The Kite Runner was published in 2003 by Riverhead books. It is the first novel by author Kahled Hoseini. The story of The Kite Runner begins in Kabul in the 1960. The novel is about an all-male family consisting of the father Baba, his son Amir, the servant Alivant, and his son Hassan. Amir, being from the upper class, has access to a better education than his friend, Hassan, but they both suffer from similar problems. They both struggle with education, housing and or even physical or psychological abuse. This novel shows many examples between the differences in class and the conflicts between them. The characters that belong to the upper class, such as Amir and Assef, are the cause of the novel's issues amongst characters and bigger issues within Afghan and American society due to the shared belief that their superior social status forgives their offenses. In Afghanistan, people are usually divided into three ethnic classes. They are distinguished by race, religion and by earnings. The Pashtuns are the upper class. They are the largest ethnic group and are over 43% of the population in Afghanistan. Hazaras are the lowest class of Afghans. They are usually servants to the upper class and do not have many …show more content…
Assef uses his ethnic group’s power to excuse his attack on Hassan and forgive him of guilt and sin. When Assef rapes Hassan, Assef thinks his action is excused by the Hassan is a Hazara. Assef believes that Hassan as lower class should respect and satisfy him. He believes that what he is doing benefits Afghanistan and even though what he does is immoral; because the Hazaras are despised his acts are excusable. This is an example how the Taliban believes that killing who they see fit is for the greater good of Afghanistan, thereby excusing themselves for their
The Kite Runner, is the first novel written by Khaled Hosseini. The Kite Runner is set in Afghanistan before the war in the city of Kabul, and then eventually in America. The novel relays the struggles of Amir (A young Shi’ boy), Hassan (a young Hazera servant boy) and Baba (Amir’s father) as they are growing up in an ever-changing Afghanistan. The young boys face difficult challenges most adults will never have to experience. Amir, Hassan, and even Baba must overcome cruelty in every aspect of their lives.
The way our friends treat us in the face of adversity and in social situations is more revealing of a person’s character than the way they treats us when alone. In Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, ethnic tensions, nationality, and betrayal become the catalyst that drives and fuels Amir, Assef, and other characters to embark on their particular acts of cruelty. Serving as a way to illustrate the loss of rectitude and humanity, cruelty reveals how easily people can lose their morals in critical circumstances. Through Amir, Assef, and the Taliban’s actions, cruelty displays the truth of a person’s character, uncovering the origin of their cruelty. Amir’s cruelty spurs from his external environment and need for love from his father, choosing
Assef is the character responsible for Amir’s guilt. He is the one who raped Hassan and if he did not, the story would be changed drastically. He is the source of evil in the novel. The sociopathic qualities he demonstrates are very evident. Assef if very different from the other characters in the sense that he never feels guilt and has no conscious. Baba and Amir both are able to redeem themselves but Assef has no remorse after his actions. Assef believes that “Afghanistan is the land of Pashtuns … we are the true Afghans, the pure Afghans, not this Flat-nose here. His people pollute our homeland.”(40) Assef bullies Hazara’s such as Hassan as he believes people like him should not be in Afghanistan. His actions are very rude and he never apologizes
Even when Amir was nasty and cruel to him, he had always been a faithful, kind soul. He never doubted that Amir was his friend and that he held a special place in his heart. When Hassan got raped, Amir did not help Hassan. There were ultimately two options: step up to the bullies and rescue Hassan, or run away. Even after hearing Assef say how Amir would never do the same for him, about how he would never stand up for him, he still chose to run away and pretend like he did not just witnessed what had happend. There is also scene where Amir is feeling guilty and both the boys are around a pomegranate tree. Amir just starts pelting Hassan with pomegranates and threatens to him to throw one back. He exclaims, “You’re a coward,” (...). And what does Hassan do? He picks up a pomegranate, but instead of hurling it in Amir’s direction, he smashes it on himself and says, “are you satisfied?” (....). There is this constant pressure on Hassan and Amir’s relationship. The Afghan society would not approve of such “friendship.” Both of the boys were good, but Amir was so young when he made the mistakes that it made the reader question whether there was a way for Amir to be morally good again.
