Taliban In The Kite Runner

In Afghanistan, there is a divide between the Pashtuns and the Hazaras; the Pashtuns are upper class citizens who are treated with respect while the Hazaras are lower class, minority citizens who are treated poorly. Because of the contrasting history of the two groups, their responses to the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul were complete opposites. The Pashtuns “danced on [the] street,” (Hosseini 200) while the Hazaras cried “God help the Hazaras now” (Hosseini 213). The conflict between the Pashtuns and Hazaras in “The Kite Runner” directly reflects the real life issues in Afghanistan starting in the late 70’s and continuing on past 2001.

​In the novel, “The Kite Runner”, written by Khaled Hosseini, was taken place in Afghanistan during the 1970’s to the year of 2002. Many historical events happened during this time period and Hosseini portrayed it into his novel. Kabul, the capitol of Afghanistan, was a free, living area for many Afghanistan families to enjoy the life they were given. Until one day, Afghanistan was then taken over and attacked. In the novel, Amir, the protagonist, must redeem himself and the history behind his actions because of his past decisions and make himself good again for the Afghanistan people.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is set mostly in Afghanistan both before the Taliban takes control and after they take control. The main character of the book is Amir, who is also the narrator of the story. The novel’s plot centres around interactions between Amir and his friend Hassan along with the struggles they face in their lives. Even though Amir and Hassan have grown up together in the novel, there is a noticeable difference between them. Hassan's social position is solely based on his being a Hazara. It examines his relationships with people at different levels in society and different social backgrounds, and the implications of the decisions he makes.The novel The Kite Runner provides ample evidence of the oppression of the minorities

Growing up in war torn Afghanistan during the invasion of the Soviets and the awakening rise of the Taliban destined the people of Afghanistan to never truly understand normalcy. The main protagonist of the book Kite Runner, Amir, experiences the detachment from understanding why he feels like a tourist in his own country. Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, explores the difficulties of Amir’s friendships and relationships of himself to be committed to others while struggling with loyalty by using contextual Afghan traditional culture and history to influence the textual meaning of the storyline. Amir’s experiences from the contextual Afghan traditional culture and relationships define his mistakes from the past as they recite you must

incomprehensible extent. In Afghanistan, Hazaras–the ethnic minority–have experienced ethnic discrimination by Pashtuns–the ethnic majority–because of a revolt dating back to the 18th century.Another form of discrimination in Afghanistan arises from the distinct religious groups–Shi’ite and Sunni Muslims. Shi’ite Muslims correspond with the Hazara ethnic group, but the Sunni Muslims correspond with the Pashtun ethnic group. This discrimination affects every age group in Afghanistan, and affects each of those individuals, “mental and physical health” (Pascoe). In his 2003 novel The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini exposes and discusses the ethnic and religious discrimination found in past and present day Afghanistan. By creating tense situations that originate, whether consciously or subconsciously within the characters, the author uses these conflicts to illustrate the impacts that stem from the masculine stereotypes associated with Afghan culture, the dire need for a father’s approval, and the on­going effects of a child’s jealousy. In The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini uses these intense conflicts to develop characters’ relationships and forces the reader to consider how the main character’s loss of innocence stems from a need of approval and ethnic and religious discrimination.

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.

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.

In the literature, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, the idea and representation of justice, and its relationship to that of the treatment of women in Afghan society, the ever-changing politics of Afghanistan, and the desired results of redemption and forgiveness, become illustrated through the novel’s characters and motives. Justice can be defined as the quality of being guided by truth, reason, and fairness. The Kite Runner illustrates the power of influence from an outside power and its effects on society, and the minds and lifestyles of the people. In relationship to the Cheverus High School Grad-at-Grad profile the actions and wrongdoings that take place in the The Kite Runner and in Afghanistan prove to be injustice.

The novel, The Kite Runner, should be challenged in school settings because it includes actual historical events to entertain readers, when relatable struggles were occurring outside of the book. For example, "Soviet troops moved into Afghanistan in December 1979" ( ICAH 1). They were led by Osama Bin Laden, who later joined the Taliban in invading Afghanistan and Pakistan. The book says, "...in December 1979, … Russian tanks would roll into the very same streets where Hassan and I played" (Hosseini 36). The author of The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini, does in fact use real life occurrences in his novel and this proves it, as the reasoning for Amir and Baba evacuating Afghanistan was because of the Russian invasion. Although the author uses this as a source of setting development, this was a real-life situation, and it should not be included in a form of entertainment. Furthermore, according to ICAH, the Taliban were “...an Islamic extremist faction that captured Kabul, the Afghan capital, in September 1996.” Again, Hosseini used this historically accurate piece in his work of literature. Throughout the majority of the novel, Hosseini describes the Taliban as a group of heartless people that commit gruesome acts. When Amir first encounters them in person, he was thinking, “But here I was now, less than fifty feet from them, telling myself that the sudden taste in my mouth wasn’t unadulterated, naked fear. Telling myself my flesh hadn’t suddenly shrunk against my bones and my

In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a novel that discusses the importance and uses of setting. Afghanistan is a sinful place for a young boy, Amir, who lived in Afghanistan for the majority of his life. This particular novel takes place in the past between 1975-2001 which shows the malicious ways of the Taliban, who are a violent group of Pashtuns. Amir goes though many ongoing events, that still happen today. Amir is must face fear its self and the true meaning of redemption, although the novel has numerous aspects of the book, which the settings were the most significant.

In Afghanistan, the Hazaras have been racially oppressed since the time that they arrived. They were viewed differently because of their Mongolian features and unknown history. The Taliban killed and targeted many of the Hazara people during their reign in Afghanistan. Before the Taliban took over Kabul, Assef tormented Hassan and Amir because Hassan was a Hazara and Amir Associated himself with Hassan. The theme of discrimination against a specific group of people in “The Kite Runner” was expressed through the use of similes.

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.

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.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a historical fiction novel set mostly in Kabul, Afghanistan and Fremont, California. The novel spans the time periods before, during, and after the reign of the Russians (1979-1989) and the Taliban’s takeover (1996) of Afghanistan. It is told through the first person perspective of Amir alongside his father, Baba, his half-brother, Hassan, and Baba’s companions Ali and Rahim Khan. Growing up, Amir and Hassan are practically inseparable, as they are always playing games, reading poetry, or simply spending time together. Hassan’s mother, Sanaubar, is never present during the children’s youthful years, but they both have Baba as a shared father figure in their lives. The themes of betrayal and redemption

“His people have been struggling to triumph over the forces of violence-forces that continue to threaten them even today” (Hower). Khaled Hosseini’s novels have brought many of his readers a different perspective of Afghanistan. Many people after reading Hosseini’s books start to notice this place more and have sympathy feelings rather negative views about it. Usually people believe the media’s information that conveys about Afghanistan as a poverty place but does not specify why they live in this conditions and how those states affect their everyday life. In the two novels The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, the author Khaled Hosseini wrote the political events that happen in Afghanistan and show how those events affected