Hosseini’s purpose of writing the Kite Runner was to teach the readers the different ethnic groups in Afghanistan. The main character, Amir, is a Pashtun and Pashtuns are Sunni Muslims, then there are Hazara’s that the Pashtuns do not get along with. Hazara’s are not welcomed by the Pashtuns because they are different social classes. Pashtuns have more control over things, as Hosseini talked about in the novel, they had more control in their history. When Amir was describing his father as, “…a towering Pashtun specimen with a thick beard, a way ward crop of curly brown hair…” (Page 12), was way different compared to the way he described Ali, a Hazara. Amir did not realize that he was describing the Pashtuns as they were better than the Hazara’s, also when Amir mentioned Hassan he said how he did not call him his friend because Hassan was a Hazara and he was his servant. Although he did say they were like brothers because they grew up together but never did he say friends. The tragedy that happened in the novel when Hassan was rape, sometimes it can be seen as a betrayal because Amir did not help Hassan, Pashtun betraying a Hazara. …show more content…
As Hosseini wrote, “You! The Hazara! Look at me when I am talking to you!” (Page 7). The person speaking was a Pashtun and they were yelling to Hassan because he was not responding to him when he was trying to talk to him, so they began to be rude to Hassan, but Amir did not do anything because he cannot go against his own ethnic group but he also did not say anything because Hassan was like his brother so he stayed quiet and just said to keep walking. The Pashtuns compare the Hazara’s to Chinese dolls because they have the flat face with slanted eyes and the flat nose. In addition the Pashtuns don’t have the Hazara’s in the official Afghani school books because they are above
In the novel, “The Kiterunner”, the reader follows the life of a boy named Amir and we dive into his life in Afghanistan. In the beginning of the book, we follow Amir and his young life in Afghanistan with his father, Baba. Amir’s father is a very rich businessman and the two of them live alone in a large home because Amir’s mother died in childbirth with him. The only other people who play a major role in the novel are Baba’s friend and business partner, Rahim Khan, Amir’s family servant, Ali, and his son, Amir’s best friend, Hassan. The reader quickly learns that Ali and Hassan are a different type of Afghan called, Hazara. In this time period of Afghanistan Hazara people were treated poorly for their appearance and because most Hazara people have such a low status in society that they can only usually get a job as a house servant. Although Ali and his son Hassan are Hazara, later on the reader learns that Baba’s father took in Ali as his own son and cared for him, which is why Baba looks after him now like a good brother.
Amir had mistreated Hassan in some ways, for example, when he threw pomegranates at the latter, in hopes to receive the same treatment back. He had always thought that since Hassan was a Hazara, he should be looked down upon because he is of a lower class. After the kite running event and when Hassan was raped, Amir spoke to Ali about Hassan’s condition. He did not mention how Hassan was raped, but rather said that he was sick instead. From the way he spoke to Ali, it was noticeable that he was pushing the blame onto Hassan, freeing himself from all castigations he would receive. ““Like I said, how should I know what’s wrong with him?” I snapped. “Maybe he’s sick. People get sick all the time, Ali. Now, am I going to freeze to death or are you planning on lighting the stove today?”” (Hosseini 86) This line displays how Amir used excuses to maneuver his way from the topic of Hassan that day, in order to keep his image and mind clean. In addition to this idea of keeping the image clean towards society and believing in delusions, Baba had taught himself to think that he was a good man. When Amir and Baba were on the truck ride from Kabul, there was a part where a Russian soldier had threatened to kill Baba for protecting the woman. ““Tell him I’ll take a thousand of his bullets before I let this indecency take place,” Baba said” (Hosseini 122). It was apparent from this line, and
Amir, the main character and narrator in the Kite Runner, belongs to a wealthy family in which his father is a powerful businessman. Amir is also a part of the dominant Pashtun ethnic group and Sunni religious group. Amir in the Kite Runner tells the story of his friendship with Hassan. Hassan and his father, Ali, are Amir’s servants. Hassan on the contrary is a low-caste ethnic Hazara and belongs to the minority Shi’it religious faith. This provides many of the Afghan’s who are different such as Sunni’s, who make up 85% of the Muslim faith, to persecute people like Hassan for their religion.
