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Martha Warren
English 2309 World Literature
November 6th 2009
Strength Through Suffering: Stories of Survival
Intro:
We all know the old saying, "What doesn't kill you, will only make you stronger," and for the most part, this saying is a load of crap. However, some of the most amazing and powerful individuals only exist as they are due to the quiet strength earned through adversity. It shapes a person, changes them forever, and in some rare instances, gives them the ability to overcome and take on any and every challenge thrown their way. This is the link between each of the following works, they all depict that strength which is paid for with struggle and suffering.
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Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games, New York: Scholastic Press, 2008.
Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games, New York: Scholastic Press, 2008.
In The Hunger Games, the main character, Katniss Everdeen, is forced into a life or death situation called the Hunger Games, an annual event where one boy and one girl from each of the twelve districts of Panem (post-apocalyptic North America) must travel to the City and fight to the death in the arena. Katniss has grown up, though, in District 12, the coal mining district, where life is extremely hard. Her father perished in a coal mine explosion, and since then it has been a constant struggle to keep food on the table. Katniss has known extreme hunger, she has known the dangers of breaking the law in order to provide for her family, much like took place in A Thousand Splendid Suns. And then to everyone's displeasure, it is time for the annual Hunger Games, and two children's names are drawn from the lottery. Once you turn eleven you name is entered into the lottery once, at twelve twice, etc. You can enter your name in more times in return for more food. Katniss's name is entered fifty times. It is her youngest sister's first drawing, and her name is only entered once, yet she is chosen. Katniss then offers to take her place in the Hunger Games, knowing it will almost certainly mean her death. Mariam did the same at the end of A Thousand Splendid Suns, stepping forth and telling the authorities that she had killed her husband, Rasheed and thus giving Laila a chance to escape. Both Katniss and Mariam struggled throughout their childhoods. Mariam dealt with marrying an abusive husband at a very young age, and yet it was this struggle that allowed her to appreciate the bond between her and Laila (and Laila's children) thus giving her the resolve to sacrifice herself for them. It is the same for Katniss, who for so long only knew hunger, fear, rage, and lonliness. Her younger sister, Prim, was the only thing that kept her moving and alive for so long that it was perfectly natural for her to sacrifice herself so that Prim might live.
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Flyleaf. "Fully Alive." Flyleaf. Octone Records, 2006.
Telling Layla's story spoken
'bout how all her bones are broken
hammers fall on all the pieces
two months in the cover creases,
Fully alive (more than most)
ready to smile and love life
Fully alive now she knows how to believe in futures
All of my complains shrink to nothing
I'm ashamed of all my somethings
she's glad for one day of comfort
but only because she has suffered,
Fully alive (more than most)
ready to smile and love life
fully alive now she knows how to believe in futures
Here she stands today
in her brilliant shinning way,
Stronger than her pain
in her brilliant shinning way,
Fully alive (more than most)
ready to smile and love life
fully alive and she knows how to believe in futures
This song depicts the story of a girl, Layla, who was injured, or suffered in such a way that it has altered her life irreversibly. "Cover creases" refers to the hospital creases of hospital beds, portraying that whatever caused her pain was so extreme that it put her in intensive care of some sort. Whatever the circumstances, Layla was hurt, and is now on the road to recovery. Sometimes we are made better for seeing the darker side of life. There are some instances where when tragedy strikes we are then able to truly appreciate life and live it to the fullest, thus the song is titled "Fully Alive" despite, or even because of, whatever trauma took place in Layla's life. For Layla, she must overcome the pain that haunts her if she wants to be able to lead a full life. She is able to accomplish this, and emerges from the disaster a more beautiful person. Think of a forest fire, destructive at first, but once it runs it's course, the forest is able to regrow larger and healthier than before, such as in this song. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, Laila, despite all the hardships she's been through, (loosing her family, and the boy she loves, marrying an abusive husband and living with another woman who may or may not hate her,) she still loves and lives for her child to the fullest. Part of this is because the child is the illegitimate offspring of Tariq, her childhood friend and sweetheart. Despite all of the pain and the torment from her past, she is devoted to living in the future, to living and loving her children and to protect them from the same suffering. From a broken background an amazing mother is born, and in "Fully Alive" a woman is able to appreciate all the little nuances of life and learn to love it all over again.
Flyleaf - 01.Fully Alive (Acoustic)
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Hosseini, Khaled. A Thousand Splendid Suns, New York: Riverhead Books,
2007.
