The history of Afghanistan influences the way Amir’s life develops by affecting his relationship with himself, Baba, and Hassan. People are greatly influenced by the culture that they grow up in, and a community’s culture is shaped by the events that they go through. Throughout the book, the reader can see that Amir struggles with his self-confidence and often-times looks down on himself as a weak and unworthy human being. 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 …show more content…
Throughout history, the Hazaras have always been persecuted by the Pashtuns. One of the main reasons why they’re discriminated against is because most Hazaras are Shia Muslims, while most Pashtuns are Sunni Muslims. Due to a disagreement in the past, the two groups have always argued against each other. Amir is a Pashtun, and he grows up around other people who believe that the Hazaras are an inferior race. Even though, Baba tries to educate Amir to not believe in racism, Amir has a very tiny bit of ingrained racism with him. To demonstrate, when Hassan points out the flaw in Amir’s story, Amir thinks, ”...the Plot Hole. Taught by Hassan, of all people. Hassan who couldn’t read and had never written a single word in his entire life. A voice, cold and dark, suddenly whispered in my ear, What does he know, that illiterate Hazara? He’ll never be anything but a cook. How dare he criticize you?” (34). The thoughts of discrimination that Amir has pushed to the back of his head suddenly come out in this moment. This ingrained racism that Amir has programs him to look down upon Hazaras. After all, his very own servant is a lowly Hazara who is only meant to serve him. The feeling of superiority that Amir has over Hassan causes them to have an unhealthy relationship. Amir can and does use Hassan at times to his own benefit. The superiority complex that Amir has over impacts …show more content…
The person who assaulted Hassan was Assef, and later in the book Assef is revealed to be in support of the Taliban and the Nazi-like way of thinking. In this case, Assef impacts Amir and Afghanistan in an alike way, haunting both Amir’s past and the city of Kabul. Additionally, Amir is also alike Afghanistan because the both of them have somewhat recovered despite their brutal history. Afghanistan now has control over the city of Kabul. They have rebuilt the city and to a degree, it has been restored to its former glory. In the way that the Taliban had destroyed Kabul and killed many citizens, Amir was destroyed by Assef and the experience of seeing Sohrab attempting suicide. Amir eventually recovered and he want back to his stable life in America. He recovers from his injuries and makes progress towards helping Sohrab feel better. Present-day Afghanistan and Amir both have a history which continue to negatively affect them in the modern
While Amir is a Sunni, his childhood friend Hassan is Shi’a, an inferior division of Islam. Simultaneously, Amir and Hassan belong to different ethnic groups-Amir is Pashtun while Hassan is Hazara. During his childhood, Amir would constantly mock Hassan’s illiteracy and poke fun at him. But, the pivotal demonstration of pressure from his surroundings that makes Amir commit his own act of cruelty is when he watches Assef rape Hassan for refusing to give him the kite that Hassan caught for Amir. To this, Amir describes the look of Hassan’s face to “a look I had seen before. It was the look of the lamb” (76). Throughout his upbringing, Amir constantly believed that his father blamed him for killing his mother in childbirth. To Amir, Hassan’s rape is a sacrifice that Hassan has to pay the price, the lamb to kill, in order to win his father over. To justify his refusal to intervene, Amir reminds himself that “[Hassan] was just a Hazara, wasn’t he?” (77). Amir’s surroundings cause him to have a negative outlook on people that his society deem lower. Amir knows he is morally wrong for not helping Hassan, but his need for his father’s love overpowers his friendship. Adding to his pressures, Amir believes that Baba prefers Hassan over him, a belief that further drives him to be cruel to Hassan. As a result, Amir’s motivation for validation and love from his father
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.
