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. Hassan and Amir are best friends, or as Amir likes to look at it, Hassan is someone whose there and has his back no matter what, but they’re not friends because back then to be associated with a Hazara was like social suicide. Hassan acts as Amir’s servant, he is illiterate and because of Amir’s advantage to read and write Hassan worships him for that. When a bully comes after the two of them Hassan stands up for Amir and defends him with his slingshot. Amir however never repays Hassan for his kindness and self-sacrifice, in fact, when the town bullies return to get revenge on Hassan they physically assault him and Amir watches while it happens and does nothing. Hassan knows that Amir did nothing and because... ... middle of paper ... ...However, several Uzbeks have become successful businessmen and skilled artisans. Uzbek social structure is patriarchal and leaders having the title beg, arbab or khan enjoy considerable power. The Uzbeks have no hesitation marrying with Uzbek and Tajik, but are averse to nuptial relations with Pashtuns. Works Cited "Afghanistan." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 19 Jan. 2012. . "Afghan Woman's Rights Meeting In Holland." Afghan Woman's Rights. Web. 18 Jan. 2012. . Levi, Michelle. "Corruption Is Eating Through Afghan Society, Candidate Says - Political Hotsheet - CBS News." Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News - CBS News. Web. 19 Jan. 2012. .
Although Hassan is his best friend, there are many instances where Amir reveals his jealousy, most notable when Baba sees Hassan as the stronger boy, "self-defense has nothing to do with meanness. You know what always happens when the neighbourhood boys tease him? Hassan steps in and fends them off. I 've seen it with my own eyes…” (Hosseini 24). Clearly, Amir hears how his father compares the two, and unlike Hassan who manages to meet Baba’s expectations, Amir grows bitter towards Hassan. He is unable to fight off his envy which later causes him to sacrifice his best friend’s innocence: “Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba” (82), and this is all because he realizes “his shame is complicated by his own realization that in part he doesn’t help his friend precisely because he is jealous of him” (Corbett, 2006). From here, Amir develops strong feelings of guilt that induces him to perform even more destructive acts, such as having Hassan and his father evicted from the house. Amir not only loses a close friend, but now he has to continue to live with remorse as he dwells on these memories. The only way for Amir to redeem himself of his repercussions is through a challenging process of sacrifice and self-discovery. Although one is unsure at this point whether Amir succeeds at his endeavors, it is clear that this story
The following essay is on the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, which is a New York Times bestseller. The main character in the story is named Amir, and he is also the narrator. Amir lives in Kabul, Afghanistan with his father who he calls Baba. Baba is a wealthy, and well respected man in Afghanistan. They both live in a mansion house that Baba built and designed himself. In Afghanistan there are two different types of people; there are pashtuns which are the more wealthy ones and more privileged. Then there are hazaras which are the poor people and have little to no protection in Afghanistan. Baba and Amir have two hazara servants that live in a hut with them in the backyard. Their names are Ali and Hassan. Baba and Ali are childhood friends whose families are both really close, and Hassan and Amir are around the same age. Amir 's mom died in childbirth, and Hassan 's mother ran away shortly after he was born. Baba was not a good man because he says that lying is the worse sin a man can commit, yet he lied his whole life. Another reason Baba is not a good man is because he has too much pride and that isn’t a good thing. The last reason why Baba is not a good man is because he didn’t treat Amir well and never seemed to care for him when
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a powerful novel that often has the ability to appeal to the reader's emotions. Hosseini tells a tale of childhood friends, Amir and Hassan, who grow up in the same house but lead completely different lives due to their different backgrounds. Hassan faces many struggles due to his status as a Hazara, his cleft lip, and his absent mother. His best friend Amir is privileged in many ways because of Baba, his influential father, and his position as a Pashtun. To fully experience Hosseini’s powerful narrative, the reader must be able to grasp the way of life in Kabul by educating themselves about the significance of Hazara v Pashtun, and the importance of honor and loyalty.
It is difficult to face anything in the world when you cannot even face your own reality. In his book The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini uses kites to bring out the major themes of the novel in order to create a truly captivating story of a young boy’s quest to redeem his past mistakes. Amir is the narrator and protagonist of the story and throughout the entire novel, he faces enormous guilt following the horrible incident that happened to his closest friend, Hassan. This incident grows on Amir and fuels his quest for redemption, struggling to do whatever it takes to make up for his mistakes. In Hosseini’s novel, kites highlight aspects of Afghanistan’s ethnic caste system and emphasizes the story’s major themes of guilt, redemption and freedom.
