While most children grow up protected and sheltered by their families living in peaceful neighborhoods, many others are shown the dangerous and harsh realities of society at a very young age. The novel, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini follows a variety of characters through their childhood and how losing their innocence changes them in numerous ways. The novel conveys that kids are changed forever when they are traumatized early on. Afghanistan in the later part of the 1900’s and up until now has been a very crazy place to live and grow up, and it has taken a toll on each of the characters in the book in different ways. Ethnic oppression in the Middle East has also been a problem forever, causing the Hazara people to be excluded and targeted …show more content…
Loss of innocence is depicted in The Kite Runner through characters like Hassan and Sohrab, but also the country of Afghanistan itself, who are directly affected by the violence and chaos around them, leaving them scarred mentally and physically. Hassan battles many obstacles during his childhood like bullying and unfair treatment by others because of his social status as a Hazara. This ultimately leads to him being assaulted by Assef, an event in the novel that reshapes the lives of not just Hassan, but Amir as well by giving him a new burden to carry and guilt that builds up from witnessing assault and keeping it to himself later on. The novel tells early on about all the fun things they had done together and how close they were even though Hassan was a Hazara and Amir was a Pashtun. Amir hid his friendship with Hassan in public, and when other kids were around because he didn’t want to be looked down upon or bullied for hanging out with a Hazara. All seemed well for the most part until the assault of Hassan in chapter seven, when Amir describes the scene by saying, “Hassan didn’t struggle. Didn’t even …show more content…
Amir was also affected by the assault because witnessing it firsthand gave him the same traumatic memories, even if it wasn’t physical for him. He holds the guilt from not stepping up, and keeping it to himself. While Amir is sitting in his bed pondering his thoughts and feeling terrible about himself, he says, “A part of me was hoping someone would wake up and hear, so I wouldn’t have to live with this lie anymore. But no one woke up and in the silence that followed, I understood the nature of my new curse: I was going to get away with it” (Hosseini 86). Amir wants to be free from this burden, but he can’t bring himself to do anything about it. He loses his own innocence in a sense because he sees what happens in society to other people, and he now has to live with experiencing trauma right in front of his eyes to one of the closest people he’s ever known. Amir now has weight on his chest that he didn’t have for most of his childhood, and he will never feel the same as he did before the assault. Sohrab, as a child, went through more hardships than most people do in their entire lives and it took a great toll on his mental and physical
Hosseini writes, “ ‘How many orphans live here?’ Farid asked. ‘More than we have room for. About two hundred and fifty, ‘Zaman said over his shoulder. ‘But they’re not all yateem. Many of them have lost their fathers in the war and their mothers can’t feed them because the Taliban don’t allow them to work. So they bring their children here’ ”(253). An orphanage owner, Zaman, describes the current problems for the children of Pakistan. This scene shows the high verisimilitude of The Kite Runner. Conflicts with food and housing for orphans is a real problem; as well as, parents giving up their children so they can eat. This is all caused by the Taliban and the previous war raging in Afghanistan. The Taliban do not give opportunities for work or food to the parents who are still left to fend for their children. Fear is felt by all Afghans who even come in close contact with a Taliban member because the treatment Afghans have been given. Hosseini writes about the orphans to show that these problems can and will keep happening. Hosseini wants to prove how real his book can
In the novel The Kite Runner, author Khaled Hosseini writes about Amir a young Afghan child who is a coward and who later as an adult seeks redemption from past mistakes. These characteristic effects Amir’s live throughout the novel from childhood to present. However, these are just words on a paper without some proof and the novel happily supports this either through the events or the behavior of other characters. Now let’s start with Amir’s past childhood.
Children are products of their parents, leading to most parents having certain expectations of how they want their offspring to grow up to be, but as stated in the novel The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, “Children aren’t coloring books.You don’t get to fill them with your favorite colors” (Hosseini 21). The haunting novel, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, is set in Afghanistan during the rule of the Taliban and describes the torturous journey of a young boy named Amir who’s father, Baba, had unrealistic expectations of him. Baba wanted Amir to be athletic and brave, even though Amir was more interested in standing on the side lines of fights and reading poetry and writing stories. In order to attempt and fill Baba’s expectations, Amir ends up betraying his loyal friend and servant, Hassan, when he was being assaulted by the sadistic neighborhood bully, Assef. This
The use of the forms of conflict in The Kite Runner showed how Amir’s mistake would be life changing. Amir’s mistake was not helping his friend and half brother while he was being raped when they were children. This mistake was caused by two forms of conflict; internal and social. Social conflict occurred between Assef, Wali, and Kamal when Kamal and Wali refused to participate in the actual raping of Hassan. Wali claimed that his father “said it was sinful” (Hosseini, pg 75) and refused to partake in the act. The conflict between the three boys showed that what Assef was about to do was socially unacceptable to do to even a Hazara, who were considered to be the inferior group of people. This conflict is significant because it shows the severity of the mistake Amir was about to make by not helping Hassan. Hassan’s heritage had a
It is difficult to face anything in the world when you cannot even face your own reality. In his book The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini uses kites to bring out the major themes of the novel in order to create a truly captivating story of a young boy’s quest to redeem his past mistakes. Amir is the narrator and protagonist of the story and throughout the entire novel, he faces enormous guilt following the horrible incident that happened to his closest friend, Hassan. This incident grows on Amir and fuels his quest for redemption, struggling to do whatever it takes to make up for his mistakes. In Hosseini’s novel, kites highlight aspects of Afghanistan’s ethnic caste system and emphasizes the story’s major themes of guilt, redemption and freedom.
