Once the earthquake occurs and Tariq tries to escape, he immediately takes precaution for the safety of everyone, even if that meant knocking Tariq unconscious for a while. He distributes out the food and water and establishes a plan so that they can make all of their resources last as long as possible. The others made him in charge because of his strength and caring over others. However, no one knew about his struggles throughout his life. His memories from Vietnam, his ex girlfriend getting an abortion, and living in the ghetto continue to haunt him every day. “None of his activities - helping at the hospice, serving food in soup kitchens, donating money to organizations that abused children - has stopped the nightmares,” (Chapter 15), Divakaruni uses this in order to show the reader that even if you are a good person, sometimes life may not go your way. The nightmares were not his fault and continue to happen although he’s positively impacting other people’s lives. Divakaruni used this irony to portray two messages that can easily be interpreted to her audience. First, was to never assume that just because a person is strong does not mean that their life is easier. Secondly, you don’t have to be a bad person to go through hard times. Life …show more content…
A new perspective that goes along with the Desiderata “Never compare yourself to others, you may grow vain for there will always be greater and lesser persons than yourself.” Our society has been so accustomed to generalize people. If you are a wealthy church Friar, you considered a humble man of God. In most cases, hopefully, it is true, but for some, corruptness and greed seem to be the right way to live a life. In this world, we will always have to take the bad with the good and the good with the bad, and society must learn how to embrace that