In the past, Afghanistan has been attacked by many foreign invaders. As a result, the Afghans have developed a culture where they are expected to stand up for themselves, keeping out anyone who tries to topple them down. Amir recognizes that he does not meet the stereotypes and standards of what an Afghan male should should
The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, is a fiction story about two young boys named Amir and Hassan that grew up in Kabul. Amir, who betrayed Hassan and fled to California as Kabul was being controlled by the Russian, was still being haunted by his betrayal. As Amir heard that the Taliban’s murdered Hassan and his wife, Amir returned to Kabul to save Hassan son, Sohrab.
Born in a rich Afghani family as the only child, Amir was brought up by his father, a wealthy businessman and a philanthropist who had built up an orphanage. However, Amir didn't feel be loved by his father because his father was stringent and not appreciated Amir’s bashfulness character. Amir had a friend, Hassan - who is the son of Ali, the servant in his family. Amir not only played with Hassan but also envied him because Amir presumed that his father loved Hassan better than himself. One day, Amir was intercepted by the antagonist of the novel, Assef, because Amir and Hassan won the competition of flying a kite. Hassan passed by and saved Amir by shooting Assef’s face with his catapult. Thus, Hassan’s action enraged Assef and bred Assef’s revenge - Assef insulted Hassan in a remote alley. Amir witnessed the process but didn't stand out. Amir felt guilt of his behavior and, therefore, told his father that Hassan has stolen something in the house to fire Hassan. Although Amir’s father didn't believe Amir’s words but Hassan still left. A few years later, to escape for the war, Amir and his father left Afghan for America. Amir became a writer and married with Soraya, daughter of an Afghan officer, yet he still felt guilt of his offense about Hassan. One day, unfortunately, Amir heard that Hassan was killed by Assef and Hassan’s child, Sohrab, was captured. Told that Hassan was actually his brother, his father’s child with Ali’s wife, Amir decided to return Afghan to save Sohrab. Exper...
Amir’s childhood is quite unusual compared to most children in Afghan. Amir’s father, Baba, is a very rich and successful individual in his lifetime. This success allows Amir to live a wealthy lifestyle with access to western commodity as well as servants. In novel, Amir is risen mostly by his servants Hassan and Ali, as well
Khaled Hosseini, the author of The Kite Runner, grew up in prejudiced Afghanistan during the 1960’s as a middle-class Pashtun living with Hazaras working for his family. His move to America after the Communist Coup proved difficult for his family, especially his father. In his novel, Hosseini writes through a young boy, Amir, very similar to himself, who grows up with his father and two Hazara servants in Afghanistan at the time of the Taliban attacks. Both Amir and his father, Baba, treat their servants, Hassan and Ali, like family. Society, however, does not approve of such relationships between Pashtuns and Hazaras. As Amir hides and watches horrified, another Pashtun boy rapes Hassan. This leads to the continuation of Amir’s internal conflict about the treatment of Hazaras by the public, and also makes him feel guilty and self-conscious throughout his entire life. In addition, Amir strives for affection and attention from his rather indifferent father. Amir’s outward conformity to societal values in his relationships with both Hassan and Baba, as a result of his inner struggle and guilt, contribute greatly to the significance of The Kite Runner.
The first form of discrimination, most significant to the character Hassan, is done on the basis of ethnicity. As Edward Hower comments in “The Servant”, The Kite Runner’s depiction of Afghanistan is frighteningly “tense with the friction between the nation's different ethnic groups.” Representative of this prevalent Afghan culture, Assef believes in the superiority of the Pashtun people and thus the inferiority of the Hazara people, saying “Afghanistan is the land of the Pashtuns... We are the true Afghans, the pure Afghans, not this Flat-Nose [Hassan] here”. With these statements Assef self-justifies the distinctly different and unequal actions he displays towards people of different ethnicities. Through Assef’s carefree rationalization of segregation and reason for conflict, Assef serves as a criticism by the author about modern society and how attitudes such as Assef’s can prove harmful to even genuinely good-natured people. To represent such victimized people, Hassan starkly contrasts any form of negativity and fulfills a sacrificial role for Amir’s sake, clearly noted by Asse...
