Conflict Between Social Classes

Social class, which can define one’s position in society, sometimes contributes to a form of conflict for people with socially low status who try to gain rights and equality in society. This can often been seen in the twentieth century history, such as the movement towards African and Indian independence, where people rebelled in order to create their own government and have better living conditions. The rise of conflicts due to social inequality happened in all over the world, and consequently, social class difference is integral to the conflict in many examples of Non-Western literature in the twentieth century.

Discrimination against the Hazaras and the conflict between them and the Taliban is portrayed in The Kite Runner when the Hazaras receive a strong injustice from the Taliban. Assef is introduced as a bully in the story, which already indicates the struggle between two different groups. He, being half German and half Pashtun, is characterized as a typical bully in the novel. In addition, his ethnicity symbolizes the power of the Pashtuns as it is the dominant ethnic group in Afghanistan. This meant that he has always had the privilege and advantages in living in comparison to a Hazara like Hassan, a predominant Shi’ia group which is ranked very low in relative ethnic groups and status. Assef states that “Afghanistan is the land of Pashtuns. It has been, always will be. We are the true Afghans, the pure Afghans, not this Flat-Nose here. His people pollute our homeland, our watan. They dirty our blood” (40, Hosseini). This signifies his strong belief in Pashtun’s superiority in Afghanistan, hence the inequality of the two ethnic groups and the leading of a possible conflict between them.

In addition, Assef’s physical ab...

... middle of paper ...

...roups, and they indicate that conflicts become more serious once it involves two different ethnic groups, such as in The Kite Runner and Weep Not, Child. Arguably, social class difference is integral to many of the Non - Western literatures of the twentieth century, for conflicts are strongly illustrated throughout the stories.

Works Cited

Dai, Sijie, and Ina Rilke. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. New York: Anchor, 2002. Print.

Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead, 2003. Print.

Nwapa, Flora. Modern literatures of the non-Western world, The Chief's Daughter. New York, N.Y: HarperCollins College, 1995. Print.

Thiong'o, Ngugi Wa. Weep Not, Child (African Writers). Chicago: Heinemann, 1988. Print.

"Decolonization of Africa." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 23 May 2010.