Power In The Kite Runner

Power is a major influence throughout all of history. Wars, love, and countries all began with the same concept: power. Sometimes, power is used responsibly; other times the platform of authority is used in a manipulative way. Power can stem from an individual, but it can also be rooted in memories that haunt people forever. In The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini writes an impactful novel, showing the brutality Afghanistan goes through as power is corrupted in the country. However, Hosseini also probes the theme of authority that family has over others and how dark feelings can rule people’s lives. Power is depicted in three different manners in the novel: the Taliban’s rule over Afghanistan, Baba’s pull on Amir, and the guilt Amir feels over

himself.
To begin, the most obvious form of absolute power in the novel is the Taliban in Afghanistan. After Russia was conquered, the Taliban emerged as the heroes; although they have malicious intention with the power, following the path of many corrupt organizations throughout history. First, they took away freedoms: “'They don’t let you be human . . . I was at a soccer game in Ghazi Stadium in 1998 . . . and by the way, the players weren’t allowed to wear shorts . . . Anyway, Kabul scored a goal and the man next to me cheered loudly. Suddenly this young bearded fellow who was patrolling the aisles, eighteen years old at most by the look of him, he walked up to me and struck me on the forehead with the butt of his Kalashnikov’” (Hosseini 199). The Taliban made enjoyable experiences, such as soccer matches, places of terror and propaganda. Furthermore, the damage they caused to the city of Kabul reveals their reckless abuse to rise to complete sovereignty. Amir could not even recognize the beloved city he grew up in. “Jadeh Maywand had turned into a giant sand castle. The buildings that hadn't entirely collapsed barely stood, with caved in roofs and walls pierced with rocket shells. Entire blocks had been obliterated to rubble” (Hosseini 246). Afghanistan was a different country under the Taliban; today, people hardly remember the charming country that Amir grew up in. Lastly, a haunting affect the Taliban had on people was gruesome killings. Public deaths were common to show how their rule was strong and uncontrollable. For example, at the soccer match Amir attends, citizens were stoned. “And what manner of punishment, brothers and sisters, befits the adulterer? How shall we punish those who dishonor the sanctity of marriage? How shall we deal with those who spit in the face of God? How shall we answer those who throw stones at the windows of God’s house? WE SHALL THROW THE STONES BACK!’” (Hosseini 270). In a distributing practice, the Taliban use the public killings to shove fear into people’s mind, using the power they have obtained to the highest amount possible.
Secondly, on a smaller, more relatable scale, Baba has immense control over Amir.

“Because the truth of it was, I always felt like Baba hated me a little . . . The least I could have done was to have the decency to have turned out a little more like him. But I hadn’t turned out like him. Not at all” (Hosseini 19). Amir, unfortunately, doesn’t feel loved by his father, so Baba has power over his son and the decisions Amir makes in his life. Amir only wanted the kite after the competition so badly for one thing: to please Baba. “Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba” (Hosseini 77). Baba’s power forced Amir to become cold, so he could be the son he believed his father wanted. As Amir becomes older, he starts to be more influential in his own life and taking management of his own decisions. In America, he has found home; however, Baba’s rule still makes him feel bad and believe that Baba should be the one who is happy. “For me, America was a place to bury my memories. For Baba, a place to mourn his” (Hosseini 129). Even as Amir becomes his own person, he wants to give Baba the power and make him feel in control and content. Eventually though, Amir realizes that his father does love him and doesn't let the authority drag him

down.
Lastly, on a very personal level, Amir’s guilt from childhood has immense jurisdiction and influences him for the rest of his life.

This began all began in his childhood, after he witnessed Hassan being raped. Amir’s guilt ate him alive, he couldn’t even stand to see him, so he came up with a plan to get rid of Hassan. “Then I took a couple of the envelopes of cash from the pile of gifts and my watch, and tiptoed out . . . I went downstairs, crossed the yard, and entered Ali and Hassan’s living quarters by the loquat tree. I lifted Hassan’s mattress and planted my new watch and a handful of Afghani bills under it. I waited another thirty minutes. Then I knocked on Baba’s door and told what I hoped would be the last in a long line of shameful lies” (Hosseini 104). It is evident that Amir’s intense remorse drove him to make ungraceful decisions. In the end, this only made his guilt worse. As the guilt seems to subside with time and his life in America goes on, Amir one day receives a call from Rahim Khan: “Come. There is a way to be good again, Rahim Khan had said on the phone just before hanging up. Said it in passing, almost as an afterthought. A way to be good again” (Hossseini 192). Khan's phone call makes Amir realize that the guilty feelings have only been living deep inside of him all along. Now, he wants to go and visit Khan, to see how he can be good again. Eventually, after rescuing Hassan’s son and becoming more of himself once again, Amir comes to the conclusion

that he should adopt Hassan’s son, Sohrab. Although this is a noble action and something that makes Amir feel good about himself, it's also another way for him to cope with the guilt. “A kinship exists between people who’ve fed from the same breast. Now, as the boy’s pain soaked through my shirt, I saw that a kinship had taken root between us too. What had happened in that room with Assef had irrevocably bound us” (Hosseini 320). It seems that Amir replaces Hassan and the hurt he put him through with Sohrab. This was Amir’s way of healing.
All in all, power is portrayed in a meaningful way in three unique ways: Taliban’s reign on Afghanistan, Baba's control of Amir, and the guilt eating Amir alive. Hosseini uses the theme of power as a way to show the absolutely corrupt and dangerously beautiful forms it can fall into. Throughout history, power has been seen as a force of evil. Someday, there can only be hope that power will one day be used to make a better change in all aspects of the world.