“My son the fanatic” is a short story by the author Hanif Kureishi first published in The New Yorker 1994. In the story we meet the Pakistani immigrant Parvez and his son Ali. Parvez migrated from Pakistan before he got his son. They now live in London, England, where Ali was born and raised. Working as a taxi driver Parvez haven’t had an ease getting money, but with dedication, he has raised enough money for his son to get the dream education as an accountant. But lately Ali has acted significantly different. A change from what you would call a normal Western cultured teen who plays sports and video games to a muslim fanatic who prays five times a day. It is this change that starts the statement of problems represented in the story. Parvez deeply wants to embrace his son with all the …show more content…
Ali is remarkably dedicated and confident in his religion, and nothing can persuade him into another assumption of life. It is evident that Ali has nothing left for Western people, in the way he behaves towards his father when they talk/discuss life viewpoints. All things considered Ali is steadfast in his faith, and doesn’t seem likely to change.
Bettina works as a mirror in this story. She reflects the set of values that Parvez and Ali have. In their opinions about her, we can clearly see the difference that Parvez’s and Ali’s philosophy of life possesses. Bettina’s character is within the culture clash of Parvez and Ali.
The thematic in this short story is definitely a culture clash between the West and the muslims. In the right hand we have a father, Parvez who symbolize the Western culture, and in the left hand we have Ali who represent the muslims. The story deals with a well known conflict, the divide between the fundamentalists and the materialists. Not only this it also shows the generational conflict where a son is breaking away from his
Hassan is a victim of discrimination, bigotry, and class structure in Afghan society. Hassan and Ali are members of the Hazaras, a minority group of Afghanis. Amir and his father are Pashtuns, the majority, who believes they are a better class than the Hazara. Religion was all that separated Amir and Hassan, as did tribe and class. Amir learned from his father that the Harara tribe to which Ali and Hassan belonged, were inferior people. Because of this bigotry and basic class structure, Hazaras are often victims of physical, emotional and psychological abuse. Thus when a crisis comes and Hassan is being attack, Amir not only doesn't come to Hassan's aid, but also allows him to be brutally abused. Morality lacks because of this class structure, which allows people to be treated as second-class citizens. Considerations towards morality and religion helps the reader to broaden there understanding of the novel and it would be impossible to appreciated the book lacking them.
The novel centers on the theme of social class, a key factor that separates the world of Amir from Hassan and tries to hinder their true friendship from blossoming. As what caste system suggests, those who are under the dominant and powerful party must adhere to rendering service to those in the upper class. True enough, in the novel, Hassan respects and admires upper-class Amir amid neighborhood bullies and intimidation which make them stick together through any hindrance. It is in their friendship that the concept of caste system is explicated.
In his critically acclaimed first novel, The Kite Runner, author Khaled Hosseini tells the story of a 12-year-old Afghan boy named Amir, who seeks his father’s love but is hindered by his own cowardice. Both Amir’s cowardice and his father’s lack of attention are compounded by the people and events surrounding Amir, until they feed into each other in a vicious, never-ending cycle.
During his life, Ali was forced to make some tough decisions, and always made them his own way. At the time of Ali's fighting, the United States were involved in the Vietnam War. As a result, young Americans were been drafted to serve in the military. When political figures saw Ali fighting, they decided to stop the hurting of our own and draft him, so he hurts the people in Vietnam. Ali was not pleased with this decision, because ha had just won the Heavyweight Championship and because he said, "I ain't got no quarrel with them Vietcong"(Hauser 144). His final decision on the issue was that he would not go to war. He was not willing to go and kill people, while his own are in bad conditions at home. In the same way, he was forced to decide if he wanted to become a billionaire and sell his people, or to become poor and not sell his people (185). For this rebel action, his Heavyweight Title was taken away and he was put in jail. This did not matter to him because he h!ad followed his beliefs and obeyed
Completely by different circumstances are the members of the middle generation shaped – Amir, Hassan and Assef. Their childhood covers the transitional part of Afghanistan’s 20-th century history. Of course, the boys are really different in nature, but Soviet occupation is what caused such different roads to be chosen by the three characters. And that huge change in their lives determined who they are going to grow into as adults.