War establishes many controversial issues and problems within society and can often expose an individual to many economic and sociopolitical hardships; thus creating an altercation in the way they view life. Amir, from the novel The Kite Runner and the novel’s author Khaled Hosseini, both saw the harsh treatment toward the people of Afghanistan through a series of wars, invasions, and the active power of a Pashtun movement known as the Taliban. Amir, much like Hosseini, lived a luxurious and wealthy life in Kabul. He is well educated and immerses himself in reading and writing. After transitioning from a life in Afghanistan to a life in the United States, both Hosseini and Amir faced obstacles in order to assimilate to American society. In The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, the protagonist Amir parallels the experiences and hardships that Hosseini endured in his own lifetime.
During The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini reinforces the theme of the loss of innocence and redemption. Many characters lose innocence or are the cause of another character losing theirs. Amir both loses his innocence and that of others. His innocence is stolen by his father. In the novel Amir overhears Baba saying, “‘If I hadn’t seen the doctor pull him out of my wife with my own eyes, I’d never believe he’s my son’” (Hosseini 24-25). This affects Amir for his entire life as he tries to compete with Hassan for his father's attention. He does not realize that in doing so, this crumbles his world as he knows it. It makes Amir resentful, calloused, and even cruel, all of which are characteristics of someone who has lost their innocence. In turn, Amir’s loss of innocence causes other to lose their innocence because of his lack of courage and disregard for others feelings.
Khaled Hosseini, the author of The Kite Runner, grew up in prejudiced Afghanistan during the 1960’s as a middle-class Pashtun living with Hazaras working for his family. His move to America after the Communist Coup proved difficult for his family, especially his father. In his novel, Hosseini writes through a young boy, Amir, very similar to himself, who grows up with his father and two Hazara servants in Afghanistan at the time of the Taliban attacks. Both Amir and his father, Baba, treat their servants, Hassan and Ali, like family. Society, however, does not approve of such relationships between Pashtuns and Hazaras. As Amir hides and watches horrified, another Pashtun boy rapes Hassan. This leads to the continuation of Amir’s internal conflict about the treatment of Hazaras by the public, and also makes him feel guilty and self-conscious throughout his entire life. In addition, Amir strives for affection and attention from his rather indifferent father. Amir’s outward conformity to societal values in his relationships with both Hassan and Baba, as a result of his inner struggle and guilt, contribute greatly to the significance of The Kite Runner.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a novel based in Afghanistan that shows the betrayal between two boys with two different social backgrounds. Four years later “The Kite Runner” was filmed by David Benioff, which shows the meaningful message that the book delivers in a movie. Throughout the book and movie, Amir the protagonist must live the rest of his life with guilt from his childhood. Although the movie gave the same meaningful message that the book delivered, the book was further developed, which had more detail and kept the readers wanting more. Ultimately these details that were present in the novel gave the readers a better understanding of the characters, which led to the relationships
In The Wakening Of War How does the severity of a rocky childhood impact the creation of identity? In Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, Amir and Sohrab are vivid examples of the profound impacts of war, oppression, and conflict on self-growth. Amir and Sohrab delve into the journey of identity formation whilst facing the conflicts related to the themes of greed, selfishness, and the psychological trauma inflicted on their childhoods. This impoverished country of Afghanistan lacked the rights for equality and supported the societal norm of the caste system and its hierarchy. Despite Amir and Sohrab’s similarities in their childhoods, at different degrees, they struggled with forming ethical identities due to societal challenges related to their
Simple distinction are made when one is innocent, innocence allows ones to make decisions or judge others by simple distinctions. However, as ones grow up, simple distinctions may not exist or makes sense at all, subsequently, causes the loss of innocence and maturity. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, two children- Jem and Scout- starts off as innocent children. As the story transitions from the peaceful town life to the intense court battle, more and more aspect from different people starts to display in front of these children. One of the kids, Jem thought the court was always a fair place when he discovers that it is full of prejudice towards people of different races. People such as Tom Robinson has no chance to win after the accusation.
In great literature, no scene of violence exists for its own sake. Certain tragedies have to occur to enliven and drive the plot. The book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a story of the relationship between two friends, Amir and Hassan, living in 1975 Afghanistan, a country on the brink of war. The events in Afghanistan mirrors what is happening between Hassan and Amir. Violence erupts both in the outside environment and within the relationship.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a heart breaking novel. It features events that bring tears to the eyes of its readers, as well as a look into the world outside our own. This book deals with tragic adult themes such as racism and child rape. The story takes place in two different countries, Afghanistan, and later the United States. The novel is in the point of view of the main character Amir and it begins as he recalls events from his childhood in Kabul, Afghanistan in a time on the brink of civil war, when the Afghanistan king is overthrown.
Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner has been critiqued to the fullest extent. It even appeared on the American Library Association’s list of most challenged and controversial books due to its views and portrayal of religion, homosexuality and violence. Khaled Hosseini sets this book in a time where all of those topics affect adolescent students. The novel also goes into great depth of the awful treatment of the Hazara people.
Introduction: Khaled Hosseini’s ‘The Kite Runner’ is an inspirational book which leaves a long-lasting impression on the reader. Apart from being a bestseller, it also has a poignant film based on it, made in 2007. The book is the winner of the Penguin/ Orange Reader’s Group Prize (2006 & 2007). According to the ‘Daily Telegraph’, it is ‘a devastating, masterful and painfully honest story.’ Partly autobiographical, it describes Kabul where the author spent his childhood as also his migration to the US.