One’s upbringing and status ultimately affects their behavior and authority in society. The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, shows the difference in power between the Hazaras, who have been persecuted throughout Afghani history, and the Pashtuns, who hold superior status. The novel is set against the backdrop of a class-based society structure in Afghanistan. The hierarchical society determines occupation, status, and power in the social structure, and defines the social interaction amongst members of different classes. Using the Marxist lens to analyze this novel reveals the impact of different socioeconomic classes and offers a more comprehensive view of what life was like during a time of great political anarchy in Afghanistan. By …show more content…
Most are illiterate because they lack a proper education and work as servants. They are born into this occupation because of the class structure. As a young boy, Amir, a Pashtun, shares his stories with Hassan, a Hazara, under the pomegranate tree. Amir often teases Hassan, since he is uneducated. For example, Amir tells Hassan, “‘Imbecile.’ It means smart, intelligent. I’ll use it in a sentence for you. ‘When it comes to words, Hassan is an imbecile’” (Hosseini 29). Amir makes fun of Hassan in order to show that he is knowledgeable and has power over Hassan who has little control over his decisions because he is supposed to be loyal to Amir. Hassan would do anything for Amir “a thousand times over” (Hosseini 67). In addition, Hosseini writes, “I read him poems and stories, sometimes riddles-though I stopped reading those when I saw he was far better at solving them than I was” (Hosseini 28). When Amir realizes that Hassan is better than him at solving riddles, he stops reading him riddles, so that he can maintain his superior status. If Hassan becomes smarter than Amir, it will make Amir look bad, so he limits Hassan’s access to knowledge. Essentially, Amir puts his status and wellbeing over Hassan’s, so he can uphold his reputation and
Throughout an individual's life, many of one’s moral decisions are made based on their experience in race, ethnicity and social class. In Afghanistan, many individuals are judged based on their cultural backgrounds and hierarchy, which has led to the diversity of their own kind. Throughout the novel The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini focus on two types of castes: Pashtuns and Hazaras. Pashtuns are considered as the majority race and ethnic group in Afghanistan, while the Hazaras are viewed as the weakest and poorest race in Afghanistan, so they are easily insulted by Pashtuns. In this world, race, ethnicity and social class influences us to make the decisions individuals make. This is evident in the novel The Kite Runner
The society of the Taliban is almost a polar opposite of that in the United States. The group looks at women as having little to no rights and believes that their holy book, the Quran, gives reasoning to the roles of women as virtually sexual objects in their society. Their political leaders were not elected into their positions, but took them by force. It operates fifteen courts of law in Southern Afghanistan in the...
“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.” In Khaled Hosseini’s, The Kite Runner, Amir, the young protagonist, lives a lavish lifestyle with his father, Baba. Until the Soviets invade and the Taliban become the dominant influence in Afghanistan. Amir’s sumptuous lifestyle comes to an end, and the values of not only his father but also his society begin to impact him and he realizes how much he does not belong in his own culture. Amir is taught the virtues of being a good man, however when the opportunity presents itself to demonstrate his teachings; Amir realizes how different he is from the ways of his father.
“His people have been struggling to triumph over the forces of violence-forces that continue to threaten them even today” (Hower). Khaled Hosseini’s novels have brought many of his readers a different perspective of Afghanistan. Many people after reading Hosseini’s books start to notice this place more and have sympathy feelings rather negative views about it. Usually people believe the media’s information that conveys about Afghanistan as a poverty place but does not specify why they live in this conditions and how those states affect their everyday life. In the two novels The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, the author Khaled Hosseini wrote the political events that happen in Afghanistan and show how those events affected Afghans’ lives in order to show his personal values of political events and humanitarianism. Khaled Hosseini uses his and other Afghan’s personal experience to send out his mission statement to his readers. Hosseini said that his message was to get his readers be a part of “the mission of [his] foundation to reach out and help people who are exactly like the characters in [his] books” (Wrenn). Across the globe, people started to give a helping hand when they start to read Hosseini’s novels.
Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns features at the most basic level the compelling life story of a two women, Mariam and Laila, and their lives. However, the true heart of this work lies in a much broader issue through all of the characters and the events that took place in Afghanistan around the time of this novels story.Hosseini writes characters into his novel as characters in themselves on the surface, but can be seen as representations of a much larger population of Afghanistan. Hosseini uses individual characters as a window into the larger scene of the entire country of Afghanistan, and the many facets of its people, in order to illustrate the political issue in a new light so as to demonstrate to the audience Hosseini’s hope for the future of Afghanistan.
Overall, Khaled Hosseini wrote a story, based on experiences from his own life and the history of Afghanistan from the turn of the 20th century until present day. He added the universal human theme of being good again, allowing this book and these characters to appeal to readers everywhere. He also crafted one of the most successful and popular novels in the Afghan American genre. Looking at the The Kite Runner from the outside in, or from the perspective of the author’s life and Afghanistan’s past, it is easy to see that Hosseini manages to open the eyes of the Western reader. A person on this side of the International Date Line is forced to reconsider their general perspective and beliefs about Muslims and Afghanistan after picking up The Kite Runner.
