Comparing The Kite Runner 'And Are You Different?'

A fundamental part of human existence and interaction is the notion of belonging or identifying with a group. Groups form and exist for various reasons and purposes, comprising of individuals similar or diverse in nature, that often work together toward a common goal (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2014). In 1902, the American sociologist by the name of C. H. Cooley, made distinction between primary and secondary groups. Cooley (1902) classified primary group to have intimate and comparatively permanent associations as one might find in a cohort of close friends, or a family. The groups or associations in which individuals related to each other through formal and often legalistic rules, were classified as secondary groups (Nolen, 2010).

Migrants and immigrants are from a whole different world, although many authors in Growing up Asian in Australia were born in Australia and while their customs and traditions are seen as the norm to them they are seen as different by many Australians. These cultural traditions and practices are far from what the majority are used to and so are neither known nor understood. This result usually in people misunderstanding migrant’s individuality and can cause unfair exclusion. Governed was horrified when the school bully accused her of wiping her “butt with her hands” on the terms of her Indian background and as a result had to deal with constant teasing and taunts

In an environment plagued by incessant consumerism and perpetual egocentrism, one can easily begin to feel disconnected from other members of society. It is becoming exceedingly difficult to have truly meaningful relationships with anyone by cause of the cold, systematic, and covetous fashion in which our world is governed. Due to the lack of feeling a common unity, many families become disjointed and dysfunctional. There is, however, a way in which people can once again sense profound interconnectedness. Through distinct and intimate experiences with others, an individual’s sense of societal separation is replaced with an intense perception of harmony. A film that perfectly encapsulates this phenomenon is the Academy Award-winning comedy, Little Miss Sunshine (Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris, 2006). The film tells the story of an idiosyncratic family which travels across the country in order get Olive (Abigail Breslin), an aspiring beauty queen, to the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. Through a series of conflicts, the family undergoes many transformative and significant experiences. As a result, important messages can be discerned from the film. Little Miss Sunshine follows Hollywood’s typical three-act structure of set-up, confrontation, and resolution in order to develop the notion that direct, human experiences lead to the

Cruelty is an important factor in two themes in The Kite Runner. One of those themes involves experiencing pain and how that pain shapes who character will become in the future. This theme is exemplified in the alley scene when Amir witnesses his servant and friend, Hassan, being sexually assaulted by the neighborhood bully, Assef. The horrendous acts of cruelty Amir experiences that day are completely paradoxical to anything he has encountered previously in his life. Up until this point, the only cruelty Amir has had to experience is that of his relationship, or lack thereof, with his father. As the story continues, Amir considers himself to be cruel for not even attempting to help Hassan in his time of need. He even references this experience in the first paragraph of the book by saying “I became what I am today at the age of twelve… crouching behind a crumbling mud wall, peeking into the alley near the

In the novel The Kite Runner, the protagonist, Amir, is a young boy growing up in a well off family in Kabul, Afghanistan. Amir’s closest friend is Hassan, the son of his family’s beloved servant. Amir’s self image at the beginning of the novel is one in which he views himself as a coward, worthless and selfish.

Simon Tong’s short story, ‘’The Beat of a Different Drum’’ explores the journey of a young boy immigrating from Hong Kong to Australia with a lack of knowledge of the Australian culture and tradition. Through the ambiguous understanding of his unwelcoming classmates, he is victimized to the extent that he feels both violated and humiliated, emphasised by the fact that he is unable to express his feelings in English. These feelings result in him becoming increasingly insecure and irritated as he has become confused and alienated. The rich vocabulary and literary techniques enabled Simon’s short story to become more relatable to the audience by exploring the common adolescent crisis of ‘’Being Different’’.

The Kite Runner is a powerful novel that tells the challenges in which one faces to show the affection of love to another. Amir, the young narrator, delivers the audience through the days of the monarchy, and how one learns to rise up with courage. It involves the feeling of belonging in a friendship and family, with the mix signals of betrayal one faces. In the society of The Kite Runner, the characters search for the shameful qualities that jeopardize one's relationships with others. When growing throughout the book, one learns when to put aside childish comments to show respect.

While Amir portrays the redemption in the novel, the character description of Assef, the town bully, displays Hosseini’s thoughts on sin. In the novel, “Amir loses Hassan (his best friend) when the boy runs off to reclaim the winning kite and is attacked and raped by Assef, the town bully” (Gale 2). The town bully, Assef, is described as brutally violent and unnecessarily

Assef bullies Hassan to show him his place as a Hazara. Assef shows many forming of bullying. At first Assef is very verbally aggressive towards Hassan. Assef tells Hassan that he is loyal to Amir who would show him no loyalty. Assef makes a bold statement describing Hassan as “A loyal Hazara, loyal as a dog.” (Hosseini 77) Assef explains to Hassan that as a Hazara he is loyal to someone that would not show the same loyalty to him in return. While Hassan is cornered by the three bullies, Amir is just watching without any plan of stepping in. Amir wants to retrieve the kite to bring it back Baba to impress Baba. He

One of the common techniques that I found in " The kite runner" and "Things fall apart" is that both of the novels used dialects. Khaled Hosseini uses African and Chinua Achebe Afghanistan dialects which helps us get a better understanding in the importance of the different dialects that is used throughout the book.