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
Hosseini paints the Afghan social structure as eminently stratified, where even as a child, Amir was aware of his fortune over that of Hassan, witnessing “people… [call] Hazaras mice-eating, flat-nosed, load-carrying donkeys”(10), but becoming conscious of the ubiquity of the dynamic through one of his deceased mother’s books which stated that the Pashtun people “had persecuted and oppressed the Hazaras”(10) and because of this, Hazaras were consequently discriminated against and forced to work as indentured servants in Afghanistan. This relationship is present between Amir and Hassan, Baba and Ali; where even though the latter of the two sets were servants of the former, there was a sense of brotherhood between the boys and men. As a result of this, Amir had an inkling that it was wrong to take advantage of Hassan’s devotion. However, in his eyes, “[he] was a Pashtun and [Hassan] was a Hazara, [he] was Sunni and [Hassan] was Shi’a, and nothing was going to change that”(25). Amir’s affluence never truly provided him with the insight to ponder why it was that he was educated and could have everything he wanted while Hassan had to work all day to support him.
It is notable that the highest class of people in Afghanistan in the novel are the Pashtuns as they are also the least likely to be treated poorly and live in the harsh reality of Afghan poverty. Hosseini deliberately describes the Pashtuns in an exaggerated way “my Baba [who] had the most beautiful house in Wazir Akbar Khan”. This hubris about the lifestyle the Pashtuns are accustomed to is short lived as they are forced to flee the Soviet army and arrive in America with very little. It is notable that although a racial divide causes the Pashtuns to treat the Hazara as second-class citizens, in 1979 the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan led to many of the citizens fleeing to the more peaceful Pakistan, and they all had to flee from a threat as one unit. The racial divide was pushed aside momentarily so
Assef had showed hatred towards Hazaras, as he furthermore compared himself to Hitler. Assef stated, “Afghanistan is the land of Pashtuns. It always has been, always will be.” (Hosseini pg. 43) This quote has settled the fact that he had strong feelings of hatred towards Hazaras, and feels the need to remove them from Afghanistan. Therefore, not only did he rape Hassan as an act of revenge, but he wanted to show his assertion that Pashtuns have power over Hazaras. In addition, not only did Assef want to feel authoritative, he wanted to make Hassan feeble. This is a common effect of rape, as the person who is being raped feels powerless and helpless. It was Assef’s form of revenge, after being threatened by Hassan with a slingshot. As well, he wanted Hassan to remember it forever, as he stated, “... so it will always remind you of what I’m about to do.” (Hosseini pg. 78). Furthermore, he stated, “And there’s nothing sinful about teaching a lesson to a disrespectful donkey” implying that he showed no remorse for what he was about to do. Also, this specific event was not the only time rape was brought up in this novel. When Amir and Baba were fleeing Afghanistan, a young Russian soldier nearly raped a woman as “a payment to let them pass.” When Karim was translating the words that the Russian soldier spoke, “He says… He says every price has a tax” (Hosseini pg. 121), he was implying how the Russian soldier was
He illustrates that in many example, such as, Baba, however, never calls Ali, Hassan’s father, his friend, because of their ethnic and religious differences. Also the culture can play an important part in this novel. For an example, when Hassan is getting raped by Assef and hi friends, Amir refers to the sacrificial act of the lamb because Amir is Pashtun and Hassan is Hazara (Pashtan is Sunni Muslim, but Hazzara is Shi’a Muslim). At that time, Assef says Amir is part of the problem for being friend with Hazara. For another example, when Amir and baba moves to America, they communicate with the Afghan group there because the search about people look like them, and behave with the same