Category: The Kite Runner

Introduction

There has been generally positive feedback and acceptance of The Kite Runner book of Khaled Hosseini published in 2003. It was made into a movie three years later and released in 2008. It garnered the South African Boeke Prize and other citations while Nielsen BookScan declared it the United States first best seller for 2005 (Lea, 2006).

Afghanistan has not produced a lot of books in the past and it was an achievement for Khlaed Hosseini to be able to come up with a best seller in a western setting.

Summary

The Kite Runner is the story of Amir, his childhood friend Hassan who was poor, his indomitable father Baba, and how Amir went through his life with them and others. Despite the loyalty of Hassan by sacrificing for the sake of Amir, Amir felt jealous of Hassan as he noticed Baba giving Hassan more attention than him. Baba, on the other hand found Amir as a weakling, and this was aggravated further when while serving Amir, Hassan was raped by a bully Assef. Amir felt guilty and in fact started to distance himself from Hassan, until he made a scheme accusing Hassan as theft. Hassan and his father Ali left from the place of Baba until chaos reigned in Afghanistan.

Amir and Baba fled to Peshawar, Pakistan and then later to the United States at Fremont, California. While they lived in abundance in Afghanistan, in the US, they were forced to stay at an old and dilapidated apartment. Baba worked as a gas station attendant. In their Sundays, they sold used clothes in flea market where Amir met Soraya Taheri who soon became his wife prior to the death of Baba. However, the couple could not bear a child.

He soon received a call from Babas best friend and business partner in Afghanistan  Rahim Khan. Rahim Khan told Amir about Hassans fate, Hassans true father who is also Baba, and Hassans son Sohrab taken by Assef who already became a Taliban member. Amir worked through the adaptation of Sohrab, and after a decade-long of difficulty, finally able to bring Sohrab with him in the U.S.

Research

The Kite Runner depicts both social and political scenario in Afghanistan in a time frame that includes pre-Russian invasion when there was relative peace in the area. Enterprising individuals such as depicted by Baba were able to put up livelihood and commerce. During this time, however, as any other society, classes of peoples were already at place: the poor as helpers or servants, and those who are moneyed as master. This was depicted in the story of Amir, who, despite befriending Hassan, maintained his distance as the master. Amir went to school and Hassan did not.

The socio-political scenario is further depicted clearly in a passage about the thoughts of Amir during winter, which it was written:

I smile. The sky is seamless and blue, the snow so white my eyes burn. I shovel a handful of the fresh snow into my mouth, listen to the mufed stillness broken only by the cawing of crows. I walk down the front steps, barefoot, and call for Hassan to come out and see.

Winter was every kids favorite season in Kabul, at least those whose fathers could afford to buy a good iron stove&

Afghanistan, however, had been mired with civil wars, the large gap between those who have and those who have-nots, the majority of those afflicted with poverty, land mines victims, war victims, and other man-made calamities and depravities (CIA, 2009) which were briefly depicted in the book where Amir and Baba fled together with other migrants to neighboring Pakistan, and later to the United States. The book used the dire situation of Afghanistan as a background for personal challenges and travails that were affecting a large Asian nation in general.

Critique

Hosseinis book, as Miller noted, captivated readers with its enthralling tale of family, forgiveness, and friendship. Aside from this, it has also been noted for Rahim Khans words that there is a way to be good again, (Miller, 2008, P 1). There is the innocent depiction of a young boy and his friend, the conflict about Amirs trying to win the affection of his father Baba, the stereotype of Baba as wishing for his son to be as strong as himself, Amirs own personal conflicts such as having watched his childhood friend Hassan raped in front of him and yet not being able to lift a finger, the need to frame up his friend in order to send him away, and his continuing battle to win his fathers affection.

Hosseini was able to provide a chronological narrative that interpolates socio-political and personal conflicts despite a life of relative comfort. Through Hosseinis effective depiction of the socio-political situation in Afghanistan in that certain period, readers were treated of a word outside what may be familiar. We have often read about the war torn Afghanistan, of land mines killing or crippling children, malnutrition and poverty death toll, lack of food and water supply, the dire poverty, and lots of it. Accompanied with photos, it was not difficult to perceive Afghanistan as a location that should be avoided, at all cost, we often ask ourselves how people could exist in such a place.

Intriguing idea

The idea I find intriguing is Hosseinis use of the John Lennon t-shirt worn by antagonist Assef. While this portion may be a passing idea of using popular culture to depict that Afghanistan caught up with western civilization if only for featuring a popular rock icon print shirt, it may mean a lot of other more things that critic Miller may have missed. Miller quoted a wide portion of Iranian literature specialist Dr. Fatemeh Keshavarz from Washington University in St. Louis to argue that, The Kite Runner is perhaps less obvious in its demonization of the Muslim world and glorification of the Western world, (Miller, 2008, P 4), I would want to argue otherwise.

Hosseini, through The Kite Runner had been labeled as new orientalist by Miller and Keshavarz whom Miller quoted extensively, for depicting anti-Muslim sentiments as well as advancing western practices as the good, and Muslim as the evil.

Far from their understanding, I would like to point out the positive thoughts that Hosseini cultivated about Afghanistan through its main characters. First of all, through Baba. Baba embodied the hardworking, ambitious, kind-hearted, and generous Afghan. In the book, it had never been mentioned that Baba was a Christian, or he espoused Western beliefs. But he definitely was as good as any religion or pagan may perceive as good, as compared to indifferent or really evil characters.

Second is that Assef, the Taliban antagonist, idolized Hitler, the one true western depiction of evil imperialism. While Assef may have been identified as a Taliban, his preference for a hero such as Hitler is something that cannot be swept easily under the rag. It was not clear why there should be opposing ideals with Millers statement that Baba loves America, while Assef is an admirer of Hitler, (Miller, 2008, P 5).

To flee from war and land in an open country like the United States is not so much a preference as a choice. It was not clear in the book that Baba preferred or worked his way to get to the United States. The US at the time was using Afghanistan to neutralize the cold war against the communist Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR). It was not so much to offer Afghans a refuge. It was a stage, a show that the US needs more than Baba needs to migrate.

Then, lastly, as I mentioned earlier, is Assefs John Lennon t-shirt. John Lennon is a popular culture icon that although voiced his dissent against the war in Vietnam, have chosen to migrate to New York and leave Liverpool England, his town. John Lennon both loved the United States way of life and hated its foreign policy during the period, although John Lennon was a expatriate himself. Why Hosseini had to picture Assef wearing a John Lennon t-shirt is a statement in itself. I would not insist that it meant Assef supported John Lennons anti-Vietnam war sentiments, but I would not also discount that John Lennon is a Western icon of commercialism and even imperialism.

Theme

For me, the main theme of the book is that there is time to show what real strength is and that perseverance must go with it. I am pointing this out as Amir was himself never the focus character that was Baba. Baba was the hero.

However, through Amirs story, the book is humanized, reduced to depicting real-life struggles of less perfect, less strong and often mistaken beings. This despite the many failures that seem to have mounted up against Amir in Hassans case alone. Amir seemed to be a reluctant participant in his own doings: indifference while Hassan was being raped, framing up Hassan as a thief, letting Hassan leave despite the consequences of the political situation of Afghanistan at that time. In the end, Amir was given a shot to recall and make amends all the evil things he has done against his childhood friend Hassan through Sohrab.

This theme pervaded throughout the story. It has seemed too slow as well as anti-climactic when Amir had to experience the negative consequences of Hassans faithfulness and loyalty to him. Hassan has sacrificed his own good for the sake of Amir and even claiming to provide more than Hassan could, but what he got was abandonment and indifference.

Question

As mentioned earlier, my real question is why Hosseini made Assef the antagonist wear a John Lennon t-shirt. Miller has suggested the West has been glorified in the book, but I would rather say it was not. Millers concluding note was: For anyone who has been to, or studies the Middle East, it is obvious that these accounts are gross distortions of the full reality on the ground there. It is not wrong to identify and write about the flaws of a particular country, religion, or ideology, but it is wrong and dishonest when an authors writings systematically dehumanizes and reduces an entire culture and religion to the actions of its extremists. Especially, when these are the same people and countries that our leaders tell us need to be attacked and occupied by our military.

There may be certain romantization on the part of Hosseini for depicting a glamorous Afghanistan, and Millers observation must be partly true. This does not make Miller correct at all points. While Amir did migrate and raised his family in the US, the book did not indicated that he converted to any western religion or belief. He did his part which he believe was to atone some of his faults to Sohrabs father not to atone Christian sins or exemplify western values of family, forgiveness and friendship, but because family, forgiveness and friendship are a long term Asian tradition long before its shores were shown how to use cannons and guns.

Characters

I would like to compare Baba, the strong father and Amir, the weak, book-loving narrator. Baba was seen as the bigger hero in the book for showing virtues through and through even when challenged as someone who was not capable. His shadow is cast on Amir, the weakling, helpless youth who relied on his servant to fight for him. Baba did what he had to do like a real leader, committed and dedicated. Amir, on the other hand was told of what to do, without his own motivation, but just his guilt, and the people around him as guide.

Baba is enterprising, who built an orphanage, established a business, married an educated woman, and himself a philanthropist. Amir was focused on reading and writing, never going beyond himself to work out what has made him guilty of. Instead, he was capable of harming one friend who had done him all the favor including dedicating a life for his own good. Amir seem to be a selfish, self-centered person while Baba gave himself for others. As it was written:

Baba heaved a sigh of impatience. That stung too, because he was not an impatient man. I remembered all the times he didnt come home until after dark, all the times I ate dinner alone. Id ask Ali where Baba was, when he was coming home, though I knew full well he was at the construction site, overlooking this, supervising that. Didnt that take patience? I already hated all the kids he was building the orphanage for; sometimes I wished theyd all died along with their parents.

Craft

The book was written with a seemingly detached, innocence of a young Amir, who was nestled safe and un-touched under his fathers care and influence, or affluence. While friendship may have been explored to show better reciprocal actions on the part of Amir for Hassan, the book failed to explore further than adopting a friends son as if a consolation as Amir and Soraya cannot have a child of their own. There seem to be consequences quite shallow amidst the difficult life of the poor depicted in the book through Hazaran servants. It also failed to show how deep poverty has afflicted a nation.