Irony is cleverly used within this narrative and aids Hosseini to position the audience to ponder about the messages being conveyed. The novel’s most extreme irony and greatest tragic point is Amir’s selfish decision of not preventing Hassan’s rape. Amir does not intervene during Hassan’s rape due to his fear of losing the blue kite, the key to Baba’s heart (p.67). However by choosing the decision not to stop Assef, Hosseini displays Amir as the coward Baba dreaded he would become, “A boy who cannot stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything” (p.22) as he unwittingly allows his best friend to experience such abuse due to the narcissistic desire of pleasing his father. Through this irony, Hosseini confronts the audience to question whether Amir is deserving of redemption and to dislike Amir’s character due to his cowardice behaviour. Moreover, Assef, the antagonist, who had raped Hassan and the reason behind Amir’s guilt, becomes the path for Amir to obtain redemption nearing the end of the novel. As the novel progressed, Amir returns to Afghanistan to adopt Sohrab, Hassan’s son. However, Amir ends up rescuing Sohrab from being raped by Assef and feels emotionally restored when he accepts the beating from Assef when rescuing Sohrab, “Healed at last…” (p.266). By successfully conveying the irony of Amir facing Assef again but as

As for depression, being assaulted with racial or ethnic slurs or being the target of actions that express inequality can arouse feelings of anguish. The unceasing behaviors that constitute racial discrimination may be enough to eventually provoke more serious feelings of depression. As for stress, those facing racial discrimination would commonly experience considerably more stress from worry over being judged for their race. These conditions further interfere with a person's ability to function well daily. In the novel, readers can observe that Assef, who believes he is superior to the Hazaras, relays his feelings strongly about wanting to expel the ethnic group from Afghanistan. After he is physically abused and raped by Assef, the reader learns through Hassan’s actions that his mental state has changed, becoming very negative. As noted by Ali, his father: “Ali paused with a log in his hand. A worried look crossed his face. ‘Lately, it seems all he wants to do is sleep. He does his chores- I see to that- but then he just wants to crawl under his blanket.’” (Hosseini 85). Assef, a passionate Pashtun, despises the Hazaras, and expresses his extreme racial hatred and discrimination when he hurts Hassan and rapes him in the alleyway. Assef’s harmful actions towards Hassan contribute to feelings of stress, anxiety and depression for the

The day of the kite fighting, Amir shows who he really is. While Hassan was getting raped by Assef, Amir just watches, acting like a bystander. The sad part is Amir could have stopped the rape. Amir is a coward for allowing Assef to rape Hassan. He does have a chance to intervene, but never does. Amir runs because he is a coward and wants to protect his own skin. After Amir runs he explains to himself why he did not help Hassan and why he ran exclaiming, “He was just a Hazara, wasn’t he?” (77). Amir believes since he is Hazara it does not matter that Hassan was raped. He was poor, illiterate, and a servant and he did not matter in this world. When Amir believes he’s only a Hazara, he sounds like Assef. Assef thought Hitler was the greatest

Amir is an intelligent boy and gifted storyteller. His desire is to please his father and make him proud. Amir is also a coward because he let his best friend be raped by Assef. Hassan is Amir’s best friend and servant of his father. He is loyal, always defends Amir, and listens to his stories. Hassan is a poor and uneducated boy. Baba is the father of Amir, a wealthy businessman, and biological father of Hassan. Assef is the character that makes Amir feels guilty and lack courage. After Amir wins the kiting completion, Hassan runs to bring the kite back. However, he is raped by Assef in an alleyway and the only witness is Amir Whese cowardice does not let him help his loyal friend. Amir and Baba escape to Pakistan after the Russian invade Afghanistan, and then to California when Amir graduates and meets his wife Soraya. Baba passes away and Hassan is murdered by the Taliban leaving his orphaned son waiting for Amir to get back to Afghanistan. In this novel, the author discusses how characters are products of their environment, and how this affects their lives, regardless at what their backgrounds are. Influences of environment emanate from

‘A gripping read and a haunting story of love, loss and betrayal. Guaranteed to move even the hardest hearts’ (independent). The kite runner has characters that engages the readers and aims to give them, the one of a time experience. The novel revolves around the theme of discrimination, and that being one of the worst things on the face of the earth; it can have a barbarizing effect on ones life.