Hosseini’s purpose of writing the Kite Runner was to teach the readers the different ethnic groups in Afghanistan. The main character, Amir, is a Pashtun and Pashtuns are Sunni Muslims, then there are Hazara’s that the Pashtuns do not get along with. Hazara’s are not welcomed by the Pashtuns because they are different social classes. Pashtuns have more control over things, as Hosseini talked about in the novel, they had more control in their history. When Amir was describing his father as, “…a towering Pashtun specimen with a thick beard, a way ward crop of curly brown hair…” (Page 12), was way different compared to the way he described Ali, a Hazara. Amir did not realize that he was describing the Pashtuns as they were better than the Hazara’s, also when Amir mentioned Hassan he said how he did not call him his friend because Hassan was a Hazara and he was his servant. Although he did say they were like brothers because they grew up together but never did he say friends. The tragedy that happened in the novel when Hassan was rape, sometimes it can be seen as a betrayal because Amir did not help Hassan, Pashtun betraying a Hazara. …show more content…
Hazara’s were mistreated in a couple of ways because they were “hated” by the Pashtuns.
As Hosseini wrote, “You! The Hazara! Look at me when I am talking to you!” (Page 7). The person speaking was a Pashtun and they were yelling to Hassan because he was not responding to him when he was trying to talk to him, so they began to be rude to Hassan, but Amir did not do anything because he cannot go against his own ethnic group but he also did not say anything because Hassan was like his brother so he stayed quiet and just said to keep walking. The Pashtuns compare the Hazara’s to Chinese dolls because they have the flat face with slanted eyes and the flat nose. In addition the Pashtuns don’t have the Hazara’s in the official Afghani school books because they are above
them. The social class between the Pashtuns and Hazara’s is a big thing and relevant to the novel because there is a lot of difference. Since the Pashtuns are above them means they have more money and class and etc. Amir talked about his house and said how it was a big house with a lot of space compared to the little shack the Hazara, Ali and Hassan, had. They were the servants of Amir and Baba. This is relevant to the novel because throughout the novel all of the people in Afghanistan are mostly Pashtuns and the do not like the Hazara’s which is about the cultural collision. Ethnicity groups are very important in this novel because the Pashtuns that were mentioned in the novel caused problems with the Hazara’s and if the cultural collision did not happen there would not have been a novel. The whole novel is based on the way Amir betrayed Hassan and everything changed after and both groups separated for a while, Pashtun betraying a Hazara.
Throughout history, the Hazaras have always been persecuted by the Pashtuns. One of the main reasons why they’re discriminated against is because most Hazaras are Shia Muslims, while most Pashtuns are Sunni Muslims. Due to a disagreement in the past, the two groups have always argued against each other. Amir is a Pashtun, and he grows up around other people who believe that the Hazaras are an inferior race. Even though, Baba tries to educate Amir to not believe in racism, Amir has a very tiny bit of ingrained racism with him.
Amir's mother passes away during his birth, and his left with the suspicion that his father blames him for her death. Amir longes for his father's attention and approval, but does not receive any affection as a son. He grows up with his Hazara best friend, Hassan. In Afghanistan culture, Hazaras are considered lower class and inferiors in society. Amir describes his friendship with Hassan saying, “then he would remind us that there was a brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast, a kinship that not even time could break."
...h him; another part to this is because he believes Hassan is just a dirty Hazara boy. “I'd chase the car, screaming for it to stop. I'd pull Hassan out of the backseat and tell him I was sorry, so sorry, my tears mixing with rainwater. We'd hug in the downpour (Hosseini 109).” After Amir causes Hassan to leave, he laments about letting, more like making, his best friend leave him. He sees the dirty Hazara boy as his best friend at that moment. In both of these stories, the main character realizes how similar they are to the other social or religious group.
Amir had mistreated Hassan in some ways, for example, when he threw pomegranates at the latter, in hopes to receive the same treatment back. He had always thought that since Hassan was a Hazara, he should be looked down upon because he is of a lower class. After the kite running event and when Hassan was raped, Amir spoke to Ali about Hassan’s condition. He did not mention how Hassan was raped, but rather said that he was sick instead. From the way he spoke to Ali, it was noticeable that he was pushing the blame onto Hassan, freeing himself from all castigations he would receive. ““Like I said, how should I know what’s wrong with him?” I snapped. “Maybe he’s sick. People get sick all the time, Ali. Now, am I going to freeze to death or are you planning on lighting the stove today?”” (Hosseini 86) This line displays how Amir used excuses to maneuver his way from the topic of Hassan that day, in order to keep his image and mind clean. In addition to this idea of keeping the image clean towards society and believing in delusions, Baba had taught himself to think that he was a good man. When Amir and Baba were on the truck ride from Kabul, there was a part where a Russian soldier had threatened to kill Baba for protecting the woman. ““Tell him I’ll take a thousand of his bullets before I let this indecency take place,” Baba said” (Hosseini 122). It was apparent from this line, and
Amir, the main character and narrator in the Kite Runner, belongs to a wealthy family in which his father is a powerful businessman. Amir is also a part of the dominant Pashtun ethnic group and Sunni religious group. Amir in the Kite Runner tells the story of his friendship with Hassan. Hassan and his father, Ali, are Amir’s servants. Hassan on the contrary is a low-caste ethnic Hazara and belongs to the minority Shi’it religious faith. This provides many of the Afghan’s who are different such as Sunni’s, who make up 85% of the Muslim faith, to persecute people like Hassan for their religion.