Application on how ideas and themes in the book relate to life

For me, I learned from the book other forms of torture that may be given to other children in other parts of the world. Pedophilia is also pictured differently as a pure infliction of pain and not lust. It will influence my own understanding of migration, power play between imperialists, as well as about the word equality, if there is such a thing.

Conclusion

I believe that the success of The Kite Runner is its use of the universal triumph of good over evil and that the new orientalist labeling is a misreading of anti-imperialism sentiments. I strongly disagree with Miller when he proposed that the book depicts western as good and the Muslim as bad but it tried to depict as neutrally as possible what Hosseini might have observed, seen or experienced of Afghanistan. This, as I said earlier, may have been romanticized, but it still presented other details that could have easily been overlooked when the book was not published at all.

New Orientalism is a strong discriminatory view about Asians and Muslims in general having to compare always an English written text against popular literary norms based on western tradition. This may not be avoided at all, as I said, if a book is written in English. However, the same cannot be said of books written in other tongues or languages aside from western. This should not be an overarching obsession of critics. Merit should be provided on virtue of depicting truths as may have been experienced by the characters of a story such as The Kite Runner and not dismissed it as generalized western shadowing of norms.

Reference

Central Intelligence Agency. (2009). Afghanistan. The World Factbook. Web.

Hosseini, Khaled. (2003). The Kite Runner. Riverhead Books.

Lea, Richard. (2006). Word-of-mouth success gets reading group vote. The Guardian.

Miller, Matthew Thomas. (2008). The Kite Runner Critiqued: New Orientalism Goes to the Big Screen. Common Dreams. Web.

According to Hosseini, Amirs upbringing is heavily influenced by masculinity, which is the essence of masculinity. Because of this, Amir is constantly trying to live up to or prove his fathers expectations of him as a son, and he does it by turning to his father, the father (Hosseini n.p). Societys gender norms define men and women, and these norms influence masculinity. In this study, well look at a few quotations from The Kite Runner that demonstrate the Afghani belief in masculinity (Hosseini n.p). Once the students saw that Amirs Father, Amir, is viewed as a symbol of manhood by Amir, they began to understand this significance. In Afghan culture, a man is defined only by his physical appearance and identity; he serves as a model of manhood. According to Amir, the nickname was enough.

The Devil on his knees crying for mercy, as Rahim Khan used to say, was my father, a strong man of nature with a thick beard, wavy brown hair that was as unruly as he was, hands that could shatter a willow tree, and a black rowing. When a roomful of six-footers walked in, all eyes turned to him, like a sunflower to the sun. Amirs father is a fearless warrior who can drag a room by his bootstraps. They see him as a legitimate man, not just in Amirs eyes but also in their society. Amir, as the adage goes, must step into large shoes. When establishing a mans masculinity in The Kite Runner, physical appearance and attitude are essential, but so are the things a man chooses to indulge. Dad feels that boys and young men should spend their time participating in typically male pursuits like athletics. Still, weve discovered that Amir likes what his society might consider womens hobbies, such as reading and writing poetry.

As Amir explains in the third chapter, having a son who chose to hide his face in poetry rather than hunting. Well, I suppose that was not the way Dad thought, I think, this was not what Dad had in mind when he married a poet. If one refers to himself as a real man, then he never heard of poetry, let alone written it Real men  real lads  play soccer like their fathers did when they were younger. He put me on a soccer team because he wanted me to feel the same way. Even so, my life was a living hell, and I was in charge of my squad. Despite my efforts, I was not taken seriously (Emerson 3). There is a condition known as social injustice in which some kind of wrongdoing occurs in a community. Every day in Afghanistan, someone is beaten, raped, or calls for aid. It has been like this since the government gained control of Afghanistan.

In Afghanistan, social inequality is a big issue. As Farooq puts it, societal problems are inflicted when Social Injustice exists. Afghanistans social injustice must be addressed daily, as seen by the numerous examples and real-life occurrences. There are numerous incidents of societal injustice in Khaled Hosseinis novel The Kite Runner. One such instance is when Amir witnesses Assef rape his best friend, Hassan (Hosseini n.p). As a result of the existing disparity, this is a prime example of social injustice. Afghanistan is a land of Pashtuns, Assef proclaimed, describing the country. The country is polluted by its people, and there is need to show more material.

Traditional masculinity harms boys health and well-being, according to American Psychological Associations Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Boys and Men in early 2019. We Believe: The Best Men Can Be, a slogan for Gillette razor blades, was released soon after, quickly becoming a Media sensation. The male discourse has been elevated to a new level after this two-minute exchange. Men raised to adhere to a rigid concept of masculinity, developed in part as an antidote to any form of feminism, are destructive to their own mental, emotional, social, and spiritual health and the well-being of others.

To have meaningful talks about how to measure, accept complexity and build new ways of human growth and development, it is difficult to have a different way of thinking and ethnic divisions. The term toxic does not imply that all water, air, or food is toxic; instead, it refers to substances that are harmful. Contaminated water, air, and food are not anti-water, anti-air, or anti-good food. In reality, questioning our current and historical methods of processing, preservation, and water supply, as well as the number of agents we remove from the air and the level of security at which food is processed, delivered, and prepared, is seen as a responsible, social, and public knowledge. Most of us agree that blaming aggressive lawyers for the intentional desire to abolish water, oxygen, and food would be irrational and irrational at best. Toxic manhood is the same. For many, the term toxicity has been employed as a synonym for masculinity rather than to indicate dangerous or detrimental aspects of this masculinity.

In and of itself, manhood is a beautiful, natural, and essential part of human evolution and survival. A mans masculinity may significantly impact the people around him when applied; when this is done, men can live their lives with courage and strength. When it comes to masculinity, on the other hand, excessive, destructive, lousy connotations and unsuitability are all issues. A good illustration of this is healthy competition in an accessible business or sporting event, whereas unhealthy competitiveness in personal relationships or reckless driving to find space and speed on the motorway is toxic. As easy as it may be for some to focus on the apparent manifestations of toxic manhood, such as sex, domestic violence, or bullying, discussing mens misconduct at the wrong moment is a challenge. Lets think: We need intelligent, knowledgeable men who can teach and direct others, but we dont want insecure, sex-oriented males who explain what they know.

Instead of advocating the exclusion of males, it is all about developing the full human potential of men. Just as men can train themselves with different pieces of gym equipment or other business platforms, they can learn emotional skills. There is no law that you cannot both have masculine and feminine traits because you are male and female. Gender is more about spectrum than labels. A new training program has helped Federer and Williams put their best foot forward (Wolf 317). Assisting men to recognize all of the health and life benefits of a calming, life-enhancing practice is essential if we want them to be successful, happy, and content. Social scientists, for example, who have the freedom to use the term toxic manhood should correct opponents assumptions and present valuable, truthful, and opposing narratives. Significant gender inequalities are attributed to biology by professionals in the field. When faced with the difficulty of self-discipline and development, the women argued that they could not or should not grow as women and that women should not grow as males. Natural environments, however, are delicate and complex. Increasingly, women are redefining the significance of their gender by becoming more self-assured, competitive, optimistic, and resilient. According to these findings, cultural and social expectations play an essential role in our strengths and limitations regarding gender performance. As a result of this transformation, the monarchy will be disintegrated, and the ideals of what is required for progress in the modern world will be challenged. Womens movements did the same for males who needed support and encouragement to break out of their sex box.

In todays world, the instruments for success are different than they were in the past. The strongest and healthiest people are not necessarily those who deny their humanity to identify with a particular gender (Wolf 311). Cross-trainers, on the other hand, are those who emerge from the desired sex boxes and work to develop their whole identity. Womens power is weak (hence women are inferior to men), and males displaying feminine power  empathy, sensitivity, and compassion  are likewise weak. This group has overturned this old binary and patriarchal view. They are flexible and adaptable to the changing context of their world. Developing ones physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual health is a priority to achieve success and wealth.

In and of itself, manhood is a beautiful, natural, and essential part of human evolution and survival. A mans masculinity may greatly impact him and the people around him when applied with awareness, timing, and intelligence. When this is done, men can live their lives with courage and strength. When it comes to masculinity, on the other hand, excessive, destructive, lousy connotation, and unsuitability are all issues. A good illustration of this is healthy competition in an accessible business or sporting event, whereas unhealthy competitiveness in personal relationships or reckless driving to find space and speed on the motorway is toxic.

In the wake of the #MeToo and Times Up movements, the formal expressions of sexism, male dominance, and contempt for women have been addressed. One of the tens of thousands of speeches sparked by the simultaneous action was on the importance of mens equality. In the naturally phallogocentric culture, men are given an illiteracy right that goes hand in hand with being a man (Hosseini n.p). As a result of this reality alone, men are held responsible for the debates and institutional arrangements that provide them the right to acquire certain costs of partnerships that should be shared by men and equally by men (Hosseini n.p). A toxic masculinity does not mean that all males are poisonous, nor does it imply that all men are harmful. As a result, toxic masculinity is a term that refers to a set of behaviors and acts that are based on an individuals sex-perceptions. It is common for males to adopt these habits as part of their identity and position as a man from an early age. It appears that these practices are the exception rather than the rule in our patriarchal culture. As a result, not everyone will find this conduct distressing or harmful, as they consider it to be the usual. However, in actuality, these practices can harm women, non-binary persons, and males. Toxic masculinity necessitates a reexamination of not only traditional notions of male and female roles, but also of sexuality as a whole.

As easy as it may be for some to focus on the apparent manifestations of toxic manhood, such as sexual abuse, domestic violence, or bullying, discussing mens misconduct at the wrong moment is a challenge (W. R. Emerson 11). Consider: We need guys with wisdom and understanding who can lead and influence others, but we dont want insecure, sex-obsessed men who explain what theyve already figured out. Instead of advocating the exclusion of males, it is all about developing the full human potential of men. In the same way, men can train their physical and business abilities, and they can also train their emotional skills. Regarding the tennis court, Serena Williams and Roger Federer are fierce rivals. No rule states that you cannot possess both masculine and feminine characteristics because you are both male and female.

