed out four, five kids each. But you, Laila, you'll make us two dummies