Analysis Of Khaled Hosseini 's ' The Mountains Echoed '

The novel revolves around two women, Mariam and Laila. The novel takes place during a terrible time to live in Afghanistan, but things were especially hard for women. Their lives brought together and are forced to live through unimaginable situations. At first, they didn’t get along, but then a beautiful friendship began. Their friendship would eventually be their salvation. They both experienced incredible character development. Mariam and Laila’s childhoods were very different, which is explains their characteristics in the novel. Laila’s modern upbringing gave her courage, which inspired Mariam to take action in both of their lives.

Relationships between families may not perpetually consist of happiness and fulfilment but always have an undeniable bond of unconditional and everlasting love. The concept of relationships particularly that of a father and son is a resonant theme in both the novel ‘’The Kite Runner’’ written by Khaled Hosseini and in the play ‘’A Death of a Salesman’’ by Arthur Miller. Hosseini explores complex father and son relationships through the character Amir- the narrator and protagonist of the novel and his interactions with his father Baba, family friend Rahim Khan and adopted son Sohrab. Set during the violent rise and reign of the Taliban in Afghanistan and ending after the attack of the world trade centre in 2001 triggering the fall of the Taliban. Juxtaposed to Miller who presents father and son relationships in a more positive era of the post-war boom of 1948, where the American Dream appeared to be more realistic. Through the character of Willy- an ambitious salesman who not only strives in achieving the dream for himself but also his children Biff and Happy.

Khaled Hosseini in his novel And the Mountains Echoed shows that male authors can fight for the rights of women through their work, and create a feminist fiction. And the Mountains Echoed is a successful feminist fiction because it displays some unique female characters such as Nila Wahdati, which voices out feminism and how women are oppressed in the Afghan society. Nila Wahdati is gifted, stylish, condemned French-Afghan housewife who writes impassioned poetry about love, sex, desire, and loss in 1950s Kabul. I chose Nila because I think she is misinterpreted by many readers including myself. The first time I read the chapter focusing on Nila’s history I was not impressed by her, and although she does still does not make a good impression, she is a great example of the affluent women from Kabul during the 1950s. Furthermore, she is integral to the story, the infertile woman who buys Pari from Saboor thereby serving as the catalyst for the novel’s events.

She had already lost her father and brother, and she nearly had lost her life when a bomb exploded near her and tore her leg off. However, when they reached the gate to Pakistan, they found that the border guards had closed the gate and was not letting anyone through. The only people getting through were bribing the guards, but they had no extra money to do this. "I felt desperate to get through, because the sun was setting, and if we got stuck here, what were we going to do? Where would we stay? There was nothing here, no town, no hotel, no buildings, just the desert." "Night was falling, and we were stranded out there in the open." At the end of the second day, Ahmedi and her mother were camped near a friendly family. After striking up a conversation with them, the woman told Ahmedi that her husband, Ghulam Ali, had gone to look for another way across the border. "He was checking out a goat path that supposedly went over the mountains several miles northeast of the border station." "You can go with us," the woman said. The woman's husband agreed to take them, but wanted them to rest one more day and build up their strength since it was going to be quite a climb. "Long after dark---or early the next morning, to be exact, before the sun came up---that man shook us awake." "It's time," he said. The climb was not long, but it was steep. It should have taken us little more than an hour except

People undertake missions for a variety of reasons, but no matter the reason, people often do radical and dangerous things to accomplish their goals. Farah Ahmedi in “The Other Side of the Sky” trekked across a mountain on a prosthetic leg to get from Afghanistan to Pakistan for a better life. Conner Bailey in “Worlds Collide” and his friends fought the evil witches to save his twin sister and the Otherworld. Walt Masters in “The King of Mazy May” ran from enemy newcomers and stole their dogs to save old Loren Hall’s claim. All of these people had reasons for their actions. Ahmedi wanted a better life for her and her mother, while Bailey and Masters wanted to help others; however, all three shared and ability to overcome hardship to

As they reach America at last, Amir’s wife introduces herself to Sohrab sweetly, but he just, “shift[s] on his feet and look[s] away” (358). Sohrab does not say much, do much, or move much at all. Imagery presented in this stage of the journey is quite gloomy, what with Sohrab’s blandly colored clothes, sallow face, and plain room. Amir and his wife seem gloomy as well, as they are always whispering, crying, or wondering what went wrong. The saving grace and the real transformation happens at the celebration of the Afghan’s New Year’s Day. After a day of muteness that has become regular, Amir and Sohrab finally connect through the kite flying contest. This is something to which Amir and Hassan dedicated their lives when they were children. Amir is overwhelmed with joy to see that, “one corner of his mouth had curled up just so. A smile” (370). It seems like nothing, but this truly is a breakthrough with this child. If it were not for Hosseini’s descriptive words that lend to pure joy and elation, the reader would not even realize what a momentous occasion this is. Hope may seem lost when traveling a guilt filled path, but if one’s intentions are honest and efforts are useful, forgiveness will find its way

powerful and moving story about two brothers, however it also does an outstanding job at portraying the culture and norms of Afghanistan; both the positive aspects and the negative aspects. Hosseini directly and