Regarding gender, there is more of a spectrum than a set of fixed categories. A new training program has helped Federer and Williams put their best foot forward. Assisting men to recognize the health and life benefits of a calming, life-enhancing practice is essential if we want them to be successful, happy, and content.

The Lonely Boys makes the case that modern males are a generation of passive bystanders who are content to watch others take care of their needs but feel powerless to act on their behalf. Mens products are sold based on their masculinity. Instead of knowing who you are and your beliefs, being a guy means owning the proper watch or automobile instead of truly knowing yourself. Thus, the narrator and the other Fight Club members reject this lifestyle and go out to find something new. They want to reclaim their actual identity by immersing themselves in the experience of battling and dealing with fear and agony. Tyler and Marlas eyes are similarly cast downward by the narrator. When he stands next to Tyler, he feels like he has lost his position in the world. In the narrators opinion, Tyler is an example of a male body, which is ironic. Men are expected to appear well because of advertising. The narrator feels the rejection that comes with loves jealousy while Tyler isnt paying attention.

Throughout the novel, the threat of circumcision looms large. First, the narrator meets Bob at a support group for cancer-affected males. Tyler and the space monkeys later used the fear of euthanasia to persuade the police commissioner to put the inquiry on hold. Trying to shut down a fighting club puts the narrator in danger of being castrated. Fighting the organization and Project Mayhem has given these men a new appreciation for their manhood; thus, losing it is the worst thing that could happen to them now. While fighting in the novel doesnt solve any of the characters concerns, it is a means to spiritual enlightenment for the authors protagonist. As long as there is conflict, men are reminded that they are still alive. They are reminded of their mortality as a part of Tylers ideology, which he stresses. They utilize fighting as a way to discover who they are. The idea that men are trying to reclaim their masculinity by fighting is a blatant denial of what they have been taught about masculinity by previous generations, their employment, and the Media.

Works Cited

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Divinity School address. (1838): 1-19.

Emerson, Waldo Ralph. The American scholar. (1837): 1-21.

Hosseini, Khaled. The kite runner. (2003).

Waldo, Ralph Emerson. Self-Reliance. (1841): 1-21.

Wolf, Naomi. Making of a slut. (n.d.): 317-321.

Introduction

The Kite Runner drama film depicts the events that took place in Afghanistan since the early 1970s from the perspective of the main protagonist Amir Qadiri. Reviewing the contents of this film, the viewers have an opportunity to overview the recent events that took place in Afghanistan to better understand the state of political and social life. An interesting aspect is that the film begins with the glimpses of peaceful life in the country when the upcoming struggles of endless war are not yet familiar to the local people.

The viewers begin to become acquainted with the films main characters when they are mere children, and when they have no slightest idea about the hard lot the life has prepared for them. The following film review aims to observe the strengths and weaknesses of this film as an informative resource for the students of the political and historical background of Afghanistan.

The Plot

The Kite Runner film relates a story of an Afghanistan man, named Amir Qadiri, who feels guilty because he left his motherland and his close friend Hassan and became a refugee in Pakistan and then immigrants in the United States. The events of the film seem to be divided by the event of Soviet invasion: at the first part, the audience sees a peaceful life with its minor issues and daily troubles, but later the whole new period begins when millions of people become pushed to leave their houses in the home country and escape as refugees. For the people who continue to live in their homeland, life becomes hard.

When one day Amir returns to visit his fathers friend Rahim Khan, he learns that the new countrys leaders, the Taliban, are cruel and unjust. They act with prejudice over the minority groups of Hazara and Tajiks robbing them of their possessions and persecuting them in other ways. Amir learns that the Taliban killed his friend Hassan and left alive only his son Sohrab. All of a sudden, Amir learns that apart from being his best friend of childhood, Hassan was his half-brother. After learning about the hardships that Sohrab is facing because of his ethnic identity, Amir decides to adopt him. The film ends with a peaceful picture of Amir and Sohrab flying a kite in the peaceful atmosphere of San Francisco and with good hope for the future.

The Setting

The opening scene of The Kite Runner movie is set in San Francisco in the year 2000. The viewers get familiar with a writer of Afghanistan-American ethnic background Amir Qadiri and his wife Soraya. The characters are shown as they are watching kids flying kites at a bayside park. After their small rout, the couple returns home, where the husband finds the packages with his upcoming novel Season for Ashes published by a local printery. The wife speaks of this novel as of Amirs child, giving an audience a hint that they are not able to have their child. The main events of the film begin here when suddenly a friend of Amirs father from his motherland is calling¹.

The Context

To fully grasp the value of experiences shown in The Kite Runner, a viewer should become cognizant of the main glimpses in the history of Afghanistan as well as the historical and political twists and turns that took place in the country beginning from the year 1979 when the country was invaded by the Soviets². Before the year 1979, Afghanistan was a quite stable country in Asia with ancient history and its unique culture and ethnic background.

The ethnic structure of the country population is another interesting fact that is of importance for understanding the plot of The Kite Runner. The main nations populating Afghanistan are Pashtuns, Tajiks, and Hazaras³. Pashtuns are the leading ethnic group that traditionally occupies the man positions and possesses the major authority. Tajiks and Hazaras are inferior nations. People belonging to the nations mentioned above serve as the support personnel for Pashtuns.

The Main Protagonist

The main protagonist of The Kite Runner and simultaneously, its narrator is Amir, a representative of the leading Pashtun ethnic group⁴. Amir was born in Kabul in 1963 in the family of a wealthy and well-respected man, Agha Sahib. Amir acquired a brilliant education and immigrated to the United States after facing the political changes in his home country. Viewing the character of the main protagonist from the prism of historical light, Amir seems to be a witness of hardships both insider and outsider ones that the country of Afghanistan has faced. On the on hand, the life of Amir, a Pashtun man, reveals the problems of ethnic enmity in Afghanistan, on the other hand, Amirs persona and his living experience help see the trials in his country has faced at the international arena.

The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Film as an Informative Source

An obvious strength of The Kite Runner film as an informative source is its effort to overview the historical events that took place in Afganistan beginning from its peaceful and prosperous times, and ending with the time of war, political instability and terror. This aspect of this film art piece undoubtedly makes it an interesting agenda. As for the weaknesses, it should be noted that although the film dedicates much of its attention to the problem of ethnic enmity between Pashtun and Hazara, it does not fully reveal the issues that stand behind such cruelty and animosity. The question of why Assef acts with such a degree of utter hostility remains in the mind of numerous viewers after watching The Kite Runner⁵.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it should be pointed out that the film The Kite Runner presents a thought-provoking framework for observing historical, political, and ethnic issues of Afghanistan. An important aspect of the political studies is that the film begins with the glimpses of peaceful life before the war, terror, and instability arise, and shifts to the detailed depiction of the changes that take place. Watching this film, the viewers have an excellent opportunity to overview the new historical events that took place in the country to better understand the peculiarities of its political and social life.

Bibliography

Dan, Susan. A Study of the Kite Runner from the Perspective of Cognitive Poetics. Foreign Language and Literature (2014): 1-10.

Khan, Muhammad Usman. The Kite Runner-A Historical Novel or Stereotyping Propaganda against Pashtun Majority of Afghanistan? International Journal of Research (2014): 452-462.

Malik, Muhammad Asghar, Ghulam Murtaza, and Kazim Shah. Representation of Power Relationships in The Kite Runner. US-China Foreign Language (2014): 17.

The Kite Runner. Directed by Mark Foster. 2007. Universal City, C.A.: DreamWorks Pictures, 2008. DVD.

Footnotes

1. The Kite Runner, directed by Mark Foster. 2007. Universal City, C.A.: DreamWorks Pictures, 2008. DVD.
2. Muhammad Usman Khan. The Kite Runner-A Historical Novel or Stereotyping Propaganda against Pashtun Majority of Afghanistan? International Journal of Research (2014): 462.
3. Ibid., 461
4. Susan Dan. A Study of the Kite Runner from the Perspective of Cognitive Poetics. Foreign Language and Literature (2014): 10.
5. Muhammad Asghar Malik, Ghulam Murtaza, and Kazim Shah. Representation of Power Relationships in The Kite Runner. US-China Foreign Language (2014): 17.

Hosseini and Achebe, authors of The Kite Runner and Things Fall Apart above all else, heavily focus their novel on “a bleak portrait of a changing world”. Both authors present the changing world through key events that are happening in world during the time the novels were set. During The Kite Runner the major events include the rise of the Taliban and the Soviet invasion which were both key factors for the protagonists change in world. During Things Fall Apart, the invasion of the Colonists was the starting point for the changing world, this led to the loss of power for the protagonist of the novel which presents a major changing world. Within both novels, the authors are different in their ways of presenting the bleak change of world. Hosseini seems to present it through trauma and real events that were occurring at the time like the coup of the king and the invasion of the soviets. He signifies how these events change the life of everyone living in Afghanistan at the time. Whereas Achebe presents his trauma more so through things that you could expect to be happen at that time, not exactly real-life events. The invasion of the colonist and the loss of power are things that you would expect to happen at the time this novel was written.

