An Analysis of The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

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Recommended: American and afghan culture differ significantly introduction

Cultural Analysis of the Book: “The Kite Runner” According to dictionary.com culture is: “The integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that is both a result of an integral to the human capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations. Culture thus consists of language, ideas, beliefs, customs, taboos, codes, institutions, tools, techniques, and works of art, rituals, ceremonies, and symbols.” Keeping this definition in mind it is quite easy to recognize the differences between Afghanistan culture and the culture of the United States. Additionally the amount of cultural stress that both main characters must have encountered when they relocated from Afghanistan to the United States. This essay will examine the cultural stress and differences that the character Baba went through with his relocation from Afghanistan to the United States. Baba was born in Kabul Afghanistan in 1933, the year Zahir Shah became king of Afghanistan. This is important because Zahir would be the last king of Afghanistan and the end of an open Afghani society. Baba was not born in to a prominent family and although he was uneducated he had become one of the areas richest and most prominent citizens. The author describe Baba as a tall man being 6 feet five inches tall with a beard and curly hair, He also describes Baba has having a strict moral compass and being a very determined individual, everything people said he could never do, or succeed at; he did, and accomplished great success while doing it. In the period of Zahir Shah American and western culture was becoming quite prevalent in Afghani daily life they drank coke, and watched American movies that had been dubbed into Farsi, Baba even drove a Ford Mustan... ... middle of paper ... ... many different religions and cultures. California has an extensive Asian community, as well as Hispanic community, African American community and additionally, the dominate, Caucasian community. Here instead of two main similar religions there are many different religions, such as Buddhist, Muslims, Catholics, Mormons, Jewish, Jehovah Witness etc., many of these religions vary in their core beliefs as well as in their celebrations. Baba did not like living in America he missed his friends, his company, his status, he relied on his memories of his time in Kabul to cheer him up when he was sad. Works Cited Dictionary.com n.d. website. 5 May 2014 Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: The Berkeley Publishing Group, 2003 Jenkins, Orville Major types of Islam 23 November 2007. Website. 5 May 2014 orvillejenkins.com/outlineintro/types html

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