Mariam And Laila

525 Words2 Pages

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend” suggests that two antagonistic parties should work together against a common enemy. This proverb is saying that although two people may not favor each other, they can come together as long as they have a common enemy. Mariam and Laila became friends in the face of a common enemy. When Laila first moved in with Mariam and Rasheed, Mariam despised Laila. Mariam despised Laila because she felt like Laila was stealing Rasheed away from her, she was intimidated by her. “I wouldn’t have fed you and washed you and nursed you if I’d known you were going to turn around and steal my husband.” (Chapter 31, page 226) Despite how toxic the relationship between Mariam and Rasheed was, Mariam did not want Laila to take …show more content…

Rasheed was not pleased with her having a girl, so he began to mistreat her. “Usually, the bickering ran its course after a few minutes, but half an hour passed and not only was it still going on, it was escalating…”. Rasheed and Laila began arguing often after Aziza's birth. Now Laila and Mariam had a common enemy; Rasheed. Once it was clear to Laila that it was Rasheed who was the enemy, and not Mariam, Laila stood up for Mariam. “Rasheed raised the belt again and this time came at Mariam. Then an astonishing thing happened: The girl lunged at him. She grabbed his arms 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.” (Chapter 33, page 241). After that day, Mariam started to view Laila differently because no one had ever stood up for her. Soon after, Laila and Mariam became family to each other, and that all started with three cups of tea. One as strangers, the second as friends, and the third as a family. Those three cups of tea became their nightly ritual. (Chapter 35, page 251). Facing a common enemy brought two people together and made them closer than ever. They were so close that life to Mariam seemed intolerable without Laila and Aziza. (Chapter 35, page

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