The first major contextual event that occurs in the novel is the military coup of the king by Mohammad Daoud Khan. During the July of 1973 this major political event took place in Afghanistan which Hosseini mentions in book during chapter 5. The persona, Amir, states how his way of life was about to change drastically and “if not yet, then at least it was the beginning of the end.” The use of this apocalyptic language truly signifies that the lives of the characters in the novel were completely going to change for the worse hence the word “end.” This could be foreshadowing that following the military coup of the king, a character’s life in the novel is going to come to an end we get this idea because during the coup of the king and his family being killed which foreshadows a later death, this point becomes evident further on in the novel. The use Hosseini’s abrupt language truly emphasises the significance of the events, the word itself holds so much tension which I believe is used to the put the reader on edge. The use the phrase “if not yet” could be a way of Hosseini preparing the reader for even more brutal events. It could also makes readers argue that the coup of the king was not completely the reasoning behind the “bleak changing world”. when Hosseini makes us question this, Amir goes on to state how the “official end” was on April 1978 which was in fact the communist coup, which then led onto to, December 1979. Russian military tanks would “roll into the very same streets where Hassan” and Amir played “bringing the death of Afghanistan.” The authors use of deathly imagery emphasises the morbid and dark mood that the characters were facing at the time. This statement also links to an article produced by Theodore L. Eliot, Jr who explained that the “war continued, bringing further death and devastation in large areas of the country” which was all due to the hopes of a non-communist government not being realised. Following my earlier points both events seem to foreshadow the death of Hassan and arguably Ali too. From Rahim Khan, Amir learns that Ali was murdered by a land mine and that Hassan and his wife were also killed after Hassan refused to allow the Taliban to confiscate Baba and Amir’s house in Kabul. Even though Hassan had many other people to back up his story that the Taliban refused to believe him, after Amir heard the story of Hassan’s death, it is clear by the amount of pausing in his speech that he is affected deeply. “—shot her too. Self-defense, they claimed later –” after this he did not manage to finish his sentence, this is clear that the worst traumas are the unspeakable. Many events took place that are embedded in the novel that are cleverly talk about by the critic, Sunan Ampel Surabaya. He exclaims how “historical events found in the novel and those were also really happened in Afghanistan, such as Hazara’s discrimination, the collapse of monarchy, the Soviet invasion, the civil war of Afghanistan, Taliban’s regime and 9/11 Twin Tower tragedy.” This critique is backed by many of my previous points, which stress that the change in world is heavily caused by contextual events that the charters have to face, we also see this theme in another of Hosseini’s books called A Thousands Splendid Suns. [1: Theodore L. Eliot, Jr] [2: http://eprints.umm.ac.id/37277/]

Likewise, in Things Fall Apart the invasion of the locusts was arguably the starting point for the bleak changing world. The locusts were first introduced in chapter 6 where a short sentence states “then the locusts came.” The fact that this sentence is very short, perceives it as being significant, which makes readers believe that this was in fact the starting point for the changing world in this novel as the sentence was very climactic. A few pages on in the novel we come to find the people of Umuofia were actually very pleased that the locusts were arriving we see this as they joyfully chanted that locusts were descending. This chant was “everywhere” and “everyone was now praying that the locusts should camp in Umuofia” these quotations are key in showing that the people of Umoufia were more than happy for the arrival of the locusts. The locusts that appear in the village can be symbols of the missionaries that began to spread their religion throughout Africa, likewise to the Russians spreading communism in Afghanistan. The locusts were “settled of every tree and on every blade of grass; they settled on the roofs and covered the bare ground.” This quote from chapter 7 is an example of what Umoufia was like during the invasion of the locusts. The earth was completely covered in locusts making the ground near to impossible to see, the missionaries arguably had the same effect. When the missionaries arrived in Africa they retrieved lots of land from the villagers, they manage to convert some villagers to Christianity which cause a massive problem when trying to work out who was Christian and who was not.

Achebes reasoning behind including locusts as such a significant motif in the text was because, they were a very large significance in Ibo culture at the time. In the novel they arguably foreshadow certain events to come, like the arrival of the locusts symbolises the later arrival or invasion of the colonists. In the novel Achebe presents the mood as being very positive and cheerful, “Okonkwo sat in his obi crunching happily” this positive atmosphere is then contrasted straight after when Okonkwo finds out that “Umuofia has decided to kill” a boy that calls Okonkwo his father. This quote reinforces the fact that, though the coming of the locusts was a happy time for everyone, although the good things often foreshadow negative times to come, thus being the killing of Ikemfuna. Both authors show their different ways of presenting the bleak change in world through very similar contextual event, thus being the coup of the daud later leading to the invasion of the Russian and the invasion of the locusts which are said to symbolise the missionaries. These events are similar in ways as they both involved a loss in power, the coup of the king we see the king evidently losing in power and the invasion of the locusts we arguably see the villagers losing power.

Another crucial factor in the way both authors present the bleak changing world during both texts is the way life changed for the characters. In The Kite Runner life changed drastically for the characters, it was nothing like their life before the coup of the king. A chapter were this appears is chapter ten where there’s a time shift to March 1981. The time shift in the novel is significant in presenting to the reading that another important event is about to occur, this event is the Soviet Invasion. The soviet invasion was because the soviets wanted to protect their interests in Afghanistan from Iran and Western Nations. Events like this changed the lives of the people of Afghanistan. We see this in the novel when Baba and Amir were forced to flee their own home, which was a very traumatic event for these characters.

The persona explains the events and goes onto say how every time the truck jolted or shuddered a women that was in the truck with him would burst into prayer screeching “Bismillah!” the fact that the woman feels the need to prayer for the protection of their lives truly signifies the danger that they are in due the soviet invasion. Which also signifies how trauma was one of the causes for the characters changing world. We also see this where is says how her husband was cradling an infant in one arm and “thumbed prayer beads” in the other. This quote signifies that at that time the life of their children was just as important as praying for their safety. The protagonist faces many traumatic events throughout the novel which lead onto their lives changing in many ways, its these events that cause the characters think, act and live differently compare to the way they were prior to the traumatic events happening. Many events happen throughout the novel after the Soviet invasion like the instance where people were found to be selling body parts so that they could carry on living, this event was entrenched at start of chapter 21, Farid states how you could “get good money for it on the black market. Feed your kids for a couple of weeks.”

Before the soviet invasion the people of Afghanistan were able to survive of their wages, their jobs, but following the invasion people resorted to selling body part so that they were able to feed their own families. The fact that a political event led on to people having to sell their limbs for money is truly astonishing. This signifies that not only did the character of the novels lives changed, but everyone in Afghanistan, all of their lives completely changed.Their way of living was nothing at all like their lives before the political and social events that occurred in the 1900s. Another time we see the changing in world caused by trauma, is when we learn that afghan children were taught to go against their parents and quite literally turn their back on them, from a young age. This event is apparent in chapter 10, where Hosseini states how the Rafiqs had “taught children to spy on their parents, what to listen for, whom to call.” This quote signifies repression; no one could trust one another. This completely contradicted the way Afghanistan was before, the lives of afghans were before – hence the reason for this being another factor for a changing world. Many children were indoctrinated in schools and were given lessons by teachers in which the children were taught what conversations to listen out for in their homes. During most of instances these parents were killed shortly after, the child then became an orphan. An example of this Sohrab, we see that orphanages were very poor and lacked many crucial supplies that the children needed to survive off, although in Sorhabs case his parents were killed purely because they were hazzaras.

In Things Fall Apart we see trauma creating a change in world for Okonkwo, he is forced to kill a young boy which with whom he shared a father-son bond with. He was forced to do this to prove his status to the tribe. Even though Okonkwo loved Ikemefuna and in most cases it was apparent that he thought more highly of him than is own son, he also fears being thought to be weak by the other men he was with. One major aspect of Okonkwos character in the novel is that he wanted to be a completely different man to his father, who was seen has being weak, in some ways, feminine. We see this during the killing of Ikemefuna at first, he appears to be showing at least some remorse as Achebe states that as the machete rose “Okonkwo looked at away.” This highlights that viewing the death of someone he loves is too much for him. However, this quote is shortly contradicted when the novel states how “Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak.” Throughout the novel Okonwko is constantly trying to prove his masculinity to the clan even through in most cases it causes him to experience severe emotional strain, where he must live it without one of his loved ones. Even though others have counselled him not to be involved in this killing, Okonkwo’s fear of what others might think of him and what they might say drives him to kill Ikemefuna, which is an action that will haunt him for some time afterwards. This again proves the point that by going through a traumatic event, it changes the characters world completely. Even though he had the opportunity not participate, Okonkwo will this about this for the rest of his life in remorse.

In The Kite Runner there is a vital passage in presenting how the change in world is one of the key factors. The passage is entrenched in chapter 25, which is a very distressing chapter. The passage seems to be a type of elegy for the lost existence, this is seen when Amir is reminiscing on hid “old life” and Sohrabs too. The definition of the word “old” is “having lived or existed for a specified time” this signifies the death of Amir’s old life. A quote made by Hosseini states, “it maybe unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even in a single day, can change a whole life time” this was also links to Hosseini’s book A Thousand Splendid suns. It can asserted that this day was in April in 1978 when the communist coup took place. This could also link to the quote where Amir states how there are “lots of children in Afghanistan with little childhood” this presents a change in world as the quote on childhood contrasts with the childhood that Amir and Hassan once had. You can also argue that Sorhab once had this childhood as well, we come to think this when Sorhab states how he wants his “old life back.” These present a clear change in world, they emphasise the idea that life is definitely not how it used to be in the slightest. [3: https://www.dictionary.com/] [4: https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Comparing-A-Thousand-Splendid-Sons-and-The-P3R8P4YTJ]

From looking at many points and aspects I have come to the conclusion that that the characters changing world in both novels are very severe and are mainly caused by historical events and also trauma. Throughout things fall apart the changing world is heavily waited on the contextual events of the time, although you could argue political conflict causes traumatic events in the characters live which result in the changing the world. However, in Things Fall Apart the changing world is mainly cause by colonisation and the refusal to adapt to new changes. I believe the writers chose to include this theme to raise awareness to the political difficulties going on at the time of them writing the novels. Achebe wanting to express the fact that it was not just “one long night of savagery.”

Bibliography

1. Eliot, T. (1990). Afghanistan in 1989. [online] JSTOR. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263150856_Afghan_refugees_in_Indo-Afghan_relations [Accessed 20 Feb. 2019].
2. Surabaya, S. (2019). Islam and Western Debates on Human Rights – UMM Institutional Repository. [online] Eprints.umm.ac.id. Available at: http://eprints.umm.ac.id/37277/ [Accessed 2 Mar. 2019].
3. Www2.needham.k12.ma.us. (2019). The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan 1979-1989. [online] Available at: http://www2.needham.k12.ma.us/nhs/cur/Baker_00/2002-p4/baker_p4_12-01_mj_sz/ [Accessed 20 Feb. 2019].
4. Arnold, A. (2019). Afghanistan. [online] Google Books. Available at: https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=REwmr2bFYfkC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=related:bEA2RIlFES0J:scholar.google.com/&ots=hdFMMv25lV&sig=-HEgYgI2DbzM6qVuKFKufFrGPAg#v=onepage&q&f=false [Accessed 20 Feb. 2019].
5. www.dictionary.com. (2019). the definition of old. [online] Available at: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/old [Accessed 4 Mar. 2019].
6. (1) https://www.jstor.org/stable/2644894?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

On every 4th Monday of May we celebrate a day called Memorial Day. Memorial Day gives us the opportunity to acknowledge and remember those that have served in the United States Armed Forces. Today we see a lot of movie producers and actors reenact World War II and give the audience a feeling of what soldiers went through. As a little kid you dream of going to the Armed Forces because its “cool.” As we grow as humans we come to reality and ask ourselves, “would we be able to survive in an environment of that caliber. Kids are often times driven in by the fact that they get to shoot guns and jump out of airplanes in foreign countries from 15,000 feet.

