Wild Thorns

When I first began reading Wild Thorns, I was surprised to learn that the book was written by a woman. I was instantly intrigued by this, especially after reading the story, because of the lack of female characters in the book. I decided to look up some more information about Sahar Khalifeh, and I found an article from an Arab magazine in which the author writes about her own life, struggling to survive in a home where it appeared no one wanted her.

http://leb.net/~aljadid/features/0839khalifeh.html

I think that Khalifeh's writing style and chosen themes for Wild Thorns have a lot to do with her past. For example, one main underlying theme in the story has to do with isolation, more specifically isolation while surrounded by many. Khalifeh grew up in a household where she felt isolated much of the time herself. She came from a very big family with eight children, however, only one of these children was a male. Both her mother and her father greatly resented their daughters for not, in fact, being sons. Her mother would cry for days on end and her father virtually ignored Khalifeh and her sisters.

In such a gloomy and hostile atmosphere, I learned the meaning of my existence
and my value in this world. I learned that I was a member of a miserable, useless,
worthless sex. From childhood, I was taught to prepare myself for the risks
associated with being a woman. I was told time and again that I had to train myself
to obey and comply with all kinds of rules that covered every single aspect of my life.

I think that this feeling of isolation and being unwanted can definitely be seen in Wild Thorns. One main time that I can think of when a character is alone while surrounded by others was near the beginning of the story. Usama is trying to go home to Palestine but is held up by foreign officers. They interrogate him and accuse him of wrong-doing, when all he is trying to do is return to his homeland. When Usama finally returns to Palestine, he is surrounded by people, yet he feels so alone. He doesn't seem to fit in there anymore and can't quite get into the rhythm of life under occupation. Even though there were millions of other people going through the same thing all around him, Usama feels alone because no one seems to share his liberating views.

I think this plot line runs a distinct parallel to Khalifeh's life because she was definitely a rebel. In the article I found, she talks about trying to break free of her parents. Her six sisters were just as repressed as Sahar was, but none of them were rebellious like she was. She was constantly surrounded by her sisters who were going through the same injustices, but she was the only one who was trying to do something about the way her parents were treating her.