His mother was a teacher at a high school in Kabul, while his father was a diplomat for the Afghan Foreign Ministry
Discrimination, bigotry and class structure are all very present in Afghan Society. This is outlined well in Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, where each character experiences or witnesses one of the aforementioned characteristics of society. The incessant use of discrimination in the novel is significant for many reasons, the most prominent of which is that these elements of society are still present today. The Kite Runner helps students understand how unjust life can be, and how fortunate we are to be so far removed from such circumstances. The three dominant points in the story about discrimination, bigotry and class structure are how women are viewed and treated; how Hazaras are seen as inferior; and the differences between Amir’s old neighbourhood versus the rest of Afghanistan.
When people are given a chance to redeem themselves they will try to use their best abilities to accomplish their objective. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, is a historical fiction that follows Amir from childhood to adulthood. Amir, a socially awkward kid, lives in Kabul, Afghanistan with his father, Baba, a successful businessman, with his best friend, Hassan. Baba is discouraging towards Amir for not being confident in himself, but Amir finds a passion in writing. When Amir and Hassan win a kite fighting tournament, it causes Baba to accept Amir, but ultimately Hassan leaves Baba’s household because Amir betrays Hassan by not defending him when he is raped by local bullies. Due to turmoil rising in Afghanistan, Amir and Baba travel to America, where Amir becomes a successful writer and has a wife. Then Amir receives a call that can help Amir redeem his friendship with Hassan. As the book progresses, Hosseini proves that anything can be fixed through redemption. Amir’s pursuit of writing in America demonstrates the freedom found there, exemplifying the endless freedom found in America compared to Kabul. In a quest to save Hassan’s son, Sohrab, Amir fights Assef, an adversary of Amir since childhood; as Amir is losing the brawl, he goes through a similar pain that he made Hassan go through. When settling in America, Amir and Baba’s relationship improves as compared to their poor affliction in Kabul.
On the outside you look, talk, and act like a man, but on the inside you are a young girl. There is a tradition in Afghanistan culture that was gone on for centuries called bacha posh where young girls grow up as men in a culture bound by women oppression. In Jenny Nordberg’s book The Underground Girls of Kabul she explores the Afghan culture and tradition on bacha posh. The bacha posh tradition is often seen as a practical to solution to women oppression that can lead to female empowerment and a higher family social status; although it can also leave negative psychological and mental affects that lead to issues later in life.
The Afghan society comprises of mostly poor people, dominated by a small percentage of rich and powerful ones. “With 36% of its population living below the poverty line” (The Borgen Project), the gap between the rich and poor seems to be ever- increasing. This unstable and erratic condition of Afghanistan is taking advantage of by opportunists as they “only come to Afghanistan to help themselves get rich, or richer” (Busfield 35). Although, all of Afghanistan aches during this unfortunate time, people like Fawad are given a greater share of sorrow. The extent of Fawad’s sufferings is shown when the author makes a reference to Wazir Akbar Khan District, the home to The Kite Runner’s main character, Amir. “We aren’t rich like those in Wazir Akbar Khan District, Fawad” (Busfield 6), says Fawad’s mother. In The Kite Runner, Amir is shown to face the brutality of life in Afghanistan. However, Amir’s sufferings are overshadowed by Fawad’s, who, not only lost most of his family, but also continues to face the harsh reality of poverty. Despite being constantly reminded of his insignificant status in society, Fawad overcomes his struggles by standing up for what he believes is right. He helps make the seemingly impossible love life of Haji Khan and Georgie, possible. He also finds a job for Jamilla, a poor ill-fated girl like him, at the expense of his own
In the literature, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, the idea and representation of justice, and its relationship to that of the treatment of women in Afghan society, the ever-changing politics of Afghanistan, and the desired results of redemption and forgiveness, become illustrated through the novel’s characters and motives. Justice can be defined as the quality of being guided by truth, reason, and fairness. The Kite Runner illustrates the power of influence from an outside power and its effects on society, and the minds and lifestyles of the people. In relationship to the Cheverus High School Grad-at-Grad profile the actions and wrongdoings that take place in the The Kite Runner and in Afghanistan prove to be injustice.
Everybody in this world has a talent. He or she can use his talent to express about himself or herself. Also, the writers can explain some themes from their societies in their articles, novels, and books. The artistic works can treat some problems and face the society with it. For an example, Khaled Hosseini on his novel The Kite Runner, explains some themes from the society like, how the children affected by their parents, how the society and the religious matter effect on the people, and the value of having someone by your side supports you.
Samad, Omar. "Ethnic Politics: A dangerous Fault Line." Afghan Analytica (2013): n.pag. Web. 18 Nov 2013.
In India there are still many villages which fall into the clutches of illiteracy in a worse manner than the others. The moneylenders, the zamindars, the contractors manipulate them into believing facts that further deteriorates their position. They are devoid of their basic rights, of the privileges that they are offered by the constitution of India as a measure to bring equality. Illiteracy has not only pangs of economic descent but also it is a major lapse in the overall growth of not only a person but the society as a whole. Illiteracy widens the gap between the rich and the poor. It limits the mentality of a person into thinking that the world is just a surreal blur and is confined to the four walls of their humble abode or the boundaries of their state. They live and die in darkness, building a home on the catacomb of their dreams. The effect of illiteracy is so deep rooted that people deny accepting that it is a curse on their lives. They continue to believe in the myths and fancies which is their further fall. Illiteracy not only attacks the self esteem of a person but he is forced to earn a meager income. He is