When reality hits, all the negatives come out and the idea of dying and being severely injured strikes kids’ minds. Although this may not go for all young adults, this moment in life shows, generally, when in both an unstable environment and human nature to try and conquer the obstacles that are in a human’s way. This theme is present in Steve Crane’s novel, The Red Badge of Courage. Henry Fleming, the novels protagonist, is a young soldier fighting for the Union army in the American Civil War. His battle to overcome his distressed feeling in a war zone represents the amount of courage and investment within himself to bring out a positive aspect in an adverse circumstance. In Khaled Hosseini novel, The Kite Runner, Amir and Hassan experience a similar challenge with a power and social imbalance, Amir being the stronger and braver of the two young men. In The Red Badge of Courage, and The Kite Runner, both authors examine how hostile environments become barriers that impede a characters destiny

Though The Red Badge of Courage and The Kite Runner vary in ways, for example courage and social classes, both novels include how environments lead to characters making principal decisions throughout the book. Through the battle Henry “felt the subtle battle brotherhood more potent even than the cause for which they were fighting”, bringing out perseverance and developing a selfless character (Crane 37). Henry is a prime example of how coming in from an untried situation in battle later on questions his courage. Henry is depicted as a dependent and fragile man and “was forced to admit that as far as war was concerned, he knew nothing of himself”, questioning is war really for him (Crane 8). For instance, Henry’s enlistment into the army is for his own pleasure of glory, entering battle without a weapon.

The severity of hostile environments is also characterized in The Kite Runner. The Afghani communities “ears became accustomed to the whistle of falling shells”, having sleepless nights and “rumble of gunfire” changed how characters throughout the book work together to achieve one goal (Hosseini 278). The unlivable environment enforces a depression not only on Amir but Hassan. Amir coming from a high social class came with a certain level of expectancy. However, Amir tends to look up to Hassan for protection in troublesome situation. The boys run to Ali for protection, and he holds Hassan tight, provoking Amir’s envy. (Bloom) In spite of Amir’s propensity to look down on his companion because of his social standing and absence of training, Hassan remains by Amir, and would effectively help or ensure his companion. The community as a whole has been “frightened badly, because none of us had ever heard gunshots in the streets”, leading to the Taliban interrupting the way of life for Afghan people (Hosseini271). The Taliban has disrupted and is the cause to the hostile environment, bringing fear and the loss of citizens’ rights.

In the novel The Kite Runner, there are many people in Amir’s life have helped to shape his character. Throughout his life, I think that Baba and Rahim Khan have shaped Amir’s growth an acted as his mentors. Even though Baba is Amir’s biological father, Amir thinks that Rahim Khan has the idealistic fatherly figure that he has longed for. I believe that father, is a very important role in the life of a child. A father is a person whose viewpoint is valued and respected. In many cases, father, is the one that a child will look up to. In this essay, I will write about how these two characters, Baba and Rahim Khan significantly influence and shape Amir’s attitudes, beliefs and values.

In the story, we can see that Rahim Khan is the one provides Amir with the foundation and encouragement that he needs from his father. During his childhood time, Amir looked up to Rahim Khan as the perfect father figure because Rahim Khan is always interested in Amir’s love for writing and encouraged him in whatever he does. It is from Rahim Khan’s love and compassion that we can see Amir thrive and grow as a person. We can see in the novel, Rahim Khan defends Amir relentlessly against the degrading remarks and desires of Baba for another child. For this reason, Amir recognizes this and is thankful that someone is on his side, he was delighted to be around the positivity and praise of Rahim Khan, compensating for his father’s lack of love and focus towards him. This can be seen in the scene where Rahim Khan offers to read Amir’s story when Baba rejected it. “As always, it was Rahim Khan who rescued me. He held out his hand and favored me with a smile that had nothing feigned about it.” (Pg. 34) The word “rescued” here gives insight into the feelings and emotions that Rahim Khan makes him feel and from the gesture of “holding his hand out” symbolizes that Rahim Khan is always there for Amir.

Another example is where Rahim Khan asks for the book, “May I have it, Amir Jan? I would very much like to read it.’ Baba hardly ever used the term of endearment ‘jan’ when he addressed me.” (Pg. 34) This particular scene shows the affection of Rahim Khan for Amir by using the word ‘jan’ as well as his loving, fatherly disposition in taking interest in and celebrating Amir’s success, telling him he will be a great writer with great talent. The loving nature of Rahim Khan enables Amir to grow up being loved and accepted. It also gave him enough conviction that he was good enough to have something in life and to strive for it. Therefore, to the audience, this scene shows Baba lacks love and compassion, thus making Rahim Khan Amir the fatherly idealistic character in the story. Thus, I think that Rahim Khan is a prime example of a character who influenced Amir’s early life outlook as he shows support by respecting, defending, praising and encouraging in Amir’s interest and promoted him with perseverance and change in his life.

Unlike the method of raising Amir by Rahim Khan, Baba’s technique is way much harsher and bitter. To me, a father-son relationship creates a strong emotional connection that shapes all personalities. In a son’s eyes, a father is a role model, a prodigy. Amir’s relationship with his father, Baba, influenced Amir’s perceptions significantly and shaped his beliefs and morals because of the ideas and feelings he instilled in Amir. This contrast leads Amir continually strive to assimilate the character of his father. It destroys Amir’s view of himself and dramatically reduces his self-esteem and confidence. In the novel, Baba’s negligence causes Amir to take away from his dear friend Hassan his disappointment and resentment. At the beginning of the novel, Amir describes an event from his past, saying “I wanted Baba all to myself…one time at Ghargha Lake, Hassan and I were skimming stones and Hassan made his stone skip eight times.

The most I managed was five. Baba was there, watching, and he patted Hassan on the back. Even put his arm around his shoulder.” (Pg. 15) The insecurity and selfishness of Amir if evident in the quotation “I wanted Baba all to myself”, the use of “wanted all to myself” suggests that Amir longed for his undivided attention. It also suggests that Amir views Hassan as a threat and shows how immature and selfish Amir is in the story. Furthermore, because of their completely different personalities and interests, the distance Baba created in their relationship led Amir to feel inadequate as his son, thus affecting the way Amir treated others around him. There is a scene where Baba expresses to Rahim Khan his disbelief that Amir is his own son: “If I hadn’t seen the doctor pull him out of my wife with my own eyes, I’d never believe he’s my son.” (Pg. 25) The word “if” and the phrase “pull him out of my wife” show Baba’s concerns about his biological relationship with his son. Moreover, the word “never” depicts the unbelief of Baba, illustrating a disassociation and lack of connection.

However, Amir’s need to feel respected and loved by his father led him to ignore those close to him, particularly Hassan. This can be seen as Amir sees Hassan being attacked in an alleyway; however, his main concern was not to save Hassan, but to caption the kite to gain the approval of his father: “But there were two things amid the garbage that I couldn’t stop looking at: One was the blue kite resting against the wall, close to the cast-iron stove; the other was Hassan’s brown corduroy pants thrown on a heap of eroded bricks.”(Pg. 82) The internal dialogue, instead of helping his loyal friend out, emphasizes his priorities, that his most important thing is to please his father. “Resting kite” and “throwing pants” here show and symbolize the two different choices Amir had to make; which is a decision between being a coward or a hard yet right thing to do. It is therefore clear that the distance created by Baba in his relationship with Amir influenced his attitudes, beliefs and values, and also the way he treated others, thereby affecting his behaviour and treatment of others.

Although both characters affected the early development of Amir in two completely different ways, they were able to influence the manner in which Amir turned out to be an adult. Baba is a man who has high expectations of his son compared to Rahim Khan who is very compassionate and always positive and encouraging Amir to aspire for his best despite he is not Amir’s father. Therefore, it is obvious that the values and beliefs of Amir are formed by both Baba and Rahim Khan, but in different ways. Amir knows that his father is constantly disappointed by his interests and nature, which makes him believe he is worthless whereas for Rahim Khan who makes Amir feel driven and motivated, for he is kind and supportive to Amir.

Traumatic events and tragedies can heavily affect people and change the course of their lives. These traumatic events can be a result of a person’s fate or their lack of action taken to make it avoidable. Trauma can be experienced at any age, from childhood to adulthood. Some people handle trauma very well and come to terms with what happened, which helps them redeem themselves, resist failure, and keep themselves motivated to move on with their lives. On the other hand, some people don’t have the courage to speak up about and face the trauma that they experienced, which ends up following them for the rest of their lives and causing them to lose their happiness. In the novel The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, Amir and Hassan experience traumatic events that negatively affect their lives. Hassan gets raped and he pretends like nothing happened. Amir witnesses Hassan getting raped and he decides not to do anything about it. In Amir’s future, Hassan and Baba, two people who are very important to him, unfortunately pass away.