A Thousand Splendid Suns begins with a young girl named Miriam, living in Herat, now a large city in western Afghanistan. She lives in a small hut with her foul tempered mother, Nana, who had an affair with a wealthy cinema owner, Jalil. Miriam is the illegitimate child of Jalil, and as such is not allowed to live with him and his family. She must bear the brunt of her mother's sharp tongue. Nana has been jaded by the curse and abuse of being the 'other woman.' She often tries to convince her daughter of the inherit evil of people, especially of Jalil. On Mariam's fifteenth birthday, her father refuses to see her, and her mother, believing that her daughter had abandoned her, hangs herself. It is the first of many tragedies to shape Mariam's life. After her mother's death, Jalil marries her to Rasheed. She is afraid and wary, but for a while things seem to be okay. And then he begins to impregnate her. Rasheed has his own closet full of skeletons, and wants nothing more for a son from Mariam. But each of the seven times she becomes pregnant, she looses the baby. Rasheed's true colors them come forth and he beats Mariam and rages at her for every little thing. Life becomes all about survival for the girl who wants nothing more than to be loved, than to belong. The second part of the book is all about young Laila, a blond girl born in Kabul. She has had the luxury of going to school and having a well educated father. She is very happy and cheerful, despite the fact that her mother is very lethargic and drawn into depression after the death of her two sons. Her best friend is a boy named Tariq. Tariq lost his leg to a mine when he was five, but the two of them stay close, and begin to grow closer as the novel progresses. War comes to Afghanistan, and the two are separated, but only after consummating their growing love for one another. It is completely outside the social boundaries that they have been careful to observe, and in that way it is very liberating. It is one of the happy moments that Liala holds fast to and draws strength from. Tariq flees the city with his family, and Laila begs her family to do the same. When they finally make ready to leave a rocket hits the household, killing her family and injuring Laila. Mariam and Rasheed pull her from the wreckage and bring her into their home. With no hope, believing Tariq dead, and learning that she is pregnant with his child, Laila marries the awful and abusive Rasheed. The women come to love one another as family, and are fiercely protective of the children that Laila gives birth to. However, the Taliban and Rasheed threaten their lives to the point where the women go without food, the youngest daughter is sent away, and their husband might kill them at any moment. Mariam, who has never felt the powerful love of a family until she met Laila, finds herself fiercely protective of the girl and her children, she takes beatings for them, and ultimately she kills and then dies for them. When it looks as if Rasheed will strangle Laila to death, Mariam bludgeons him with a shovel, and instead of fleeing with Tariq (who had returned) and Laila, she turns herself in in order to keep them safe. And though she is scared to do this, she is overwhelmed with the love for her family, a love made that much more powerful due to the fact that she struggled her entire life with not knowing what it felt like. A Thousand Splendid Suns tells the story of two women who live out much of their life in pain and in sorrow, it is because of that pain and sorrow that they are able to appreciate the joys in their life. Laila is made a fierce and protective mother, even to Rasheed's offspring, the man she hates, and Mariam develops a stronger will in order to protect what she has come to cherish most of all. Suffering has defined so much in their lives, but that darkness has made the light spots of happiness in their lives that much brighter.
A Thousand Splendid Suns begins with a young girl named Miriam, living in Herat, now a large city in western Afghanistan. She lives in a small hut with her foul tempered mother, Nana, who had an affair with a wealthy cinema owner, Jalil. Miriam is the illegitimate child of Jalil, and as such is not allowed to live with him and his family. She must bear the brunt of her mother's sharp tongue. Nana has been jaded by the curse and abuse of being the 'other woman.' She often tries to convince her daughter of the inherit evil of people, especially of Jalil. On Mariam's fifteenth birthday, her father refuses to see her, and her mother, believing that her daughter had abandoned her, hangs herself. It is the first of many tragedies to shape Mariam's life. After her mother's death, Jalil marries her to Rasheed. She is afraid and wary, but for a while things seem to be okay. And then he begins to impregnate her. Rasheed has his own closet full of skeletons, and wants nothing more for a son from Mariam. But each of the seven times she becomes pregnant, she looses the baby. Rasheed's true colors them come forth and he beats Mariam and rages at her for every little thing. Life becomes all about survival for the girl who wants nothing more than to be loved, than to belong. The second part of the book is all about young Laila, a blond girl born in