Within the last forty years, Afghanistan has seen a lot of turmoil and despair. Racism has been a major part of history, which still affects the lives of many people. Racism cuts though a person’s feelings like a glass-covered kite string cuts down another kite. An example of racism occurring recently is in Afghanistan. Social groups desperately try to cling on to the reasons why they are different from each other in order to preserve social order. The reasons for difference depreciate greatly between the Sunnis and the Shias with each and every passing days. A Sunni, Amir discovers this after years of not knowing his Shia friend, Hassan, is actually his brother. While there are many themes in Hosseini’s, The Kite Runner, racism best represents the novel by setting up the antagonist, Assef, while also contributing to the many conflicts Amir faces between he and Hassan. If someone looked up racism in the dictionary, they would see a picture of Assef. Assef is the main antagonist of the Kite Runner, and he is to Hazaras what Hitler was to the Jewish people. Assef terrorizes Hassan daily over the fact he is a Shia, or Hazara. Assef says, “Afghanistan is the land of Pashtuns [Sunnis]. It always has been, always will be. We …show more content…
As proven above, there really isn’t a cure to racism. It will never stop being a conflict in not only The Kite Runner, but also in everyday life. Many say history won’t repeat itself, but many of ideas like racism will always contribute to historical issues many will face. The fact groups are persecuted is an essential theme in the grand scheme of the Earth. Afghanistan at this time is just another example of how racism has shaped the world. Ideas like racism never will change because it take time for these ideas to change, and the time to change these ideas has already ran
Social and ethnic tensions: The Kite Runner allows us a look at Afghanistan before the Soviet invasion and then after. The peaceful Afghanistan that Amir was born into is no longer in existence; rival groups now fight amongst each other. “There are a lot of children in Afghanistan, but little childhood”. Throughout The Kite Runner, there is tension on account of religious, ethnic, and economic factors. Amir, a privileged Sunni, struggles to understand his relationship with his Shi’a servant, Hassan. The boys grew up together, but “in the end, [Amir] was a Pashtun and [Hassan] was a Hazara, [Amir] was a Sunni and [Hassan] was Shi’a, and nothing was ever going to change that. Nothing”(Hosseini 25). Hassan and his father, Ali, are discriminated against because of their religious beliefs and physical features. He is bullied because some believe “Afghanistan is the land of Pashtuns…the pure Afghans, not this Flat-Nose here. His people pollute our homeland, our watan. They dirty our blood”(Hosseini 40). The relationship between Amir and Hassan is complicated because of the social pressures. The boys are as close as brot...
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.
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 Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, is a story about a young boy named Amir that begins in 1975 in Kabul, Afghanistan. As a child, he mistreats his servant, Hassan, who is like a brother to him. After failing to intervene in Hassan 's rape, Amir lives with guilt until his late thirties when he is presented with a chance at redemption. Amir 's father’s old friend, Rahim Khan, called from Pakistan to summon Amir to him. Upon his arrival, Amir learns that Hassan is his illegitimate half-brother. Hassan had been killed and his son had become an orphan. Amir then goes to drastic lengths to find and retrieve Hassan 's son, Sohrab. During this time Amir faces the guilt of his past and finds peace with himself while saving Sohrab
In his first historical fiction novel, Khaled Hosseini tells the story of a young boy growing up in Afghanistan. The Kite Runner is the story of Amir, the young boy, and the path his life takes because of the decisions he makes when he is a young child. Forgiveness is woven throughout the book as it takes Amir to places he might not have gone if he hadn’t been able to forgive.
The Kite Runner focuses on the relationship between two Afghan boys Amir and Hassan. Amir is a Pashtun and Sunni Muslim, while Hassan is a Hazara and a Shi’a. Despite their ethnic and religious differences, Amir and Hassan grow to be friends, although Amir is troubled by Hassan, and his relationship with his companion, one year his junior, is complex. Amir and Hassan seem to have a "best friend" type relationship. The two boys, Hassan and Amir, are main characters in the book titled, The Kite Runner. The two boys have a relationship that is significantly different compared to most. There are many different facets that distinguish the relationship the boys possess. The boys do write their names in a pomegranate tree as the "sultans of Kabul" (Kite Runner 27) but, their friendship is not strong and it is one sided. Hassan has love for Amir. He loves him like a brother. Hassan is exceedingly loyal to Amir. The relationship between the two boys is emotionally wearing and rather gloomy for the most part. The main reason for their complicated relationship is the fact that Amir is Pashtun, and Hassan is Hazara. The Afghan society places Hassan lower than Amir. Hassan is Amir's servant. The placement of Hassan in the Afghan society disenables Amir from becoming Hassan's true friend. Amir sees Hassan as lower than human. Amir ruins the chance for friendship between himself and Hassan because he is jealous of Hassan, he thinks of Hassan as a lower human, and because Amir possesses such extreme guilt for what he has done to Hassan. Amir is an unforgivable person overall.