In The Kite Runner, Amir experiences many traumatic events in his childhood that follow him into adulthood. These traumatic events are not a result of Amir’s fate, but they are a result of his lack of action taken, courage, and his hesitance in making decisions. One event that Amir experiences is when he watches his best friend, Hassan, getting raped. Although Amir wants to help Hassan and stop what is happening, he decides to be selfish and run away:

I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan-the way he’d stood up for me all those times in the past-and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run. In the end, I ran. I ran because I was a coward. I was afraid of Assef and what he would do to me. (Hosseini 77)

In this situation, Amir is scared to act because he is afraid of Assef and is worried that if he intervenes or tries to stop Assef from hurting Hassan, then it would result in him getting bullied and hurt. This results in making Amir an insomniac. He wouldn’t sleep and he couldn’t look at Hassan in the eye anymore. All he would think about at night is what happened and all he saw was Hassan’s face while it was happening. This is represented when Amir says “He moved his head slightly and I caught a glimpse of his face. Saw the resignation in it. It was a look I had seen before. It was the look of the lamb”(76). Contrary to Amir’s thoughts that Hassan would stop being loyal to him, he stayed loyal to Amir, making him food, cleaning the house, doing the laundry, etc. the one thing that stopped was their communication. Before Hassan’s incident, him and Amir would go out to the pomegranate tree outside of Amir’s house and he would read stories to Hassan. They would talk and go on adventures and enjoy each others company. But after Hassan gets raped, the communication comes to an abrupt end. From that point forward, Amir was driven by his guilt for choosing not to help Hassan while he is getting bullied by Assef. He wants Hassan to disappear from his life so that he would no longer suffer from his feelings of guilt. “I went downstairs, crossed the yard, and entered Ali and Hassan’s living quarters by the loquat tree. I lifted Hassan’s mattress and planted my new watch and a handful of Afghani bills under it”(104). He accused Hassan of stealing his birthday present, a watch and money, by putting it under his mattress. To sum up, Amir’s tragedy in this situation is a result of his own decisions and not of destiny. His selfishness and lack of courage drive him to decide to only watch Hassan getting raped and run away from the scene, rather than facing it and standing up for Hassan. As a result, he is not any happier and afterwards he driven by his guilt as he searches for a way to redeem himself.

Hassan is Amir’s best friend and half brother, and also a servant of Baba’s. The tragedy in his life is caused by different factors. First, he is a Hazara, along with his dad, so they are taken as lower class. They are servants to Amir and his dad at their house in Afghanistan. As Hazara’s, anyone can take advantage over them and no one cares enough to do anything about it. People who are higher class constantly belittle and humiliate the lower class people. For example, Amir explains that when he would walk with Ali, Hassan’s dad, he would see neighbours calling him names. “Hey Babalu, who did you eat today? Huh? Come on Babau, give us a smile!”(38) Another factor that contributes to Hassan’s miserable life is that he is always submissive and loyal to Amir. He is always to determined to help him out. Hassan always covers for Amir when they get in trouble and bravely defends him when they are confronted by the neighborhood bullies. After Amir wins the kite running tournament, Hassan goes to chase the blue kite. While he is helping Amir win the tournament, he runs into an alley and is caught by Assef and his friends, Kamal and Wali. Assef is demanding that he take the blue kite from Hassan, but he refuses because he wants to get the kite back to Amir. This results in Assef’s decision to rape Hassan as revenge. On the other hand, Amir is selfish and decides to refuse to intervene while Hassan is being raped by Assef. In this situation, Amir is driven by his feelings of jealousy towards Hassan, his lack of courage, and his fear of Assef and decides to run away. Afterwards, Hassan and Amir avoid speaking about the incident. This results in Amir and Hassan distancing themselves from each other. They stop playing games and going outside together, which results in the abrupt end of their communication. In addition, Hassan’s mental and physical well-being begins to deteriorate. His father, Ali, notices that Hassan is getting more tired everyday and that he is sleeping a lot more than usual.

“Lately, it seems all he wants to do is sleep. He does his chores-I see that-but then he just wants to crawl under his blanket. Can I ask you something?”

“If you have to.”

After that kite tournament, he came home a little bloodied and his shirt was torn. I asked him what had happened and he said it was nothing, that he’d gotten into a little scuffle with some kids over the kite.”

I didn’t say anything. Just kept pushing the egg around on my plate.

“Did something happen to him, Amir agha? Something he’s not telling me?”

I shrugged. “How should I know?” (81)

In spite of Amir’s betrayal to Hassan, he continued his act of loyalty towards Amir. He will always feel a connection to Amir and never wants to betray him. This follows Hassan into his adulthood when the Taliban came into the house, telling Hassan to leave. Hassan refuses to leave because he wants to stay loyal to Amir:

“A pair of Talib officials came to investigate and interrogated Hassan. They accused him of lying when Hassan told them he was living with me even though he had many neighbors, including the one who called me, supported Hassan’s story. The Talibs said he was a liar and a thief like all Hazara’s and ordered him to get his family out of the house by sundown. Hassan protested.” (218)

In the end, Hassan’s refusal to betray Amir costs him his life as the soldiers shoot him down when he refused to let the Taliban confiscate Baba and Amir’s house in Kabul:

“They told Hassan they would be moving in to supposedly keep it safe until I return. Hassan protested again. So they took him to the street-”

“No,” I breathed.

“-and order him to kneel-”

“No. God, no.”

“-and shot him in the back of the head.”

“No.”

“-Farzana came screaming and attacked them-”

“No.”

“-shot her too. Self-defense, the claimed later-” (219)

To conclude, the tragedy in Hassan’s life is not only caused by social and religious discrimination, but it also relates to Amir’s discourage and feeling of jealousy towards him, as well as Hassan’s continuous loyalty to Amir.

The tragedy of Baba’s cancer and death have a huge impact on all the characters throughout the rest of the novel. It causes Amir to finally be courageous and take action. It also forces Hassan to make a decision that will cost him his life and changes his son’s life forever. Baba’s diagnosis with cancer is a major turning point in the novel that greatly influences Amir’s personality. At this point, Amir is forced to no longer live under his father’s umbrella, depending on Baba to protect him and help him make decisions. He is forced to become a real adult. Now, Amir is obligated, for the first time, to protect and help Baba instead. This also forces him to propose to Soraya as if Baba hadn’t gotten cancer, Amir may have continued to postpone his marriage proposal to Soraya. “I sat beside him. ‘Then I wonder if you’ll do something for me. If you’re not too exhausted.’ ‘What?’ ‘i want you to go khastegari. I want you to ask General Taheri for his daughter’s hand’”(161). Also, Baba’s cancer and death affect Hassan’s life. When asked by Rahim Khan to help him take care of Baba and Amir’s house in Afghanistan, Hassan refuses the offer. But after Rahim Khan informs Hassan of Baba’s death, he makes the decision to move back to Baba’s house in Kabul. Unfortunately, this decision ends Hassan and his wife’s life. After a while of living in the house, the Taliban shows up and kills Hassan and his wife because they refuse to give up Baba’s house, which drastically affects the life of their son, Sohrab. Sohrab was later taken to an orphanage because he has no family to live with. The news of Hassan’s death is devastating and has a significant emotional affect on Amir. His feeling of guilt towards Hassan drives the event of Amir’s life, including his journey back to Kabul to look for Hassan’s son, Sohrab, and his confrontation with Assef. “His name rose from the deep and I didn’t want to say it, as if uttering uttering it might conjure him. But he was already there, sitting less than ten feet from me, after all these years. His name escaped my lips: ‘Assef’”(281). In this situation, Amir is forced again to take action. At first, his act of selfishness drives him to refuse going back to Afghanistan. “‘I have a wife in America, a home, a career, and a family. Kabul is a dangerous place, you know that, and you’d have me risk everything for…’ I stopped”(221). After he realizes that this would be his last chance to redeem himself and get rid of his lingering guilt towards Hassan, Amir makes the decision to go save Sohrab. Therefore, Baba’s cancer and death leads to dramatic changes in not only Amir’s life, but it also significantly impacts Hassan and his family’s lives.

The Kite Runner, a novel written by Khaled Hosseini is a great book full of tragedy that heavily affects the events of the lives of its characters, including Amir, Hassan, and his family. Throughout the novel, the tragedy isn’t destiny or fate, but it is caused by the lack of action, social and religious racism, feelings of jealousy, and the ultimate loyalty and submission towards others. Hassan is a victim of Amir’s discourage and cowardice and his complete loyalty to Amir. Also, Amir is a victim of his feelings of jealousy towards Hassan, his complex relationship with Baba, as well as his desire to get his love back. Finally, the characters in The Kite Runner suffer tragedy as a result of the world that they create for themselves. The characters don’t take any action until they are forced to. Moreover, the conflict between father and son, causes Amir and Hassan to suffer. Amir betrays his best friend and half-brother, while Hassan stays loyal to Amir, and they both end up in tragedy. Despite the suffering throughout the book, the characters finally find their way towards redemption.

Introduction

“Where are you going, where have you been?” is a book by Joyce Carol Oates while “The kite runner” is a book by Khaled Hosseini. These are two different books written by two different reputable authors. Both authors have shown their quality in the act of writing. However, while Joyce Oates book talks about an average American girl named Connie, Khaled Hosseini’s book talks about Amir and Hassan two Afghan boys.

The theme of both books is about two different individuals who are brought up in different places under similar circumstances. Connie the main character in “where are you going, where have you been?” is brought up in an environment where her parents are average citizens and are capable of giving her a good upbringing but she is not happy due to the strained relationship between her and her family members. (Oates 1966) While in Khaled Hosseini’s “The kite runner”, Amir the son of a rich Afghan merchant grows up under similar circumstances of not being a happy boy despite his father’s wealth. (Hosseini, 2003) This is due to Amir’s sour relationship with his father. Both characters respectively believed their sibling or friends were loved better than them. Connie believed her elder sister June was loved more than her while Amir believed his friend and half brother Hassan was loved more than him.

Comparing and contrasting both stories

Using this theme, a thematic analysis will be written on both stories by comparing and contrasting how each author shows quality in writing through drama and fiction.