Amirs father, Baba, is a strong man very set in his ways. He represents the independent culture of old Afghanistan. He instills his ideals of masculinity on Amir, and believes he should be stronger, more sports oriented, and able to stand up for himself. “Of
In the Donald Hall poem,” My Son, My Executioner, “Hall depicted a father who has grown old, holding their young child in their arms. Hall portrayed strong imagery of a fatherly figure giving up everything to care for his young child. The tone of the poem is both happy and dark. Hall’s theme showed that once a person has a child, the parent’s life is completely changed. “My Son, My Executioner” is a very well written poem with a deep, true meaning that readers could relate to.
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
The purpose of my paper is to construct a picture in your mind of the cult of Isis during the fourth century. In an attempt, I will describe Isis, the cult ceremonies, and the society around them dealing with the cult
When most people think of a terrorist, there is usually an uneasy feeling that follows it. Something that most of the population fears is a terrorist attack on their soil. Zak Ebrahim presents that being the child of a terrorist is a whole different feeling, considering the hatred not only that is trying to be taught to the child, but also the feeling that everyone hates (…). Ebrahim places emotion throughout the book connecting the reader to what he is feeling in different ways; this is seen especially in chapter two as well as chapter ten of The Terrorist's Son: A Story of Choice as Ebrahim describes the hatred that people not only inflicted upon him but also the journey that he takes from hatred to peace. (link thesis to other two paragraphs)
First, Amir’s relationship with his father, Baba, helped create Amir’s identity. Their intricate relationship often left Amir feeling worthless as if he could not live up to the standards of a Pashtun. This negatively impacted Amir growing up; his values constantly changed as he tried to form a close bond with his father. Baba raised Amir to believe that everyone in Afghanistan had a certain role to play in life, but they should all be treated with respect. Baba’s values made Amir think he had disappointed his father. The high expectations that Baba had for Amir showed that he cared about their reputation. Being the child Amir was, he translated Baba’s hardness as though his father were unhappy to have a child such as Amir. Amir recounts the emotion displayed on his father’s face after an afternoon together; he laments, “Mostly I will never forget Baba’s valiant efforts to conceal the disgusted
The conflict seen in Hassan and Amir’s relationship of based, sadly, on unilateral love and exploitation which leads to the terrible crime committed against Hassan. The childhood of both boys is incomplete without the inclusion of the other. From their nativity, their lives have been defined by the presence of the other. “Fed from the same breast” Amir and Hassan share a
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
As a further means of separating the population into distinct groups, religion acts as a divisionary force between characters and cultures. There are two primary conflicting cultures represented in the novel that are the cause of religious differences: Sunnis versus Shi’ites and secularism versus religious fundamentalism. Similar to the discrimination based on ethnicity, the conflict based on religion is primarily exemplified through Assef and Hassan, who are Sunni and Shi’ite, respectively. As such, any justification for inclusion and exclusion of people not based solely on ethnicity could just be rationalized through differences of religion. With this prevalent culture present, the importance is in the author’s depiction of the “bleak hypocrisies of the Taliban period--the disgusting cruelties performed in the name of righteousness” as stated by David Denby in “Hard Life.” Through the
As he grew up in Saudi Arabia he was Islamic and him and his family were just as normal as any other family until the father was publically executed in front of a group of men and women, which was a shame to his family since men are “superior” to men and this mans life was able to be viewed by anyone men, women, and children. After the execution of his father this 15 year old kid was the man in the house and he could not let his father down by shaming their family in anyway, but before anyone could believe it the grandfather had bought them all passport and tickets out of the country to Bahrain when they got there the boy was in shock as he saw women walking around unveiled and without their proper attire, women driving going to work, but worst of all the boy kept trying to remain with the old ways and kept the house clear of any pop music, makeup, or fancy clothes other than the traditional ones. The boy had been walking in the mall to meet with his mother and he saw her talking with men and felt betrayed and hurt so he had decided to run away to Afghanistan in disguise as a Holy Journey of self-evaluation but instead he had run off to join the Afghan and Iraqi