Dane O'Neill is the illegitimate son of Meggie and Ralph, the priest. He strongly resembles his father, with whom Meggie is desperately in love, and because of this resemblance, Meggie cares for and adores him above her other children. Unfortunately, because of his origin, he does not have a close relationship with his biological father until Ralph comes to visit, once Dane is several years old.
He shares some superficial similarities to Maryam in A Thousand Splendid Suns, the most prominent of which is that they are both born out of wedlock. Their parentage is a fact that is concealed from them, and eventually from others, because it is considered shameful. However, aside from these similarities, there is little in common between the characters. Maryam is cold and uncaring toward most of the other people in the novel (until after the rise of the Taliban and her eventual murder of her husband to save Laila). She does not enjoy a close relationship with either of her parents. Dane, however, is adored by his mother and eventually enjoys a companionship with his birth father, going so far as to follow his footsteps into ministry.
Tariq is a neighbor of Laila's who is closer to his family and enjoys a level of affection that the others in the story do not get to see. Tariq is gravely injured while working in the mines at a young age. While their parentage and some aspects of their lives do not coincide, Dane has a similar personality and attitude to Tariq—they are both caring and are loved by their families. They both fall victim to serious injuries—Tariq loses his leg to a landmine and Dane drowns in the Mediterranean Sea—but they also both end up with joy in their lives (however short Dane's ends up being). Dane is able to enter ministry and follow his passion for serving God and people prior to his early demise, and Tariq is eventually able to marry the woman he loves and helps her rebuild an orphanage and start a family.
No comments:
Post a Comment