Obstacles In The Kite Runner

Finding the courage to be heroic in moments of tough times can often be hard. For Marjane in Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and Hassan in The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, they had to be heroic in difficult times and in oppressive societies torn apart by war. Hassan and Marjane were both heroic by supporting others and surviving tough obstacles, however, Hassan is more heroic because he stood up for what’s right more often than Marjane.
Both Hassan and Marjane were heroic by supporting others. Hassan supported others like Amir, even when the situation is tough. Hassan supports Amir by acting brave even when he’s not. When Assef is bullying the boys, Hassan acts calm and speaks in a tone, “so flatly that even I [Amir] had to strain to hear

the fear that I knew hid under that calm voice” (Chapter 5). Even though Hassan is scared, he is trying to act bravely and hide the fear so Amir wouldn’t worry during the situation as much. Hassan also supports Hassan by lying for Amir. When Baba accuses Hassan of stealing Amir’s watch, Hassan replies with a simple, “Yes” (Chapter 9). Both Hassan and Amir knew that if Amir told the truth, Baba would accuse Amir and he would have to explain and possibly be punished. Hassan recused Amir even though Hassan knew that Amir had betrayed him. Even when Amir is frustrated, Hassan refuses to get mad at Amir, even when he treats Hassan less than favorably. Amir pelted Hassan with pomegranates and after Amir urged him to hit him, “Hassan did pick up a pomegranate. He walked toward me [Amir]. He opened it and crushed it against his own forehead.” (Chapter 8) Hassan knew Amir was frustrated. He supported Amir by allowing Amir to hit him with the pomegranates without retaliating. When Amir commanded Hassan to hit Amir back, he wouldn’t because he still supported Amir. Although Marjane was experiencing tough situations, she still supported others. When Marjane’s beloved Uncle Anoosh was imprisoned due to the belief of him being a Russian spy, her father asked if Marjane would do something for Uncle Anoosh. She replied with a simple “yes” (68), even though she would have to go to the jail to visit him. Marjane adored her uncle and her uncle adored her, calling her his star. Marjane supported and comforted her uncle before his execution. Marjane also wanted to support the citizens of her countries through demonstrations. She wanted to attend the demonstration after the burning of the Rex Cinema. She told her parents that she “wanted to come with you tomorrow” (16). Even though she was young, she knew the importance of supporting others. When she was older, she told her maid, Mehri that “tomorrow we are going to demonstrate” (38). Even though her mother punished her afterward, she still knew that it was important to demonstrate and support others. She also supported her maid, Mehri. When she fell in love with the neighbor boy, Mehri asked Marjane to read her the letter the neighbor boy had slipped her. Marjane read the letter aloud and she also helped Mehri write a response. This continued each week for six months. Marjane realized the importance of the neighbor boy to Mehri. Although Marjane could’ve done other things or told her parents, she continued to support Mehri. When the neighbor boy didn’t want to see her anymore, Marjane supported Mehri by comforting her. Both Marjane and Hassan supported their friends in their times of need, even if Marjane and Hassan were going through difficulties of their own.
Hassan and Marjane both faced and survived tough obstacles.

Hassan constantly encountered tough obstacles throughout his life. One example of a hardship Hassan endured was that he was a Hazara boy in a place where they are oppressed. During a run in with Assef, Assef says, “I’ll ask the president to do what the king didn’t have the quwat [power] to do. To rid Afghanistan of all the dirty, Kasseef [filthy] Hazaras” (Chapter 5). Hassan constantly faced discrimination. He is uneducated, he and his father are servants and he frequently faces bullying and racial slurs from others like Assef and even Amir. Hassan never was able to completely get past this. Another obstacle Hassan faced was he was illiterate. He would ask Amir to “read it again please, Amir agha” (chapter 4). Because Hassan was a Hazara, he never was educated when he was younger and he’d have to ask Amir to read stories to him. Although he wasn’t able to read, from the times Amir had read to him, he was able to discover his own favorite book. Because Hassan was illiterate and because of the discrimination he faced, he wasn’t able to receive proper education or a job where he could make a livable pay. However, Hassan was able to overcome this obstacle when he was older when he learned to read. He even taught his son, Sohrab how to read. Another tough obstacle Hassan encountered was that he lived in Kabul when the Taliban were there. One day Hassan and his wife Farzana went to the bazaar to buy food and in Hassan’s