Kabul. She has had the luxury of going to school and having a well educated father. She is very happy and cheerful, despite the fact that her mother is very lethargic and drawn into depression after the death of her two sons. Her best friend is a boy named Tariq. Tariq lost his leg to a mine when he was five, but the two of them stay close, and begin to grow closer as the novel progresses. War comes to Afghanistan, and the two are separated, but only after consummating their growing love for one another. It is completely outside the social boundaries that they have been careful to observe, and in that way it is very liberating. It is one of the happy moments that Liala holds fast to and draws strength from. Tariq flees the city with his family, and Laila begs her family to do the same. When they finally make ready to leave a rocket hits the household, killing her family and injuring Laila. Mariam and Rasheed pull her from the wreckage and bring her into their home. With no hope, believing Tariq dead, and learning that she is pregnant with his child, Laila marries the awful and abusive Rasheed. The women come to love one another as family, and are fiercely protective of the children that Laila gives birth to. However, the Taliban and Rasheed threaten their lives to the point where the women go without food, the youngest daughter is sent away, and their husband might kill them at any moment. Mariam, who has never felt the powerful love of a family until she met Laila, finds herself fiercely protective of the girl and her children, she takes beatings for them, and ultimately she kills and then dies for them. When it looks as if Rasheed will strangle Laila to death, Mariam bludgeons him with a shovel, and instead of fleeing with Tariq (who had returned) and Laila, she turns herself in in order to keep them safe. And though she is scared to do this, she is overwhelmed with the love for her family, a love made that much more powerful due to the fact that she struggled her entire life with not knowing what it felt like. A Thousand Splendid Suns tells the story of two women who live out much of their life in pain and in sorrow, it is because of that pain and sorrow that they are able to appreciate the joys in their life. Laila is made a fierce and protective mother, even to Rasheed's offspring, the man she hates, and Mariam develops a stronger will in order to protect what she has come to cherish most of all. Suffering has defined so much in their lives, but that darkness has made the light spots of happiness in their lives that much brighter.
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Boyle, Danny. Slumdog Millionaire. Pathe Pictures, 2009
This movie is about a boy named Jamal Malik who is attempting to find the girl he loves by going on the popular Indian show "Who Want's to be a Millionaire?". He is able to answer the questions on the show by remembering certain events in his past that led him to this moment. Since he was a child Jamal and his brother Salim have been living the life of a slumdog. Crammed, filthy, they do not always having enough to eat, especially after the death of their mother. After that they are thrown into a life of hardship punctuated by brief moments of sweetness, strength and friendship. It is during this time that they meet Latika, another young orphan, and it is not long before Jamal and Latika are the best of friends, making it their job to look out for one another. They are separated when Jamal and Salim escape from the orphan-slave master, and Jamal promises to find her again. The boys make a living out of theft and swindling, and later Latika is trained to sell her body by her gangster orphan master. When they find each other again, Salim decides to become part of the gangster world and kicks Jamal out, taking Latika with him to the gang. Both of the boys faced hardships while growing up in the slums, and watching their mother killed in front of them during an anti-Muslim movement scarred them both. But they stuck together, and while Salim does betray his younger brother in many ways, in the end of the movie he manages to realize that he has done wrong and sacrifices himself to make it right. He frees Latika from the mob boss, forfeiting his life so that she and Jamal can be reunited at last. While this movie focuses on the power of love, it would not be nearly so moving if not for the sheer amount of suffering the boys and the girls were put through. Jamal becomes the hero of India, the slumdog who is making his way on the most popular TV show, all for the woman he loves. Being on the move for most of his life, the only constant being his older brother, Jamal cherishes the friendship he has with Latika so much because he has no other. Much in the same way Mariam comes to love Laila and her children so fiercely in A Thousand Splendid Suns. She has never had a place to fit into, no one who cared about her or loved her, and so, like Jamal, when she found that relationship that filled that particular void, she would move heaven and earth to protect it. And while there is no doubt that Jamal has an inherently good heart, his struggles through the street life and at the hands of the police only harden his resolve to find Latika, keep her safe and make her feel loved.