Connie the main character in “where are you going, where have you been?” Joyce Oates is a fifteen years old girl in a happy successful family. Connie believed she was a very pretty girl but who did not get love and affection from her family especially her mother. Alone in her world of imagination, Connie felt her mother and aunties preferred her older sister June who was twenty-four years old and did virtually everything according to her mother and Aunties. (Oates 1966) June also worked as a secretary in Connie’s high school. The two sisters were the total opposite of each other. While Connie the younger sister bothered with looks, the elder sister June did not. And Connie thought of her as being steady, chunky and plain. (Oates 1966) In Connie’s world, she felt alone and unhappy in her family because she was not given her desired freedom. She felt she never had her desired liberty at home and she was happier when she was with her peers. (Oates 1966)

Connie would have preferred to be given the same liberty given to her by her best girlfriend’s father. For her, life could not have been better than walking through stores at the shopping plaza and going to the movies. While they were alone a few times, Connie and her best girlfriend used the freedom given to them to tease and flirt with boys. In her childish imagination, she wished boys looked like movie actors with dazzling smiles and cute black hair. Her peaceful real world provided by her parents was not appreciated by Connie. (Oates 1966)

Connie’s wrong conception about her family put a strain on her relationship with her family especially her mother whom she had contempt for. According to Connie, her mother disgusted her to the point that she sometimes wished they would both die just to end it all. Having liberty was Connie’s idea of love and affection from her family. She lived a life that was often filled with daydreams. (Oates 1966)

In contrast to Joyce Oates’ “where are you going, where have you been?” Khaled Hosseini’s “The kite runner” talks about Amir and Hassan who were both half brothers but never knew until later in Amir’s adult life when he discovered them. In their youthful lives, Amir was told Hassan was the son of his father’s servant Ali. Nonetheless, the difference in family backgrounds did not affect their friendship. Amir believed his father whom he referred to as Baba loved his friend Hassan more than him. Despite living in wealth and affluence, there was a strained family relationship between Amir and his Father. (Hosseini, 2003)

Amir and Hassan’s joy and happiness were interrupted by Assef. Assef was an older boy who was a bully, rapist and molester. Assef harassed Amir and Hassan but Hassan threatened to shoot Assef with his slingshot. A threat that was later carried out by Hassan’s son Sohrab. Assef left the duo alone but not without threatening to make Hassan pay dearly. (Hosseini, 2003) He carried out his threat by raping Hassan while Amir watched from a nearby distance. Amir believed his fear and inability to help or save his friend Hassan from the bully Assef, was a cowardly act that made him feel ashamed about it it. He was also afraid to tell his father about what had happened to Hassan due to their already strained relationship as father and son. Amir’s shame to tell his father about Assef’s evil deed caused him guilt around his friend Hassan. He tried to make his father send Hassan away but failed. (Hosseini, 2003) So Amir lived with guilt and shame simultaneously. Their stay in Afghanistan was interrupted due to war. The war was caused by the invasion of the Soviets into Afghanistan. (Hosseini, 2003)

Conclusion

The central lesson in both stories is about problems encountered in family relationships between parents and their children. In Khaled Hosseini’s “The kite runner” Amir had a troubled relationship with his father whom he believed loved his friend Hassan more. He believed his father’s love for Hassan was a result of Hassan’s bravery and it made him feel ashamed and unworthy for not being as smart as his friend Hassan. (Hosseini, 2003) Then in Joyce Oates “where are you going, where have you been?” Connie also had a troubled relationship with her mother. All efforts made by Connie’s mother to reach out to her daughter were thwarted by Connie. (Oates 1966)

Both characters of the two stories misunderstood correction and comparison. Connie felt her mother was always comparing her with her older sister June by referring to June as an example whenever she went wrong. (Oates 1966) But in reality, the reference was meant to encourage Connie and not belittle her. Unfortunately, Connie misunderstood this act and interpreted it differently. (Oates 1966) Likewise was Amir’s case. His father Baba was the biological father of both Amir and Hassan respectively. He only wanted the best for both of them like every well-meaning parent would. This was the real intent when Baba referred to Hassan as an example. (Hosseini, 2003)

Amir and Connie respectively lived in isolated worlds believing they were not loved equally by their siblings and friends. However, both characters were wrong about their assumptions.

Reference List

Hosseini, K. (2003). The Kite Runner, 1210-1576. New York: Riverhead; New York State University Press.

Oates Carol, J. (1966). Where are you going, Where have you been? 1110-2314. San Diego: Epoch; San Diego state university press.

Introduction

Quality literature provides the world with the opportunity to see a single period in time from the perspective of a single individual as they attempt to come to grips with often universal truths. This is often the case whether the author intends it or not, as he or she cannot help but reveal some of the fundamental concepts and assumptions that inform his or her work. When this literature makes it into the hands of people who do not share this same culture, either because the passage of time has served to shift people’s perspectives or the crossing of borders has introduced new thoughts, the reader is able to gain a closer understanding of how others might see the world differently. Almost automatically, a new understanding seems to blossom in which the terrifying ‘other’ of foreign mystique is able to take on new dimensions as a human being equally confused, equally doing his best to discover his proper moral and ethical path in a world devoid of any clear lines. This is the impression received when one reads a book such as The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Such a book invites the reader into a world that may be completely unfamiliar, gives one a chance to understand more about the hopes and dreams of a people, and encourages one to learn more about the history that has shaped this world before allowing assumption and prejudice to reign. After reading the book and exploring some of the histories of the area it covers, it is more likely that an exploration of some of the book’s central themes will be accurately interpreted.

Summary

The story begins when the narrator, Amir, is supposedly 38 years old, and the tale he tells is essentially a flashback over the events of his life that have brought him to this point. Amir reveals the affluent lifestyle he lived as a child in a sprawling mansion with just his father, who was served by a Hazara servant named Ali. Amir’s mother had died giving birth to him, and he always felt his father held that somewhat against him, although it was never explicitly stated. The infant was nursed on the breast of a servant woman who was also hired a year later to nurse Ali’s son Hassan and the two boys, who had fed from the same breast, grew up together on Baba’s property. Although life was sweet, it had its darker elements, such as the near-slave status of the Hazara people, including Hassan, and the cruelty that lurked in the hearts of schoolmates of Amir’s such as Assef. It is Assef who brings about the life-changing event just as Amir is about to win his father’s approval for winning the kite fight. Hassan, as the kite runner, goes to collect the winning kite but is detained by Assef and his friends. Amir finds his friend cornered in an alley just before Assef decides to rape him. Although Hassan had once stood up for Amir in this type of situation, Amir hides behind the wall and then pretends he is unaware of what happened. Because of his guilt and shame, Amir contrives to get rid of Hassan by framing him for robbery. Although this doesn’t cause Baba to send Hassan away, Ali takes Hassan away anyway, and Amir is left alone with his guilt.

After setting up these important foundational elements of his life, Amir relates how his life was turned upside down again when the Russians invaded Afghanistan. Baba and Amir manage to escape the country by traveling to Pakistan and then on to America. They settle in a run-down apartment in California and take up a subsistence-style lifestyle. Amir attends junior college while Baba works at a convenience store. They haunt garage sales on Saturdays and attempt to sell trash things on Sundays at a swap meet. This is where Amir meets Soraya, the daughter of another prominent Afghan citizen made poor by the war. As Amir begins his writing career, his father is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. His last significant act before he dies is he asks Soraya’s father for her hand in marriage to Amir. The newlyweds care for the ailing father until he dies, and then they spend many happy years together as Amir’s career grows and Soraya works as a schoolteacher. Their one regret is that they are unable to have children. This idyllic existence is brought to a close when Amir receives a phone call from his father’s old friend Rahim Khan. Amir must travel back to Pakistan to learn what the dying Rahim wishes to tell him.

When he arrives, Amir learns that Ali had been killed long ago by a land mine, and Hassan had married a woman and moved back to the servant’s hut he lived in as a boy. The couple had a stillborn daughter followed by a healthy son, but Hassan and his wife were killed when they refused to give up Amir’s house to the Taliban. The son, Sohrab, was taken to an orphanage. Rahim charges Amir with the task of recovering Hassan’s son. In the process, Rahim reveals that Hassan is Amir’s half-brother and hints that he knows what happened when the boys were 12. Amir enters Taliban-controlled territory and undergoes a number of trials, including being beaten nearly to death to recover the unhappy Sohrab who has been sold into child prostitution to Assef. Eventually, Amir succeeds in adopting Sohrab and bringing him back to California. Although Sohrab hasn’t talked for a year since his last suicide attempt, Amir has finally managed to make a connection with him through the simple process of flying a kite together and is rewarded with a lopsided smile that reminds Amir of Hassan.

Research

For a reader unfamiliar with Afghan history, the timeline of what is happening in the greater political realm is difficult to follow as it takes place largely in the background of the main character’s awareness. In a novel based in the Western industrialized world, this type of history serves as a form of running timeline for the reader, but when the events are largely unfamiliar, it is easy to lose track of the fact that Amir’s story occurs in the very recent past instead of centuries ago. Discovering the history in a concise presentation of facts, though, emphasizes the degree of confusion that impacted the country during Amir’s childhood. According to BBC News, “Afghanistan’s descent into conflict and instability in recent times began with the overthrow of the king in 1973” (Afghanistan, 2000). This occurred when Mohammad Daoud deposed his cousin, Zahir Shah, and declared himself president of Afghanistan in 1973. During his presidency, Daoud was busy putting down the Islamists, but he truly began losing his power when he attempted to reduce the Soviet influence in his country. Things were already tense between the various political factions when the Parchamite leader Mir Akbar Khaiber was murdered on April 17, 1978. It was this murder that sparked the fires that had been threatening. “Whoever killed him, Khaiber’s martyrdom touched off an unprecedented popular upheaval. More than fifteen thousand angry, slogan-shouting mourners turned out for his funeral procession two days later, an extraordinarily large crowd by Afghan standards” (Cordovez & Harrison 24). Daoud’s reaction only served to inflame the situation, and the communist party managed to take control in what is called the April Revolution. Infighting in the party led to instability at the top, though, and the Soviet Army took control in 1979. “The Soviet occupation, which lasted until the final withdrawal of the Red Army in 1989, was a disaster for Afghanistan. About a million Afghans lost their lives as the Red Army tried to impose control for its puppet Afghan government. Millions more fled abroad as refugees” (Afghanistan, 2000). It was as part of this great flight that Amir and his father left Afghanistan.