...ffect children like Hassan in Afghanistan. Racism continued when they went to America, where they will judge Americans and Americans will judge them. This shows that Amir is embarrassed to be Hassan’s friend. He believes Hassan is a lower class citizen because of his race and the fact that he is a “servant”. He only plays with Hassan when no ones around because he is afraid someone else will judge him for talking to a Hazara. The next quote is when Amir and Baba visit the doctor in America to get a CAT scan for Baba’s cancer. In the Kite Runner, Assef the bully treats Hassan very differently than Amir and the other boys in the town. Hassan is a Pashtun “Flat-Nose” who Assef believes is race that is a threat to the purity of Afghanistan. He expresses hatred towards anyone that has that same background. Especially Hassan. Amir also treats Hassan differently.
There are many oversimplifications and stereotypes, even if they may be from a reality-based ideology. The ethnic group of the Hazara and the Pashtun is not entirely developed. Amir was always referred to as a Pashtun but the background of the Pashtun isn't fully touched upon. The narrator only focuses on the Mongolian-like physical features of the Hazara's, and because of this diversity, they are considered a more lowly class than Pashtuns.
“We may be hard headed and I know we are to far too proud but in the hour of need believe me that there's no one you’d rather have at your side than a pashtun”(160). This quote is said by Baba and what he means is that pashtuns are better to have at your side than hazaras. This quote is ironic cause Amir wasn't there when Hassan needed him,he ran away like a coward,whereas Hassan being a hazara he was loyal and proved to be a better person to have by your side than Amir who was a coward. This helped us
Amir is afraid to be Hassan’s true friend because he is different. This highlights Amir’s selfishness. In the novel, Amir often points out Hassan’s harelip, and the fact that he is a Hazara. He describes Hassan as “… a boy with a Chinese doll face perpetually lit by a harelipped smile (25).” Amir is not sure if he wants to be around Hassan because he is selfish and he recognizes that Hassan is in a lower social class than him. This makes the young Amir hesitant to be around Hassan because of what other people’s opinions might be. Amir is influenced heavily by this and that makes him grow afraid of becoming Hassan’s true friend. Amir is not stron...
His father, Baba, is actually the father of Hassan, making Amir and Hassan half-brothers. Amir says, “Hassan and I fed from the same breasts. We took our first steps on the same lawn in the same yard. And, under the same roof, we spoke our first words” (Hosseini, 11) which shows just how close Amir and Hassan are growing up. If Amir had known, he might have acted differently when witnessing Hassan being abused by Assef. Hassan has always stood up for Amir, such as when Assef threatened to beat them both up. When Amir realizes that Hassan is his brother, it is too late. The Taliban had already shot Hassan because he had refused to leave Amir’s
textbooks and discovers that the feud between the Pashtuns and the Hazaras dates back to the nineteenth century; during this time period the Hazara rose up against the Pashtuns and tried to overthrow them. However, their efforts were futile and they were mercilessly defeated. Ever since the failed coup, there has been bad blood between the Pashtuns and the Hazara. As a result, one's caste became a master status in Islamic society. For example, Baba’s father took in Ali after his parents were killed by a drunk driver. Which resulted in, Baba and Ali becoming very close almost like brothers. However, Baba never called him a friend because Ali was a Hazara. Moreover, based on the history of the Pashtuns and the Hazara it would have been socially
The Hazaras were though of as servants or less than most during this time in Afghanistan. Amir is exposed to unkindness toward Hazaras throughout his childhood. While walking on the street, Amir sees Ali being verbally harassed by Pashtun boys. The first truly inhumane action Amir decides to make occurs in the alley where Hassan is raped. Contemplating with himself Amir thinks, "He was just a Hazara, wasn't he?"(77). Amir tries to justify his decision by reminding himself that Hassan, because of his race, is less than Amir.
In the book The Kite Runner, Society judges you based on your race and your social class. For example, Baba had to hide Hassan because he would have been judged for having an affair with a Hazara. In this society, if you are a Hazara then you are treated very differently. The Pashtuns are basically in control over a lot of things. The Hazaras are told that they are not included in the history of the
The novel The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hasseini, is narrated in first person by the protagonist, Amir. Amir grows up in Afghanistan during the 70s. His childhood comes to an abrupt end, shortly after he wins a kite tournament, when he witnesses his friend, Hassan, being attacked by a neighborhood bully. Hassan, Amir’s servant and best friend is a Hazara, whereas Amir is a Pashtun. The class difference between the two is significant to the story because the problems that arise in the novel are based on this difference. The Kite Runner would not exist if there was not a class difference between Hassan and Amir.
Compensating for the deficits of the way he treated Hassan completely consumes him. He shut him out of his life and then realizes how the heinous act on Hassan should be when the friends should have come together, rather than drift apart. He only realizes this when he learns about Hassan’s son, and tries to redeem himself through Sohrab. Amir says: “I have gone back to Afghanistan to bring back my half-brother’s son” (329), which changes the original conflict of redeeming himself to his father to redeeming himself to his best friend. This characterizes Amir due to how his priority shifted from his father to his friend, not concerned anymore about impressing his father, but rather vindicating his poor treatment of his friend by caring for his only son, and making sure that what happened to Hassan will never happen to Sohrab again, finally saying that Hassan “meant a lot to [him]” (237). Further along the storyline there are many times where Amir defended Sohrab, compensating for the times when he did not stand up for Hassan, allowing the sexual assault to take place because Hassan was a hazara. Later on in the story, readers note that General Sahib called Sohrab a hazara boy, and Amir stated: “...you never again refer to him as ‘Hazara boy’”(213), which shows some of the character development with Amir, showing how he is willing to stand up for someone, which is what his