What Is Social Differences In The Kite Runner

Afghanistan is a culture-rich land consisting of many ethnic tribes. The largest of these groups is the Pashtun tribe which constitutes an estimated 40% to 55% of Afghanistan’s total population. The third largest group in the country is the Hazara tribe which comprise between 15% of the population (Barfield 26). Historically, the Hazara people have been largely persecuted by other tribes in Afghanistan. In Martin Ewan’s book, Afghanistan: A Short History of Its People and Politics, he writes, “There has in the past been little love lost between [the Hazaras] and other Afghans, who despise them on both religious and racial grounds, while they themselves have a particular hatred

Society has always defined people based off of stereotypes. Stereotypes define people based on wealth, looks, ethnicity, where you come from, etc. Ben Carson grew up poor and without a father figure. He turned his life around and became a surgeon. He became the first neurosurgeon to successfully separate conjoined heads. Society will always have their beliefs about someone based on the labels people are given by society.

“’Afghanistan is the land of Pashtuns. It always has been, always will be. We are the true Afghans, the pure Afghans, not this Flat-Nose here. His people pollute our homeland, our wantan. They dirty our blood….

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.

However, his constant burden of having to pay for his adulterous act, considered one of the ultimate sins in his conservative Sunni Islamic environment, coupled with the tragedy of his wife’s death leads Baba to also be portrayed as a less of a father and more of having an immature personality in the way he deals with his son. Hosseini’s purpose in this complex relationship with Amir was to highlight how different the circumstances were in Afghanistan given more extreme social conditions Americans are unfamiliar with. This conflict leads Hosseini to somewhat reconcile Baba’s bad parenting as being a product of the trade-offs necessary to living in context of that particular belief system. His preoccupation with relieving his guilt prevented him from being the father Amir secretly desired him to be.

The Kite Runner and Osama are very correspondent and very different. The differences between Osama and The Kite Runner are as followed: in Osama the story was based around on a girl and what she went through, the agitations of women in the Taliban, and a lot more brutality was in this rather than in The Kite Runner. In, The Kite Runner the Taliban wasn’t as prominent in the beginning as to where in Osama that was the main aspect of the movie. In The Kite Runner, there was definitely sadness, and the martyrdom of the people, but it wasn’t as bad as Osama. The similarities between the two: The Taliban are taking over the county, Hassan takes up for Amir like Espandi takes up for Osama, both are Middle

Social status allows the powerful to gain more power, while pushing the struggling deeper into a hole. Hazaras are an ultimately low class in Afghanistan with very minimal rights. In The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini the protagonist Amir is a higher level Afghan citizen who is best friends with Hassan, a lower level Hazara. Throughout the book Amit gradually begins to treat Hassan more like a Hazara is treated by the majority of the population. Assef bullies Hassan to show him his place as a minority in Afghanistan. Due to Hassan being a Hazara, Baba avoids social embarrassment by not exposing the truth of Hassan being his son. Hassan later on gets killed for being a Hazara. In The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini shows that an individual's social status affects their future through the way Hazaras are treated in Afghanistan.

Many authors often use two contrasting places, such as two different countries, to emphasize the differences in ideas and reinforce opposed forces that are central to the work. In Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, two countries that are seen as two polar opposites, Afghanistan and America, are brought together to reinforce two completely different lifestyles for a boy named Amir. Growing up in a country known as a land of terrorists and war changed him as he moved to America, known as the land of opportunity and freedom.

The world is a big place. Although everyone is familiar with their our own culture, the culture of others can be elusive at times. When reading books, such as the Kite Runner, understanding the culture in the book is essential to fully comprehend the author's message. Without understanding the social caste system and the value of family reputation in the Afghanistan, many of the events that unfold in The Kite Runner would not have the same impact on the reader.

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

Yet, there are certain points in the novel where Baba provides his perspective on life to Amir, demonstrating compassionate, father-like qualities. This is highlighted when Baba states “There is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft… When you kill a man, you steal a life…You steal his wife’s right to her husband, his children’s right to a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone’s right to the truth (19-20). Baba educates Amir about the principles in which he values you to be true about sins. Yet, this is ironic because Baba proves to be a thief himself, which expresses more instances of alienation in Amir’s childhood existence. Baba shows to be hypocritical when he deprives Amir the right to have a father figure. This drives the conflict of the novel. He gives the impression how it is a sin to steal the right to someone. Although not recognizable at first, he clearly goes against his beliefs when analyzed. His disloyalty adds on to alienating Amir. This is because later on in the novel, Amir himself comprehends that Baba was truly a thief. This is expressed when Amir notes, “And now, fifteen years after I'd buried him, I was learning that Baba had been a thief. And a thief of the worst kind, because the things he'd stolen had been sacred” (225).

Sofia Cartaya Mr. Ceddia H English 10- Period D October 6, 2014 The Kite Runner Essay Mankind was not born with the internal inclement to hatred, but was taught to do so by his parents. For this reason the class distinctions in Afghanistan aids in the creation of the conflict between the young generations of characters in the novel. Written by Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner is an all-time classic about the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the personal view of just as small group of family and friends as they lived through it. To understand the novel, you must first understand the reason for the conflict between the Hazara and Pashtun classes.

Wayne Dyer, an American philosopher, once said, “Problems in relationships occur because each person is concentrating on what is missing in the other person.” This is the protagonist's main source of conflict in the book, the Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini. Amir and Hassan appeared to have a brotherly friendship. Even though they grew up together, it was intriguing how Hassan develops a brotherly bond with Amir while Amir does not reciprocate the love. By concentrating on what is missing in Hassan, it causes Amir to become separated from the relationship because Amir values social class over his friendship with Hassan, and stems from his jealousy that comes from an idea that Baba favors Hassan.

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.

Hosseini puts an emphasis on the presence of class discrimination in Afghanistan where the Pashtuns are the pure class that dominates over the minority group of Hazaras and the poor in the society. The novel reveals the violence and cruelty predominant in the society against the weak in the society. In fact, people cannot get married in another class that is not of their status and the Hazaras are the most affected class in the story. The Hazaras (people from the low class) are degraded, and this is evident with the emotional, physical, psychological abuse they get from the Pashtuns (Bloom 46). The minority group from the Hazaras is violated by the upper class who are the Pashtuns because they are powerless. A good example is that of Amir and Hassan whereby Amir had established a class distinction between them because his friend was from the minority group and he was the son of a wealthy businessperson in Kabul. Hassan and his father were treated like servants from a low