...ffect children like Hassan in Afghanistan. Racism continued when they went to America, where they will judge Americans and Americans will judge them. This shows that Amir is embarrassed to be Hassan’s friend. He believes Hassan is a lower class citizen because of his race and the fact that he is a “servant”. He only plays with Hassan when no ones around because he is afraid someone else will judge him for talking to a Hazara. The next quote is when Amir and Baba visit the doctor in America to get a CAT scan for Baba’s cancer. In the Kite Runner, Assef the bully treats Hassan very differently than Amir and the other boys in the town. Hassan is a Pashtun “Flat-Nose” who Assef believes is race that is a threat to the purity of Afghanistan. He expresses hatred towards anyone that has that same background. Especially Hassan. Amir also treats Hassan differently.
“We may be hard headed and I know we are to far too proud but in the hour of need believe me that there's no one you’d rather have at your side than a pashtun”(160). This quote is said by Baba and what he means is that pashtuns are better to have at your side than hazaras. This quote is ironic cause Amir wasn't there when Hassan needed him,he ran away like a coward,whereas Hassan being a hazara he was loyal and proved to be a better person to have by your side than Amir who was a coward. This helped us
In the book Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer wrote about Christopher McCandless, a nature lover in search for independence, in a mysterious and hopeful experience. Even though Krakauer tells us McCandless was going to die from the beginning, he still gave him a chance for survival. As a reader I wanted McCandless to survive. In Into the Wild, Krakauer gave McCandless a unique perspective. He was a smart and unique person that wanted to be completely free from society. Krakauer included comments from people that said McCandless was crazy, and his death was his own mistake. However, Krakauer is able to make him seem like a brave person. The connections between other hikers and himself helped in the explanation of McCandless’s rational actions. Krakauer is able to make McCandless look like a normal person, but unique from this generation. In order for Krakauer to make Christopher McCandless not look like a crazy person, but a special person, I will analyze the persuading style that Krakauer used in Into the Wild that made us believe McCandless was a regular young adult.
At times Amir had trouble realizing that they were best friends because Hassan was a Hazara, he was of Asian descent and of the Shiite tribe, he resembles his ancestors, the Mongols. Amir is a Pashtun, of the Sunni tribe, a majority group in Afghanistan. Hassan was loyal and showed endless amounts of respect and praise to Amir. Though Hassan knew what Amir had witnessed and done to him, he covered up for him. He did not ever let Amir get into trouble with Baba, his father. Hassan was also the half brother of Amir, neither knew until Rahim Khan, a friend of Baba’s informed Amir. He and Hassan had a connection, both as friends but also as brothers.
textbooks and discovers that the feud between the Pashtuns and the Hazaras dates back to the nineteenth century; during this time period the Hazara rose up against the Pashtuns and tried to overthrow them. However, their efforts were futile and they were mercilessly defeated. Ever since the failed coup, there has been bad blood between the Pashtuns and the Hazara. As a result, one's caste became a master status in Islamic society. For example, Baba’s father took in Ali after his parents were killed by a drunk driver. Which resulted in, Baba and Ali becoming very close almost like brothers. However, Baba never called him a friend because Ali was a Hazara. Moreover, based on the history of the Pashtuns and the Hazara it would have been socially
“Whatever their faith and calling the Hazaras are as honorable citizens of Pakistan as anyone else and the protection of their lives and liberty is a duty for which you will be held accountable,” as one of the citizens said (Akbar). They have strived to receive equal individual rights and freedom for years, yet it remains as the worst cases throughout the Mid-eastern countries. This situation has appear throughout the Kite Runner, highlighting one of the essential themes—social gap and religious differences. The social gap between Amir and Hassan reveals intense religious and racial disputes that have existed years ago, thus promoting the distinction of Shi’a and Sunni Muslim groups.