The novel tells the story of, Amir. Amir is portrayed as the protagonist; the novel revolves around his recollection of past events 26 years ago as a young boy in Afghanistan. Amir is adventures and brave. Hassan is Amir’s closets friend and servant to his house and is portrayed as a subservient male, often supporting and accepting blame for Amir’s actions. Assef, Wali and Kamal are the “ bad guys” within the novel; Wali and Kamal hold down Hassan and Assef rapes him purely for ethnicity differences, as Hassan is a Hazara. Afghanistan boys are supposed to be athletic and true to Islam .The leaving of Soraya Hassan mother with another man gives the notion that women lack morality leaving behind there children .The Taliban laws are followed closely within Afghanistan and women are treated without any rights, beatings, stoning and execution become the reality for women who violate the laws. Culturally Afghanistan women are portrayed to be subservient to there husband only live and breath to provide children, cook food and clean their
With the struggle of social stature between two boys; Amir, a Pashtun - Sunni Moslem that is considered of a higher class with seniority, and Hassan, who is looked down upon because he is a Hazara of lower class. Hassan and his father Ali, (a good friend of Baba, Amir’s father) live in a mud shack on Baba’s property together – they are servants for Amir and Baba. Despite the social differences between the boys, and at a time in Afghanistan when bigotry has sparked flame between these two ethnic groups, they still find a way to create what seems to be an everlasting bond with one another. “Hassan and I fed from the same breasts. We took our first steps on the same lawn in the same yard, and under the same roof, we spoke our first words. Mine was Baba, his was Amir.” (Page 13) Even as children, Amir was always the weaker one; Hassan was always sticking up for him and fighting his battles for him. Even though Amir was educated and Hassan was not, Amir still found ways to be jealous of Hassan at times especially when he corrected him and foun...
In The Kite Runner Amir was always rude and tried to deceive Hassan. Hassan was a Hazara and he always stayed faithful to Amir and Baba. Hassan even says to Amir, “And I dreamt that someday you will return to Kabul to revisit the land of our childhood. If you do you will find an old faithful friend waiting for you.” (Hosseini 218) After all the times Amir treated
One can argue that Amir needs his experience returning to Kabul to rescue Sohrab as a way to engrain appreciation to his lifestyle in America. This return is the only way for Amir to be cleansed of his sins, as stated in The Kite Runner, “‘Come. There is a way to be good again,’ Rahim Khan had said on the phone just before hanging up. Said it in passing, almost as an afterthought” (Hosseini 192). After weeks of secrecy, a brutal fight, and battles with the immigration office, Amir is able to return to America with a bright perspective of his new home albeit broken, beat, and scarred, and a new adopted child, Sohrab. The developed Amir is brought out with his interaction with General Taheri. In the novel, Amir shows his new found ability to stand up for himself with the quote, “‘And one more thing, General Sahib,’ I said. ‘You will never again refer to him as a ‘Hazara boy’ in my presence. He has a name and it’s Sohrab’” (361). Amir has now with him skills needed to continue his life in America as being independent and the man of the house. The future is bright for Amir, as one can see a fortified, relieved, and joyful version of him compared to the accustomed one in
Chapter 19 Farid, Rahim’s acquaintance takes Amir to Kabul. Amir dresses up as an Afghan. Amir feels like a tourist and Farid asks him if Amir still
Amir's mother passes away during his birth, and his left with the suspicion that his father blames him for her death. Amir longes for his father's attention and approval, but does not receive any affection as a son. He grows up with his Hazara best friend, Hassan. In Afghanistan culture, Hazaras are considered lower class and inferiors in society. Amir describes his friendship with Hassan saying, “then he would remind us that there was a brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast, a kinship that not even time could break."
