The Kite Runner Analysis

When Khaled Hosseini wrote The Kite Runner, he made several important choices involving narration. He chose to write the story in first person from a limited point of view. This is a very fitting decision because, writing in the first person adds a sense of intimacy that is crucial to this story; writing from a limited perspective allows the reader to make their own conclusions about what the characters are thinking. The way Hosseini writes The Kite Runner makes it very intimate, and feels like a person telling their life story. If The Kite Runner had been written in third person, or omnisciently, the story would not have impacted readers as much, and would have been too cold and impersonal to create emotional connections with the reader.

The Kite Runner is the first novel of Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. It tells the story of Amir, a boy from Kabul, Afghanistan, whose closest friend is Hassan, a young Hazara servant. Novel turns around these two characters and Baba, Amir’s father, by telling their tragic stories, guilt and redemption that are woven throughout the novel. Even in the difficult moments, characters build up to their guilt and later on to their redemption. Their sins and faults alter the lives of innocent people. First, Amir and Baba fail to take action on the path to justice for Ali and Hassan. Moreover, Amir and Baba continue to build up their guilt due to their decisions and actions. Although Amir builds up more guilt than Baba throughout the novel, he eventually succeeds in the road to redemption unlike his father. After all, Amir and Baba have many chances to fix their atonements but Baba chooses not to and Amir does. Baba uses his wealth to cover up his sins but never atone himself while Amir decides to stand up and save Sohrab and finally finds peace. Amir and Baba’s reaction to sins essentially indicate their peace of mind and how they react to guilt and injustice.

The Kite Runner is a novel that is considered to be a fictional memoir throughout the life of the main character, Amir. Starting in 1975 Afghanistan, the sentiments between the Hazaras and the Pashtuns were very negative and violent. Afghanistan as a country was experiencing a lot of hardships as the two main races and religions that resided in the country began to fight, eventually leading to the war that is still going on today. As a nation, Afghanistan has a long and interesting history. The Kite Runner itself is written by an Afghan man, Khaled Hosseini, who himself lived in Afghanistan throughout these years. Growing up in Kabul, Hosseini grew up in an area later to be considered as more fortunate and more wealthy than those who lived elsewhere in the country. Khaled’s father worked as a diplomat at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul, and his mother worked as a persian language teacher at a high school for girls. Later on, after his father got a job in Paris, France. Hosseini’s family moved to France and were unable to return to Afghanistan due to the saur revolution, the initial segment leading to the Afghan civil war. The Kite Runner was written in California as Hosseini was studying in medical school, in order to become a doctor. The book itself is fictional, however much of the occurences in the novel are influenced based upon real-life scenarios and situations that occur during parts of the war. Specifically, this is portrayed via the arguments between the

In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the reader experiences two different methods of tradition. Baba shows the readers a new way of tradition while General Taheri expresses old tradition. Baba and General Taheri see life through a different lens than one another. They convey their beliefs of tradition through how they lead as prominent social figures, carry out their lives, and through their unique relationships with their children.

Assef severely rapes Hassan for refusing to give up the kite when Amir successfully wins the overall Kite tournament. Amir was disturbed and shook with what he was witnessing. Assef, a Pashtun, believes in chaos and violence. In the following context, he severely rapes Hassan and mocks Amir for interacting with another Hazara. Amir decides not to do anything because his personal choices prevented him from intervening. The following theme illustrates that injustice can come based off a person’s personal choice, not from religion.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini was a touching book that revolved around loyalty within a friendship. The friendship between Hassan and Amir had some difficulties. A true friendship can be hard to find(,) but can be one of the most vital things to being truly happy. Both Hassan and Amir had proven their loyalty to each other by the end of The Kite Runner. Loyalty was a crucial part in Hassan and Amir’s friendship.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a novel about life in Afghanistan that follows a boy named Amir, his father Baba, and their two servants Hassan and Ali. Amir and Baba are wealthy Pashtuns, and Baba is well respected. Hassan and Ali, on the other hand, are Hazara, an ethnic minority in Afghanistan. The Hazara people are oppressed and seen as inferior to the Pashtun people. Baba, however, doesn’t treat them as inferior:this way, he shows kindness towards Hassan, instead ofunlike Amir. Throughout Amir’s childhood, he is constantly ignored by Baba because he does not fit Baba’s idea of the son he wants. Baba’s general disapproval and disinterest in Amir shows that he is a bad father to Amir, especially because he shows the opposite emotions to Hassan.