The Hazaras were though of as servants or less than most during this time in Afghanistan. Amir is exposed to unkindness toward Hazaras throughout his childhood. While walking on the street, Amir sees Ali being verbally harassed by Pashtun boys. The first truly inhumane action Amir decides to make occurs in the alley where Hassan is raped. Contemplating with himself Amir thinks, "He was just a Hazara, wasn't he?"(77). Amir tries to justify his decision by reminding himself that Hassan, because of his race, is less than Amir.
Amir is afraid to be Hassan’s true friend because he is different. This highlights Amir’s selfishness. In the novel, Amir often points out Hassan’s harelip, and the fact that he is a Hazara. He describes Hassan as “… a boy with a Chinese doll face perpetually lit by a harelipped smile (25).” Amir is not sure if he wants to be around Hassan because he is selfish and he recognizes that Hassan is in a lower social class than him. This makes the young Amir hesitant to be around Hassan because of what other people’s opinions might be. Amir is influenced heavily by this and that makes him grow afraid of becoming Hassan’s true friend. Amir is not stron...
Bullied and ridiculed for playing alongside a Hazara, Amir devolves even greater into complacency and adjusting his views to match that of his society. When Assef declares intensely racist views, “‘Afghanistan is the land of Pashtuns. It always has been, always will be...not this Flat-nose here. His people pollute our homeland’”, followed by a baffled “‘How can you call him your ‘friend’?”, Amir internally becomes ashamed of his close relationship with Hassan and reflects on the need to hide his friendship “I play with Hassan only when no one else was around” (40-41). This shows how willing Amir is to conform to avoid rejection and disdain for his actions, such as striving to please Baba and rejecting Hassan to paradoxically evade rejection. Consequentially, Amir’s repetitive shame associates Hassan with it, showing that Amir’s gradual devaluing of Hazaras is driven by societal norms. Amir becomes a citizen, perhaps out of many, that take the stable and peaceful monarchy of King Zahir Shah for granted. Hosseini portrays the exposition of the book in pre-war so “that the
In the book The Kite Runner, Society judges you based on your race and your social class. For example, Baba had to hide Hassan because he would have been judged for having an affair with a Hazara. In this society, if you are a Hazara then you are treated very differently. The Pashtuns are basically in control over a lot of things. The Hazaras are told that they are not included in the history of the
Compensating for the deficits of the way he treated Hassan completely consumes him. He shut him out of his life and then realizes how the heinous act on Hassan should be when the friends should have come together, rather than drift apart. He only realizes this when he learns about Hassan’s son, and tries to redeem himself through Sohrab. Amir says: “I have gone back to Afghanistan to bring back my half-brother’s son” (329), which changes the original conflict of redeeming himself to his father to redeeming himself to his best friend. This characterizes Amir due to how his priority shifted from his father to his friend, not concerned anymore about impressing his father, but rather vindicating his poor treatment of his friend by caring for his only son, and making sure that what happened to Hassan will never happen to Sohrab again, finally saying that Hassan “meant a lot to [him]” (237). Further along the storyline there are many times where Amir defended Sohrab, compensating for the times when he did not stand up for Hassan, allowing the sexual assault to take place because Hassan was a hazara. Later on in the story, readers note that General Sahib called Sohrab a hazara boy, and Amir stated: “...you never again refer to him as ‘Hazara boy’”(213), which shows some of the character development with Amir, showing how he is willing to stand up for someone, which is what his
...h him; another part to this is because he believes Hassan is just a dirty Hazara boy. “I'd chase the car, screaming for it to stop. I'd pull Hassan out of the backseat and tell him I was sorry, so sorry, my tears mixing with rainwater. We'd hug in the downpour (Hosseini 109).” After Amir causes Hassan to leave, he laments about letting, more like making, his best friend leave him. He sees the dirty Hazara boy as his best friend at that moment. In both of these stories, the main character realizes how similar they are to the other social or religious group.