Someone New!
In part two of A Thousand Splendid Suns, the story shifts to the life of Laila, a girl who lives just down the street from Mariam and Rasheed. Laila’s dad is Afghani, but her mom isn’t. Laila’s blonde hair stands out in her neighborhood. A school bully once said to her, “You’re so very pretty, Yellow Hair. I want to marry you” (105). Laila is a very responsible girl. Her mother spends the majority of her time in bed, grieving for her two sons, Ahmad and Noor. Because of this, the cleaning, cooking, and washing responsibilities fall on the shoulders of Laila. Later on, Laila has an opportunity to leave her warring city of Kabul. Her decision however, is to stay with her father because she’s all he has. This shows that Laila is a loyal and sacrificing person.
Tariq is Laila’s best friend. He’s two years older than her, and about a foot taller. Tariq lost a leg due to a small bomb when he was very young. He has a fake leg, and he hits Laila’s bully in the head with it! Tariq is loyal too. He will beat anyone up who hurts or makes fun of his friend. Laila finds Tariq’s house as a kind of safe haven from the arguing and the sadness from her own home. Laila and Tariq seem to motivate each other. When Taiq goes away for a few weeks, Laila can hardly stand it. She describes what time is like without him: “like the accordion on which Tariq’s father sometimes played old Pashto songs, time stretched and contracted depending on Tariq’s absence or presence” (97). When Tariq gets a little older, he picks up habits like smoking, and wearing tight shirts to show off his muscles. From this, we know that he is a bit of a conformist—but despite that, Tariq’s love for Laila never changes.
In part two of A Thousand Splendid Suns, the story shifts to the life of Laila, a girl who lives just down the street from Mariam and Rasheed. Laila’s dad is Afghani, but her mom isn’t. Laila’s blonde hair stands out in her neighborhood. A school bully once said to her, “You’re so very pretty, Yellow Hair. I want to marry you” (105). Laila is a very responsible girl. Her mother spends the majority of her time in bed, grieving for her two sons, Ahmad and Noor. Because of this, the cleaning, cooking, and washing responsibilities fall on the shoulders of Laila. Later on, Laila has an opportunity to leave her warring city of Kabul. Her decision however, is to stay with her father because she’s all he has. This shows that Laila is a loyal and sacrificing person.
Tariq is Laila’s best friend. He’s two years older than her, and about a foot taller. Tariq lost a leg due to a small bomb when he was very young. He has a fake leg, and he hits Laila’s bully in the head with it! Tariq is loyal too. He will beat anyone up who hurts or makes fun of his friend. Laila finds Tariq’s house as a kind of safe haven from the arguing and the sadness from her own home. Laila and Tariq seem to motivate each other. When Taiq goes away for a few weeks, Laila can hardly stand it. She describes what time is like without him: “like the accordion on which Tariq’s father sometimes played old Pashto songs, time stretched and contracted depending on Tariq’s absence or presence” (97). When Tariq gets a little older, he picks up habits like smoking, and wearing tight shirts to show off his muscles. From this, we know that he is a bit of a conformist—but despite that, Tariq’s love for Laila never changes.
What happens next between these two characters is your classic tragic romance story. Tariq has to leave Kabul with his parents. He tells Laila that he loves her and wants to take her with him. She wants to go, but feels guilty about leaving her dad at home—it would break his heart. He begs her to come with, and she refuses. Both characters are denied true love, because they are devoted to their families. The day they said goodbye was the last day they ever saw eachother.
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