“A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who won’t stand up to anything,” Baba noticed of his young son, Amir. It was the winter of 1964 when Hassan was born in a little shack outside of the father and son’s home that would change the rest of the immature Afghani’s life. Baba, an honorable and praised man, maintained unorthodox beliefs and courage to last his entire country an eternity. He grew up with a Hazara servant, Ali, who remained loyal throughout his entire service. Hassan lived as his only offspring, yet later discovered to be Baba’s child, grew up with Amir like a brother, always happily obeying and defending him. Throughout The Kite Runner, Baba’s statement about courage proved extremely significant. The evidence of which presented itself when Amir ignored Hassan’s attack, pleaded his father not say anything to the taunting Russian checkpoint soldier, and when he nearly
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 Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner”, the plight of Amir, a young Afghan boy, distinctly parallels Hosseini’s past on multiple levels. By exploring his deep roots to the region and the Afghan people, Hosseini is able to provide a post 9/11 audience with insight that news coverage and journalists could not offer: a realistic portrayal of the subtleties and challenges of life in Afghanistan.” (Khaled Hosseini’s Personal Connection to The Kite Runner. 1) Like most solid narrator-protagonists, Amir is a round, complex character. One must pay close attention to his descriptions and the details he gives because they are being explained the way Khaled Hosseini would portray them. Living in a poorer country already puts people like the Afghans a step back but to have your country be attacked? Then you settle
As a result of his actions, he has to live with guilt which will plague him for twenty years. Amir will never gain the approval and happiness he so desperately wants from his father and will have to go on his own quest to rid his guilt. As war raged on in Afghanistan, Amir and Baba escaped to the United States. Hosseini’s inclusion of the war in Afghanistan is not only for historical context, but intensifies the plot. The war creates an ideal environment for Amir’s story to take place. The Kite Runner is truly a novel based on violence. Amir’s life changes after the rape of Hassan and is again altered for the better by the discovery of Hassan’s son Sohrab. Sohrab is the piece of redemption Amir has been searching for. Saving him atones for the sins Amir has committed to Hassan. Not only does he lighten Amir’s guilt, Sohrab also re-kindles the marriage of Amir and Soraya; a marriage torn because of infertility. The violence demonstrated throughout the novel creates Amir and shaped his future. Without the rape of Hassan, there would be no Kite
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
“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.
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.
A crippled, expressionless Hazara. A tall, powerful Pashtun. A friendly, kind businessman. No, they don’t walk into a bar. Yes, such a mismatched trio could be the set-up for a joke, but instead of of chuckling at their differences, consider what they might have in common. Not much. Not until you consider that these three men played a pivotal role in shaping the lives of two young boys. Those two young boys, Amir and Hassan, are the central characters in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner. Hassan is the obedient, trusting servant of Amir, the timid, insecure son of a cold father. They don’t walk into a bar either, but they’re inseparable as they grow up amidst the political turmoil of Afghanistan in the 1970s. But how did they get there, and,
The Kite Runner is the first novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. The novel is about a Pashtun fellow, Amir, who realizes his childhood mistakes and begins a journey to emend them. Hosseini commenced inditing the novel in 2001 while practicing medicine (source). Therefore, his cognizance regarding health care is limpidly reflected in the novel by his writing style, and the conflicts in the lives of characters. For instance, Ali, who is a servant in Amir’s house and his father’s childhood friend, suffers from congenital paralysis of lower facial muscles and polio. Author’s description of his leg as “twisted, atrophied …. sallow skin over bone with little in between except a paper- thin layer of muscle“ shows his deep knowledge about diseases and symptoms (10). Moreover, these conflicts not only have noticeable impact in the development of the plot but also reflect on the miserable condition of healthcare in Afghanistan. Amir’s mother die during childbirth reveals the pathetic status of neonatal care in Afghanistan. Amir witness several health related issues and consequences in the lives of other characters throughout the story. Thus, the author utilizes him to highlight important themes relative to health care in Afghanistan like maternal death, child mortality, disability, addiction due to excessive drug use and deformities. In essence, the novel prompts certain questions like “What factors are downsizing the population of afghanistan? What is the overall condition of hospitals and healthcare professionals? Why do women face health care crisis? What home remedies are available as a substitute for poor health care conditions and are they truly helping people to recover?” Thus, this research...
Their culture is vastly disparate from others which allows it to be very hard to understand. Afghan people are known to be extremely family oriented. Their patrilineal family structure is fastened tightly through the oldest male in the family. For Afghan’s, the male head of the family is responsible for the economics and decision making for the rest of the family, while his wife is responsible for entertaining guests, basic domestics, and all other females within the household. The male leaders in these families are very dependent. Family life is very private, interfering with that is seen as a sign of contempt. Though their family life is private, Afghan people value other families in their community, they seek the protection of guests and defense of property and honor for their
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.