letter he describes the Taliban’s cruelty, “...a young Talib ran over and hit her [Farzana] on the thighs with his wooden stick. He struck her so hard she fell down” (Chapter 17). The Taliban were a difficult obstacle Hassan had faced. They were cruel and banned many things like kite running. Hassan did not fear death however, he did fear leaving his wife a widow and his son an orphan. Because of the cruelty, he wasn’t able to stand up to the Talib when he attacked his wife. Marjane also faced numerous tough obstacles as a child. When Marjane was young, she witnesses a revolution. She writes, “my parents demonstrated every day,” (18). Her parents were often too tired to play with her after the demonstrations. She also heard about the Rex Cinema fire and of the execution of several family friends, including her uncle Anoosh. This often disturbed Marjane. She feared for the lives of her family and her friends. When Marjane was a young child, her neighborhood was bombed. She worries about her friend and then notices, “a turquoise bracelet. It was Neda’s. Her aunt had given it to her for her fourteenth birthday...the bracelet was still attached to...I don’t know what” (142). Marjane lost a close friend of hers at a young age and she wasn’t the only one. Throughout the novel, Marjane experiences multiple moments when her neighborhood was either under the threat of bombs or actually bombed. Later in the chapter, Marjane states, “no scream in the world could have relieved my suffering and my anger” (142). Marjane is so overcome by the stress, the panic and the overall distress the war causes. At the end of the novel, Marjane is told by her parents that she must go to Austria. She is apprehensive at first but then eventually agrees to go. As she’s getting ready to leave, she thinks, “I never realized how much they loved me. And I understood how important they were to me,” (149). Marjane was only 14 years old when she is sent to Austria. She is sad and worried that she will never see her parents again. This is a huge obstacle she had to encounter, especially at a young age, to have to relocate to a new location due to the fear of her own execution and lack of freedom. Marjane and Hassan often found overwhelming odds against them, however, they typically were able to overcome these odds or at least survive past the events.
Hassan and Marjane had no trouble standing up for what’s right, even when it seemed that the entire world was against them.

However, Hassan stood up for what’ right more often than Marjane. Hassan regularly stood up for what’s right. When Assef was bullying Hassan and Amir, Hassan stood up for both of them. He told Assef, “Please, leave us alone, Agha,” and when Assef refused to leave them alone, Hassan asked him to leave once more. Although Hassan has an ingrained sense of the hierarchy, he still stood up to Assef when he was bullying Amir and Hassan. He wasn’t afraid of the repercussions. Later in The Kite Runner, Assef and his lackeys cornered Hassan and Assef demanded Hassan to give him the kite. Hassan refuses, stating, “Amir agha won the tournament and I ran this kite for him. I ran it fairly. This is his kite,” (Chapter 7). Even though Assef threatened Hassan, Hassan didn’t feel that it was right. He stood up for what was right, even under the known threat of attack. When Amir arrives in Pakistan to visit Rahim Khan, his old family friend, he learns the grim fate of Hassan. Rahim Khan tells him,“The Taliban...ordered him to get his family out of the house by sundown. Hassan protested” (Chapter 17). Hassan risked everything by protecting and caring for Amir’s house, even though the Taliban were there in Kabul. He died protecting the house. Hassan stood up to the Taliban by refusing to leave the house. Marjane would also stand up for what’s right. When Marjane was a

young child, she noticed the suffering of others. She wanted to be a prophet so shed could help others. She told her grandmother of her rules as a prophet, such as, “rule number seven: all maids should eat at the table with the others. Rule number eight: no old person should have to suffer” (7). Marjane wanted to help others by being a prophet. However, she never took actions at acting like a prophet other than saying that suffering was forbidden. Another time Marjane stood up for what’s right was when she stood up to her teacher. Her teacher said that due to the Islamic Republic, they didn’t have any more political prisoners. However, Marjane stood up and said, “you say that we don’t have political prisoners anymore. But we’ve gone from 3000 prisoners under the Shah to 300,000 under your regime. How dare you lie to us like that?” (144). Marjane knew that her teacher was lying and disillusioning her class, so Marjane stood up to her and asked her why she lied to them. Marjane and her parents knew that Marjane could possibly be arrested and executed for saying things like that. Although Marjane tried to stand up for what’s right, she didn’t do it as often as Hassan did.
Although Hassan and Marjane were heroic in tough times by being supportive and surviving difficult obstacles, Hassan was more heroic because he was more freely ready to stand up for what’s right. Hassan and Marjane often were faced with overwhelming difficulties and they still were able to be brave, loyal and kind people. One of the main lessons of both these stories is that even in tough situations people can still overcome their odds and be a source of incredible things.