Critique

As he tells his story, there are a number of themes that Hosseini weaves through the narrative that arises out of this conflict. However, he doesn’t do it perfectly. One of the book’s strengths is its powerful sense of connection with the young boy who has to come to grips with his inner demons. His insecurities are openly exposed through strong dialogue and well-developed characters whose actions are consistent with these personalities. Hassan is always humble, always loyal, and always grateful for what he has, for example. “Young Hassan, I agree, is an idealized figure, but that seems understandable given that the narrator is Amir. Amir’s guilt, and his discovery of a deeper connection to the boy than he had imagined, seems to call for that approach to the character. It is ironic, too, given that Hassan looked up to Amir in a way that went beyond the master/servant relationship” (Champ, 2008). While this may seem unrealistic in the western world, the extreme racism and persecution carried throughout the book reveal that only at Baba’s house is Hassan able to experience anything like what we would consider a ‘normal’ childhood. Amir himself points out how his first word was Baba to reflect his adoration of his father, Hassan’s first word was Amir.

In spite of these intimate interpersonal details masterfully depicted, there are several weaknesses to the book as well. One of the greatest weaknesses is the lengthy internal thoughts Amir goes through. When he begins to work out his ideas, he leaves very little to the reader’s imagination, filling in every detail that connects one idea to another in such a way that the reader is no longer engaged. This has the tendency to slow the reading and encourage the reader to put down the book. This same tendency can be found in other areas as well, such as when Hosseini feels it’s necessary to connect his meanings throughout the book instead of allowing the reader to discover the connections on his own. This reduces a great deal of the mystery and fun of reading, and the author would be better served by cutting these sections out to enable the story to flow with greater urgency.

Theme

One of the main themes of the book is the theme of self-awareness. Perhaps this is why the reader is willing to read through the sometimes didactic wandering of the narrator’s thoughts. Amir as a boy, is not seen to work through his internal battles too much as his major conflict through most of his young life is his presumption that his father is disappointed in him. However, he remains true to his desire to become a writer in spite of the fact that his father does not seem to be very supportive of this idea. However, when he fails to stand up for the friend who had once stood up for him, this question becomes the defining concern of his life. This is not to say that he has a weak character, however. He proves this as he seemingly seamlessly adjusts to the deprivations of America as compared to his former lifestyle and devotes all his time and effort to help his father eke out an existence with no complaint yet remains firmly devoted to his goal of becoming a writer. Another place where he proves to know and remain true to his own heart is in the way he wins Soraya despite her father’s disapproval in general about their unorthodox behavior. This growing ability to hold firm to his convictions is seen as a result of the lingering guilt he still feels regarding his old friend. In the last segment of the book, when he is asked to place himself in great danger to rescue Hassan’s son, Amir does not fail to do what’s right, which is now fully in character as a result of this earlier development.

Application

A surface reading of this book may make many people determine that it has little or no direct application to modern American life. After all, there is little likelihood that our country will soon undergo the tremendous shifts in power base that were seen in Afghanistan during the time period of this book. However, the underlying themes of development, loyalty, and survival are applicable to anyone anywhere. For my own part, I have been guilty of looking at people from that part of the world as roughly the same ethnic group and all worthy of some degree of suspicion. This is not because I think they are going to do anything specific but because they always seem to be looking at me with anger and suspicion. After reading this book and doing some research, I have a better understanding of the many ways in which the people of Afghanistan and other areas around there are different and suspicious of each other, not only racially but politically and ideologically as well. In addition, the people who I’ve seen selling trash at swap meets might be looking at me in anger, not because they’re angry at me, but because they’re angry about their condition in life right now. They may have been the equivalent of millionaires at home and are now just barely surviving at the level just above beggars. Above all, the irritation I had with the introspective parts of the book revealed to me just how much I fail to really examine my own thoughts, ideas, and impressions of others and myself.

Conclusion

The Kite Runner is a book that offers its readers a great deal of insight into elements of life that we may otherwise be unaware of. This is true in the degree to which the author is able to introduce us to the culture and history of his birth country. Rather than battling with our natural suspicion and avoidance of the subject, Hosseini eases us into the subject by involving us in the intimate lives of two young boys born on opposite sides of a racial divide – something most Americans are still sorely conscious of having occurred in our own south not so long ago. More than just introducing us to his people and the issues they’ve faced as a people, Hosseini makes this personal to us and begins to introduce us to ourselves in the process. His lengthy digressions into his own impressions serve to show us how it’s done and remind us that it’s something that should be done once in a while as a means of staying true to one’s heart. While his character had a constant guilty reminder to keep him aware of his actions and their consequences, most of us don’t need to think about it so consistently and often let it slip. When we suddenly find ourselves drifting far from our intended course or lost in unfamiliar waters, we have a difficult time adjusting because we are not grounded within ourselves. Ultimately, the book teaches us how to know ourselves through learning about others.

Works Cited

1. “Afghanistan’s Turbulent History.” BBC News. (2000). Web.
2. Champ, Bob. “Review: The Kite Runner.” Derkeiler. (2008).
3. Cordovez, Diego & Selig S. Harrison. Out of Afghanistan: The Inside Story of the Soviet Withdrawal. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.
4. Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead Books, 2003.

Introduction

The cruelty of the revolution and the Taliban regime brought not only a lot of changes and sufferings to people’s lives but also provided the literature world with significant masterpieces filled with pain and difficulties of existence and reflecting all the peculiarities of that time. To understand the inner state of the people who lived in constant war and injustice one can analyze such works as the film “Osama”, the book written by Khaled Hosseini “The Kite Runner “, and “Persepolis”, whose author is Marjane Satrapi. So, to become more familiar with these creations one should go into details of their content and compare them to find out common features.

Description of “Osama”

Osama is the film of 2003, which was made in Afghanistan and reflects the difficult time of the Taliban regime with all its brutalities and traps for those who wanted to live an ordinary life. This film describes the fate of one of the Afghan families, to be more exact of mother and daughter, who had no protection from the cruelties and obstacles which waited for them in life. Her husband and brother were killed during the Soviet Invasion, so they were abandoned helpless. They had no means to put themselves together as the Taliban regime took their job at the hospital and the last hope for a happy future.

It is easy to understand why the girl’s mother appeared to be in despair, the burden of responsibility for their way of life was put on her shoulders with no one to help and support them. The young girl manages to find a way out of a hopeless situation with the help of the story told by her mother. This tail changes her life completely as she is not a girl anymore. Her new appearance of a boy Osama brings a new job, friends, emotions, and feelings, difficulties, and suspicious attitude on the part of others. We cannot but see her inner anxiety, her new life differs from the previous one. She has to overcome unpleasant surprises of destiny: disclosure and arrest are like a moral shock for a young inexperienced girl. The inhumane conditions of the Taliban regime made her life intolerable and intricate.

The book “The Kite Runner “

These events are closely connected with those, the author wanted to show in the book “The Kite Runner “ which was written by Khaled Hosseini in 2003. One can observe the reflection of the same Taliban regime in this wok. The Russians invasion influenced the fate of the characters of this book as well as in ”Osama” and brought many unexpected changes and sorrow. This story tells about a boy whose name was Amir and his uneasy fate with betrayal and envy, shame, and emotional experience. His fate is closely interwoven with the life of his childhood friend Hassan, who always supported and understood him, and was almost a member of their family. Amir’s father is characterized as an interlink between two fires.

Amir’s jealousy of his father makes him cruel and unfair; his selfishness leads to the betrayal of his best friend. Lie absorbs his own “world” where he tries to prove something to himself, maybe his inner power and strong character make him so rude and egoistic. But everything has changed. The Russian invasion turned their lives from luxurious into poor and difficult, a father with his son had to work hard to earn some money for them to live in new conditions. It was a kind of punishment for Amir and one of the cruelest. These changes took away his father and made him suffer for previous sins. The book “The Kite Runner “ is as well as “Osama” the embodiment of the inner fight of a person who wants to change something and overcome all the difficulties of destiny. We can see that in both works Revolution and war go together with the characters of the stories, the same situation is observed in the book “Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi.

The story “Persepolis”

“Persepolis” is an autobiography of Marjane Satrapi who tells about her childhood in Iran after the revolution. It describes conditions in which people had to live after the war between Iran and Iraq and how they influenced the way of life and social position of the population. This story transfers us to a time when the Islamic regime was provided and political forces influenced the choice of the nation. We can observe the life of a little girl who had to wear a veil in the country she lived in. The regime introduced in that time covered all layers of the population and left an imprint on the life of the population. The author describes a strong character of a little girl who was ready for any obstacle; at her little age, she showed strong resistance to all the rules and contradictions. One has to stress that three of the stories were created in 2003 and have a lot of common features as they reflect the wartime and the difficulties people had to overcome.

Similar in film and books

The Taliban and Islamic regimes, revolutions, and Russian invasions influenced the fate of the characters of all the stories and showed in detail how painful the conditions of living were and how strong the people were to overcome them. Every war period provided its own rules to follow; a lot of people had to move abroad not to suffer from the political influence. It was difficult to accept the situation but most people had no choice, to live without losses meant to follow the rules strictly as disobedience was cruelly punished by political forces and authorities. The stories examined to describe the inner fight of its protagonists, the fight to be stronger, to correct previous mistakes, to understand some new values of life, appreciate what you have at this very moment, and just always try to move ahead.

Osama in the film is described as a strong-willed girl who was not afraid of radical changes and became a boy in spite of all prohibitions and misunderstandings. In the book “The Kite Runner “ Amir tries to overcome the feeling of shame for betrayal and lie in his life. The autobiographical book “Persepolis” is an embodiment of strong-willingness and intrepidity, though the protagonist of the book is still a little girl with no experience of life. Comparing these characters and their way of lives we can notice that they are directed to the same aim – to overcome the power of influence on the part of political forces and their regimes and not to surrender by all means.

Conclusion

I consider that these works are realistic enough as they raise the problems important for our time. Having read the books and after seeing the film one can make some conclusions for himself, compare different lives and periods of time. It helps to understand the moral values of every country examined and their population. Some countries still suffer such influences so it can be useful to compare different styles of life for you to gain more experience and widen your world-view.

References

Robbins, Trina Osama difficulties. Newspaper article; The Washington Times, 2005.

Khaled, Hosseini. “The Kite Runner “. The US, 2003.

Marjane, Satrapi. “Persepolis”. US Edition, 2003.