The reader is then able to recognize a shift in Amir’s values. A child who once favored validation, worthiness, and honor from his father has transitioned into a grown man, who accepts his past mistakes with humility, wishing only now to right his wrongs. He finds Sohrab, Hassan’s now orphaned son, and asks him: “Would you like to come live in America with me and my wife?” (320). As a child, Amir betrayed Hassan’s friendship in order to obtain the blue kite, the key to Baba’s heart. Sohrab represents a change in values, as well as a change in Amir. Now, Sohrab is the key to redemption, the key to giving back to the life he once abandoned. However, Amir does not act out of selfishness. He has built a connection with Sohrab, not only because he know that he is Sohrab’s uncle, but because he understands that helping Sohrab means that one less child will be starved, beaten, or raped in Afghanistan. Amir, who once acted out of envy, and resentment, now makes decisions based on what is

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini takes a solid focus on the lives of two young women, Mariam and Laila, who grow up in a struggling and turbulent Afghanistan. This book emulates the lives of those who have actually been affected by the extreme changes of power within their culture. From the Soviets to the Taliban, these people are caught in a war they cannot win but must deal with the consequences of. The lives of Mariam and Laila are consumed and silenced by those with power over them, namely males with traditional values. The book conveys the idea that even with an immense amount of destruction and terror wrought throughout Afghanistan, underneath lies a beauty that has been muted but it still provides hope for the future.

Amir’s misadventures begin as a boy living in an affluent Afghanistan world. On the day of his birth, his mother hemorrhages to death. Robbed of any feminine influence or comfort, he goes to his overshadowing Baba for love and acceptance. His father denies his only son the tenderness he desires, leading Amir to believe his father despises him. After all, Amir’s

Throughout Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, the reader observes many injustices committed due to the presence of the Taliban and cultural conflict in Afghanistan. One of the most concerning issues in Afghanistan is the mistreatment and inequality that women face on a daily basis due to Taliban mandates. Women in Afghanistan are treated as inferior beings to men and are unable to stand up for themselves due the laws the Taliban enforces. Hosseini uses the wives of Amir and Hassan, Soraya and Farzana, to represent the injustices to which women in Afghanistan are subjected.

In the Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, recounts a time where Hassan and Amir meet at a pomegranate tree; after Hassan was raped. Hence the reason why Hassan and Amir had tension and their friendship fell in pieces. In this passage, Hosseini uses symbolism and conflict, to portray the theme that nothing will last forever. While sitting near the tree, Amir says, “What would you do if I hit you with this,”(Hosseini, 92). This just seems like a little joke that Amir would say to be funny, but no this is all the anger building up in Amir. Amir’s conflict is with himself because he cannot stand the burden of not helping Hassan. In addition, the pomegranates symbolize Amir’s guilt of leaving Hassan alone in the alley way when Hassan needed him the

Humans differ from other species in that they are constantly asking questions; in particular, Shakespeare’s famous “to be or not to be?” enters the mind. In the case of The Kite Runner, readers examine a similar question: to betray or not to betray? In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, different characters choose to either engage in or avoid betrayal due to personal motives, subsequently influencing their future.

To impress one’s parents in any culture much less the Afghan culture may be one of the biggest most proud moments of child’s life. Such is true when the boys win the kite running competition. Amir wants nothing more than to impress his father and keep the family name alive and strong. He feels as if this was a way to redeem himself to his father. The importance of family in this situation stands out and demonstrates how much the Afghan culture bases itself on family. It is obvious that Amir believes that nothing is more important than his family. This value of family being first, which he learned at a very young age, and making them the most important figures in one’s life carries with Amir throughout his whole life. He never forgets where his roots are and why they are there. Family was of importance to Amir at a young age and he carried that mentality with him throughout his entire life. The mentality that family comes first does not only apply to

Social conditions are what shape a country. Over the years, people, not only in Afghanistan, but around the world create norms that define people’s roles in life, their future, and how they should be treated based on their gender and beliefs. Khaled Hosseini’s first novel, The Kite Runner, comments on the social conditions of Afghanistan through telling a story about the lives of two Muslim boys; a privileged Sunni Pashtun, Amir, and his long-time friend and servant, Hassan, a loyal but disadvantaged Shia Hazara. Hosseini expresses Amir’s uncertain feelings toward Hassan which form the decisions he makes throughout the book. These choices result in Amir destroying his relationship with Hassan. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini is a commentary on the social conditions in Afghanistan as shown through the roles of women and men in society and the ideals of Afghan culture. Unfortunately, these problems are still active in most of Afghanistan.