What is a thesis statement about friendship and betrayal in Memoirs of a Geisha?

The themes of friendship and betrayal are both present in this novel, so I think that you have a good starting point for a possible thesis statement. Friendship and betrayal are quite opposite, but they do come hand-in-hand at times within this novel. For that reason, I recommend a thesis statement that contains a point followed by a counter-point. It needs to be a single sentence, so make the sentence a complex sentence beginning with the word "although." This will allow you to have a dependent clause that introduces either friendship or betrayal. That is followed by the independent clause that introduces the second option. For example:

Although geisha school is all about teaching various forms of friendship and companionship, the competition that exists within the structure leads to inevitable betrayals.

For textual evidence to support that thesis, I would look to the relationship that exists between Chiyo/Sayuri and Pumpkin. There are times when Pumpkin is or appears to be Sayuri's only friend; however, Pumpkin's final betrayal of Sayuri really shows readers just how shallow that friendship likely was.

What are thesis statements for the themes of friendship and betrayal, fate and destiny, and suffering and strength in Memoirs of A Geisha?

Thesis writing can be a daunting thing to do. Teachers will stress over and over again just how important it is to have a solid thesis statement for a paper. Those teachers are correct. The thesis statement guides the entire paper. It is the foundation.

With that said, writing a thesis can be quite formulaic. The first thing to remember is that a good thesis statement makes an argument. It is not a statement of fact, because then there would be nothing to prove. A second thing to remember is that a thesis needs to be specific, yet it also needs to give you room to write, discuss, and use various forms of support. For this reason, I recommend using a double-sided thesis statement. Start the thesis with the word "although." This will force you to make a statement that the second half of the sentence attempts to discredit. Because the thesis statement is set up with two opposing views, your paper is free to explore both of those particular angles while pushing your reader to believe your main, second argument. This format of a double-sided thesis statement also fits well with the general writing prompt providing you with three sets of opposites. A possible thesis statement might go something like the following statement:

Although Chiyo suffers greatly at the hands of various characters, it is this suffering that allows her to become one of the strongest characters in the novel.