Intertextuality Interlace Stories In The Hakawati

The world does not have to know your business, some things are better left unsaid. Every person has their secret, sometimes these secrets come out. At other times, they are taken to the grave. Secrecy has a great effect on the plot of a story, one of such stories is “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini. Amir finds out years after his father dies that he has a half-brother, who is none other than his childhood friend, his Hazara servant, Hassan. The story takes a major turn once this secret is revealed. In Khaled Hosseini’s novel “The Kite Runner,” the secret that Amir and Hassan are brothers is hidden from not just them, but from all of Afghanistan by Baba, Ali, and Rahim Khan, to protect Baba’s honor and Ali’s pride.

These stories are also affected by the Islamic dynasty and the kingdom of Islamic rulers. As David Pinault reviews the work he states:

In his novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini depicts his homeland Afghanistan as a host to many different cultures and classes, such as Pashtun and Hazara, Sunni and Shiite, with this dichotomy of beliefs and attributes being powerful enough to shape diverse, sometimes negative relationships amongst the characters of the novel and their behavior to each other, as well as establish that individual’s identity. Each person interprets the impact of the role of belief and social status differently, while all living in the same setting, adding to their complexity and depth as a character in the novel with many different figures tied together by the same geographical and cultural conditions.

The first night's story in Arabian Nights is that of the Merchant and the Demon. Told by Shahrazad, the story offers a remarkable parallel to her own situation as she faces immanent death. Thus, the story of the Merchant and the Demon is told as a parable within the frame story, presenting a poignant analogy for Shahrazad's own situation. The Merchant and the Demon is a short tale but one filled with themes such as power, guilt, justice, and moral responsibility. Through the clever analogy with her own situation, Shahrazad also explores the theme of creative problem solving in tricky situations. Moreover, the story illustrates the core differences between pre-Islamic and Islamic values in Arabian society. Because the theme of gender roles and norms are not present within the Merchant and the Demon, the story shows how sexism is simply a form of general political and social oppression.

Friendships were big in both Osama and in The Kite Runner. Espandi helps Osama be a boy while she is in the camp. Hassan was a faithful servant to Amir. " A thousand times over"(Hossieni p.371) Hassan, was raped for basically being so faithful to Amir and his wish to have his kite chased. Espandi would receive beating from the other boys in the camp because they knew he was lying about Osama being female.

The story starts out as Amir recalls an event that happened twenty-six years before, when he was growing up in Afghanistan, and this is what made him who he is today. Before the event, he lives in a decent home in Kabul, Afghanistan with his father named Baba. Ali and his son, Hassan, are servants of Amir and Baba, and are also an ethnic minority.

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

Stories of a character’s childhood are windows into their identities, allowing the reader unprecedented insight into the character’s nature. In Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini prefaces his novel with a vague story about a scarring event in the main character Amir’s childhood: “I became what I am today at the age of twelve .. peeking into that deserted

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

For instance, by using the relationship between the past and present to influence Amir’s character development, Hosseini demonstrates how despite one’s best efforts, there is no way to escape the memories of the past. Memories follow individuals wherever they go and can torment individuals for the rest of their lives. Hosseini reveals how Amir’s past decisions shape his character development and his decision­making as the story progresses. When Amir was young, he was

In this novel the author, Hosseini, uses a powerful bond between the two main character to give a reader a deeper understanding about the way women are viewed and treated in Afghanistan. These two main characters are used to represent the different perspectives from which women in are viewed. The first character we meet is Mariam, a woman from an unloving and poor past. She portrays the old ideas of abuse and mistreatment towards women. Conversely, the other main character Laila, a young woman who came from a more modern and loving family, is used to represent progress towards the equal treatment and education of women. These two women obviously come from different backgrounds but are brought together through

Amir: The main character and the narrator of the story. He is the delicate and smart child of a rich representative in Kabul,

In the novel, Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, the protagonist, Amir, is torn between two truths as he lived associated with different kinds of religious groups in Afghan society: Pashtuns and Hazaras. Each identity played a unique part in Amir’s life. Whether they had a positive or negative effect, both changed his values and beliefs. Individuals also shaped Amir’s character. Baba, Assef, and Hassan were major influences upon Amir’s growth throughout the book; their differences shaped Amir into the man he later became as all three represented a different side of Afghan society.

Fictional stories are important to the Khalifa family since they rely on them for a career and emotions to their lives. The stories that Rashid tells make many people trust in him and like him because he always “admitted that everything he told them was completely untrue and made up” (Rushdie 20) and, because people had trust in him the politicians would want him to tell a story at their rally which would provide him a

“I opened my mouth, almost said something. Almost. The rest of my life might have turned out differently if I had. But I didn’t.” This quote on page 73 in Khaled Hosseini’s, “Kite Runner” shows one of the many times in which Amir betrayed his “friend” Hassan throughout their childhood. The time when he stood cowardly and idle as he witnessed his closest friend, Hassan yet once again stand up for him , an action that would not be repaid until many years later.This particular betrayal may have been the single reason why Amir found himself abandoning his American dream life and family in America almost twenty years later to search for an orphaned boy throughout dangerous and war torn Afghanistan. Doing so, Amir was putting his life and future in danger for attempt in redemption of his poor choices as a child. Redemption is only possible when an individual is willing to do whatever it takes to