In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Rahim Khan kept a deep secret from Amir for many years. He revealed that Hassan, Amir’s servant and “friend” from when he was a child, was his half-brother from his father’s side. Amir is left dumbfounded, and realizes that his whole life has been a lie. This major revelation raises questions and drastically changes the plot, as it introduces new conflicts and events.

The film version of The Kite Runner omitted a scene from the book that vividly described a suicide attempt by a child. This scene was likely cut due to time constraints and the reality that a suicide attempt by a child would be very upsetting to many viewers. A scene as harsh as child suicide is not something that can be quickly processed and move on to the next scene. I believe the audience would require ample time to absorb what happened from beginning to end through the emotions of the characters; no doubt this scene would be too lengthy to include as a side-note to the main story. In addition, the scene might be so disturbing to some people they may not wish to see the film at all.

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

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, a story of a boy as he unravels his journey throughout his life. The novel consists of multiple themes such as love, friendship, betrayal, guilt, , secrets, loyalty, and redemption. As the main character, Amir recalls his past events, all of these themes start to unravel specific events that occurred in his life. “There is a way to be good again” (Hosseini 2) is where the novel unfolds the deep dark life of Amir’s regret and guilt, Baba’s secret, and Hassan’s devotion. The book is a true masterpiece which keeps the readers glued to the story as it unfolds. One of the reasons, the story attracts many readers is due to The United States recent conflict with Afghanistan. However, the story has a personal

One major theme that is evident in The Kite Runner is that scars are reminders of life’s pain and regret, and, though you can ease the regret and the scars will fade, neither will completely go away. We all have regrets and always will, but though it will be a long hard process we can lessen them through redemption. The majority of The Kite Runner is about the narrator and protagonist, Amir. Almost all of the characters in The Kite Runner have scars, whether they are physical or emotional. Baba has scars all down his back from fighting a bear, but he also has emotional scars from not being able to admit that Hassan was also his son. Hassan is born with a cleft lip, but for his birthday Baba pays for it to be fixed, which left a small scar above his mouth. Hassan also has emotional scars from being raped. The reader is probably shown the emotional scars of Amir the most. Amir has emotional scars because he feels that he killed his mother, and also because his father emotionally neglects him. In the end of the novel, Amir receives many physical scars from getting beaten up by Assef, when rescuing Sohrab. Though scars will never go away and are a reminder of the past, not all scars are bad.

Through the portrayal of a society where politics are ethnic-based, masculinity being amplified is only one of the few thematic ideas that are present, others include the atonement of sins, resentment, immigration, expectations in a father-son relationship and barriers between different classes or castings. Concentrating primarily on subject of immigration, another significant parallel is present. In a biography of author Khaled Hosseini, Great Neck Publishing discusses Hosseini’s life, “The family subsisted on welfare during their first year in the country, with Hosseini 's father working at a flea market for extra income before finding a job as a driving instructor”. Relating back to the revelation of multiple themes, Hosseini depicts the struggles immigrants face while adapting to a new culture and environment of an unknown abode in The Kite Runner, similarly as he did himself, through Amir and Baba’s life abroad in America. Although Baba was a well reputed man back in his homeland, he too struggled, like Hosseini’s father, to being financially stable, which is evident through his job at the flea market, ultimately representing how they had to start over. Hosseini conveys the struggles of his characters in a fictitious text as a portrayal of his real life experiences which quite pointedly makes the novel more influential for readers to grasp onto the events that take place around the world thereby acknowledging the minorities, such as the

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.