(side note, this is an amazing movie, and it made me cry like a baby multiple times)
Boyle, Danny. Slumdog Millionaire. Pathe Pictures, 2009
This movie is about a boy named Jamal Malik who is attempting to find the girl he loves by going on the popular Indian show "Who Want's to be a Millionaire?". He is able to answer the questions on the show by remembering certain events in his past that led him to this moment. Since he was a child Jamal and his brother Salim have been living the life of a slumdog. Crammed, filthy, they do not always having enough to eat, especially after the death of their mother. After that they are thrown into a life of hardship punctuated by brief moments of sweetness, strength and friendship. It is during this time that they meet Latika, another young orphan, and it is not long before Jamal and Latika are the best of friends, making it their job to look out for one another. They are separated when Jamal and Salim escape from the orphan-slave master, and Jamal promises to find her again. The boys make a living out of theft and swindling, and later Latika is trained to sell her body by her gangster orphan master. When they find each other again, Salim decides to become part of the gangster world and kicks Jamal out, taking Latika with him to the gang. Both of the boys faced hardships while growing up in the slums, and watching their mother killed in front of them during an anti-Muslim movement scarred them both. But they stuck together, and while Salim does betray his younger brother in many ways, in the end of the movie he manages to realize that he has done wrong and sacrifices himself to make it right. He frees Latika from the mob boss, forfeiting his life so that she and Jamal can be reunited at last. While this movie focuses on the power of love, it would not be nearly so moving if not for the sheer amount of suffering the boys and the girls were put through. Jamal becomes the hero of India, the slumdog who is making his way on the most popular TV show, all for the woman he loves. Being on the move for most of his life, the only constant being his older brother, Jamal cherishes the friendship he has with Latika so much because he has no other. Much in the same way Mariam comes to love Laila and her children so fiercely in A Thousand Splendid Suns. She has never had a place to fit into, no one who cared about her or loved her, and so, like Jamal, when she found that relationship that filled that particular void, she would move heaven and earth to protect it. And while there is no doubt that Jamal has an inherently good heart, his struggles through the street life and at the hands of the police only harden his resolve to find Latika, keep her safe and make her feel loved.
(side note, this is an amazing movie, and it made me cry like a baby multiple times)
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Yoshitaka, Amano. Serpentine. 1989. Amano's Art Gallery. Nov 2009 www.amanosworld.com
Amano is best known for his character designs and cover art for Vampire Hunter D, or Neil Gaiman's The Sandman. However, he has drawn/painted many characters or portraits to depict various ideals or myths. In this picture, Serpentine, the woman is shrouded in darkness and surrounded by snakes, and yet there is still a glowing lighted side to her. This stresses the ying and yang concept of the theme, strength through suffering. You cannot have joy without sorrow, you cannot have love without hate, light without darkness, etc. And for those who have experienced a particularly strong bought of darkness and woe, the moments of joy and the instances of love and peace are exponentially greater than if they had not experienced the pain and the heartache. The lighted side of this women seems to glow despite the mass of shadows and snakes that are around her, it is the side of her that the eyes are drawn to. Amano does a great job, throughout all of his works, depicting this struggle and balance between light and darkness. This is the same struggle and the same balance that must be found in the individuals mentioned earlier. When tragedy strikes, the women of A Thousand Splendid Suns, no longer fall apart, instead they gather their strength around them like a light in the darkness to fight their way through. The same is true in each of the other entries. Here, this women merely represents the core of each and every person. Both light and dark exist within us, pain and hardships mingled with happiness and sweet memories. Both must be drawn on for strength and reference, and here Amano does a perfect job in representing that light that exists in all of us, despite, or to spite, our struggles.
Yoshitaka, Amano. Serpentine. 1989. Amano's Art Gallery. Nov 2009 www.amanosworld.com
Amano is best known for his character designs and cover art for Vampire Hunter D, or Neil Gaiman's The Sandman. However, he has drawn/painted many characters or portraits to depict various ideals or myths. In this picture, Serpentine, the woman is shrouded in darkness and surrounded by snakes, and yet there is still a glowing lighted side to her. This stresses the ying and yang concept of the theme, strength through suffering. You cannot have joy without sorrow, you cannot have love without hate, light without darkness, etc. And for those who have experienced a particularly strong bought of darkness and woe, the moments of joy and the instances of love and peace are exponentially greater than if they had not experienced the pain and the heartache. The lighted side of this women seems to glow despite the mass of shadows and snakes that are around her, it is the side of her that the eyes are drawn to. Amano does a great job, throughout all of his works, depicting this struggle and balance between light and darkness. This is the same struggle and the same balance that must be found in the individuals mentioned earlier. When tragedy strikes, the women of A Thousand Splendid Suns, no longer fall apart, instead they gather their strength around them like a light in the darkness to fight their way through. The same is true in each of the other entries. Here, this women merely represents the core of each and every person. Both light and dark exist within us, pain and hardships mingled with happiness and sweet memories. Both must be drawn on for strength and reference, and here Amano does a perfect job in representing that light that exists in all of us, despite, or to spite, our struggles.