In Khaled Hosseini’s novel “The Kite Runner,” he illustrates a fine line between what is defined as moral good and evil. During their lives as kids, Amir and Hassan had always been close, but there had always been one problem. Amir was the son of a rich and powerful Pashtun man who was almost always given everything he wanted, while Hassan was a Hazara boy who had spent his life serving Amir and his family with his father. Although the two of them seemed to always be inseparable when they played games or flew kites, there was always the defining factor of who they really are, a servant and his master. Being a Muslim and living in Afghanistan, there are certain rules and morals that you must live up to.
Kite Runner depicts the story of Amir, a boy living in Afghanistan, and his journey throughout life. He experiences periods of happiness, sorrow, and confusion as he matures. Amir is shocked by atrocities and blessed by beneficial relationships both in his homeland and the United States. Reviewers have chosen sides and waged a war of words against one another over the notoriety of the book. Many critics of Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, argue that the novel would not have reached a lofty level of success if the U.S. had not had recent dealings with the Middle East, yet other critics accurately relate the novel’s success to its internal aspects.
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.
As a foreword, the story of The Kite Runner focuses on a man named Amir. In his childhood, he enjoyed a high-class life in Kabul, Afghanistan, living with his father Baba. They have two servants, Ali and his son Hassan. They are Hazaras, a lower class ethnic minority in Afghanistan. In one Winter of their childhood, Amir and Hassan participate in a kite-fighting tournament; the goal is to be the last kite flying. When a kite is cut, boys chase after it as a trophy. Amir wins the tournament, and Hassan flies to catch the losing kite. Later, following Hassan's path, Amir comes upon a neighbourhood bully named Assef about to rape Hassan who has the trophy, the blue kite. Amir does not interject, believing this will secure him the kite. Thus, Amir sets forth a chain of events he must redeem in his adulthood.
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.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a very interesting novel that has a very bold and challenging theme. This theme is seen early on in the novel, but becomes increasingly more and more intricate throughout the reading. The Kite Runner is a novel based on a man named Amir, who grew up in Afghanistan and lives his whole life dealing with betrayal and redemption. Throughout this book, Amir has a gigantic flashback describing his whole intoxicatingly sad life. Hosseini creeps into a dark emotional depth as he talks about all the struggles of an Afghani child during the 1970’s who’s father treated him like less of a child than his servant. He talks about the struggles of a boy that betrays his best friend, only later finding
In both of his novels, Hosseini has both protagonists and antagonists originating from Afghanistan. He depicts the flaws of the broad generalizations many people believe due to a lack of information or insight into the concerning situations occurring in Afghanistan. As awareness about the indecencies taking place in Afghanistan increases, hopefully more individuals will take action to aide those being oppressed and help solve the turmoil occurring due to the presence of the Taliban. Works Cited Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner.
War establishes many controversial issues and problems within society and can often expose an individual to many economic and sociopolitical hardships; thus creating an altercation in the way they view life. Amir, from the novel The Kite Runner and the novel’s author Khaled Hosseini, both saw the harsh treatment toward the people of Afghanistan through a series of wars, invasions, and the active power of a Pashtun movement known as the Taliban. Amir, much like Hosseini, lived a luxurious and wealthy life in Kabul. He is well educated and immerses himself in reading and writing. After transitioning from a life in Afghanistan to a life in the United States, both Hosseini and Amir faced obstacles in order to assimilate to American society. In The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, the protagonist Amir parallels the experiences and hardships that Hosseini endured in his own lifetime.
Baba once said that stealing is the worst possible crime and, yet it is revealed that Baba kept the biggest secret he had from two of the most important people in his life, stealing their right to the truth. In the fictional novel, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, atonement is influenced by two factors: socioeconomic status and guilt. These factors impacted Baba and Amir’s decisions to atone for their shameful acts of neglect, which affected the people they love.