Because Amir has been raised in Kabul for his entire childhood, he often felt a clear sense of familiarity and freedom with the town due to his intimate relationships with Hassan, Ali, Baba and Rahim Khan. As a result of his nationalistic feelings towards Kabul, Amir secretly coveted to become like his father, a prominent, important figure that is well respected among others in Kabul. In order to achieve a sense of admiration and recognition from his own father, Amir becomes jealous of Hassan who was able to effortlessly receive Baba’s affection. When Amir begins to read his own story to Hassan, Hassan gradually begins to discover a major plot hole in Amir’s story. Upon his unexpected realization of Amir’s mistake, Amir begins to develop hostile feelings for his best friend as he questioned about Hassan’s right to comment on his own work. Amir believes that Hassan will “never be anything but a cook. How dare he criticize [me]?” Even though Amir enjoys Hassan’s companionship, his strong desire to receive the attention of his own father causes him to subconsciously develop these negative thoughts. Amir’s jealousy is further demonstrated when he selfishly “wanted Baba all to [himself].” His overwhelming pressure to maintain his own sense of pride causes him to become blinded within his own desires. It is through his lack of confidence and desire to become exactly like his father that justifies his own selfish actions. Additionally, because Amir is born into an affluent family, he feels the need to maintain his family’s positive, well-respected reputation within Kabul. Unlike Hassan, Amir’s predetermined fate of being born as a Pashtun, as a Sunni Muslim and as Baba’s son instigates overwhelming pressure within himself that continues to grow the older he becomes. Because of the tremendous burden that he must uphold, Amir
Honor, religion, and poetry are the most important parts of Afghanistan’s culture. Stereotypes are used to cover up all of the culture and goodness that once was and still can be seen all over the nation. Headlines all over the world focus on all the things that have created the war-torn country that it is today. Khaled Hosseini illustrates the goodness and cultures of Afghanistan before the Soviet take over. He also shows all that has happened to the country and the hope that remains. Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, uses the character Amir, conflicts between characters, and the theme of redemption in order to show Afghanistan’s downfall and the ability to rebuild.
Pashtuns are the majority of the population in Afghanistan, they have power in their hands. Hazaras are different though, they are subjected to racism and are minorities. One of the Hazara's position shown in the novel is relationship between their families. “He poured me a cup and added sugar, blew on it a few times.” (Hosseini pg.136) as you can tell clearly Hassan is a servant of Amir's family.
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.
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
However there are some characters that become better people and change becoming a better, stronger, more loyal individual in the end. The individual that demonstrates this development within this novel is Amir himself. All of the guilt Amir holds with him as a child allow him to realize his duty to be loyal to his brother Hassan ion the end. An example of this is when Amir goes back to Kabul, Afghanistan to retrieve his nephew Sohrab. Amir says, “I remembered Wahid’s boys and… I realized something. I would not leave Afghanistan without finding Sohrab.’ tell me where he is,’ I said” (Hosseini 255). Here, Amir is at the orphanage waiting to find out where Taliban has taken his nephew. Amir remembers the three young starving sons of Wahid, a man whose home he had been in earlier, and realized that Afghanistan is not a safe place for Sohrab. Amir is finally aware of one thing, Hassan has always been there to protect Amir like a loyal friend and brother would and now Amir knows that it is his turn to return that loyalty to Hassan by protecting Hassan’s flesh and blood. A second example of Amir’s loyalty to Hassan near the ending of the book is during Amir’s confrontation with General Sahib and the dinner table after Sohrab is safe in America with him. Amir proclaims to General Sahib, “…That boy sleeping on the couch
Her research of the topic, shown through the credible sources listed at the end of the paper, allows the reader to know this is a reputable source. She discusses the racial discrimination seen in The Kite Runner, and the causes behind the intense dislike of Hazaras. The two main causes of discrimination are related to social structural factors, which are influenced by an individual’s appearance and cultural beliefs, and social psychological factors, which are prejudice, a preconceived opinion of a person not based on reason, and stereotypes, an oversimplified grouping of individuals based on ethnicity, or other characteristic. The writing highlights the social division seen between Hazaras and Pashtuns; most noticeably they are different in their wealth. The Hazaras are poor while the Pashtuns are rich and wealthy which, in the end, will create conflicts between each class.