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Bullying myths or serious social issue essay
Bullying myths or serious social issue essay
Bullying myths or serious social issue essay
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Analysis
The Kite Runner starts in 2001 with a reflection of the narrator’s life in the present time. The story is told through the first person point of view of the protagonist narrator, Amir. Amir was born to a wealthy businessman named Baba in 1963 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Since Amir lives a wealthy and fortunate life, he grows accustomed to getting what he wants, which leads to selfishness and jealousy. He eagerly wants to be accepted by his father, even at the expense of others. Baba is a strict father who sets high standards for Amir. He is rich, which enables him to host many parties that include an abundance of people. This access to parties makes Amir crave his father’s attention even more. His selfishness is shown by not understanding the reason behind Amir wanting to be a writer instead of a businessman.
Amir begins to ponder about his childhood friend Hassan and how they used to play together. Hassan is a young servant of Amir, who lives with his father, Ali in a shed owned by Amir’s father. He remembers how brave Hassan was and how he stood up for his beliefs. Amir thinks back to how Hassan stood up for him and protected him at any cost, including standing up to the neighborhood bullies. Hosseini supplies a sufficient amount of background
After seeing the events that have happened in Amir’s life, the reader will know and understand that “the kite runner” is Hassan. He was the best kite runner of his time, according to Amir. The title is used as a memory for Hassan because of his sacrifice he made for Amir so that Amir could win the kite. and is used as a memory for him. The raping of Hassan is not just a detail in the story, it has a real life meaning to it. Hassan’s sacrifice for Amir symbolizes the sacrifices Christians and other religions have to make in order for their voice to be
Although Hassan is his best friend, there are many instances where Amir reveals his jealousy, most notable when Baba sees Hassan as the stronger boy, "self-defense has nothing to do with meanness. You know what always happens when the neighbourhood boys tease him? Hassan steps in and fends them off. I 've seen it with my own eyes…” (Hosseini 24). Clearly, Amir hears how his father compares the two, and unlike Hassan who manages to meet Baba’s expectations, Amir grows bitter towards Hassan. He is unable to fight off his envy which later causes him to sacrifice his best friend’s innocence: “Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba” (82), and this is all because he realizes “his shame is complicated by his own realization that in part he doesn’t help his friend precisely because he is jealous of him” (Corbett, 2006). From here, Amir develops strong feelings of guilt that induces him to perform even more destructive acts, such as having Hassan and his father evicted from the house. Amir not only loses a close friend, but now he has to continue to live with remorse as he dwells on these memories. The only way for Amir to redeem himself of his repercussions is through a challenging process of sacrifice and self-discovery. Although one is unsure at this point whether Amir succeeds at his endeavors, it is clear that this story
Amir’s childhood is quite unusual compared to most children in Afghan. Amir’s father, Baba, is a very rich and successful individual in his lifetime. This success allows Amir to live a wealthy lifestyle with access to western commodity as well as servants. In novel, Amir is risen mostly by his servants Hassan and Ali, as well
The Kite Runner is a book about a young boy, Amir, who faces many struggles as he grows up in Kabul and later moves to America to flee from the Taliban. His best friend and brother , Hassan, was a big part of his life, but also a big part of guilt he held onto for many years. The book describes Amir’s attempt to make up for the past and resolve his sins so he can clear his conscious. Amir is worthy of forgiveness because although he was selfish, he was very brave and faced his past.
Kite Runner depicts the story of Amir, a boy living in Afghanistan, and his journey throughout life. He experiences periods of happiness, sorrow, and confusion as he matures. Amir is shocked by atrocities and blessed by beneficial relationships both in his homeland and the United States. Reviewers have chosen sides and waged a war of words against one another over the notoriety of the book. Many critics of Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, argue that the novel would not have reached a lofty level of success if the U.S. had not had recent dealings with the Middle East, yet other critics accurately relate the novel’s success to its internal aspects.
While Amir is a Sunni, his childhood friend Hassan is Shi’a, an inferior division of Islam. Simultaneously, Amir and Hassan belong to different ethnic groups-Amir is Pashtun while Hassan is Hazara. During his childhood, Amir would constantly mock Hassan’s illiteracy and poke fun at him. But, the pivotal demonstration of pressure from his surroundings that makes Amir commit his own act of cruelty is when he watches Assef rape Hassan for refusing to give him the kite that Hassan caught for Amir. To this, Amir describes the look of Hassan’s face to “a look I had seen before. It was the look of the lamb” (76). Throughout his upbringing, Amir constantly believed that his father blamed him for killing his mother in childbirth. To Amir, Hassan’s rape is a sacrifice that Hassan has to pay the price, the lamb to kill, in order to win his father over. To justify his refusal to intervene, Amir reminds himself that “[Hassan] was just a Hazara, wasn’t he?” (77). Amir’s surroundings cause him to have a negative outlook on people that his society deem lower. Amir knows he is morally wrong for not helping Hassan, but his need for his father’s love overpowers his friendship. Adding to his pressures, Amir believes that Baba prefers Hassan over him, a belief that further drives him to be cruel to Hassan. As a result, Amir’s motivation for validation and love from his father
The Kite Runner, is the first novel written by Khaled Hosseini. The Kite Runner is set in Afghanistan before the war in the city of Kabul, and then eventually in America. The novel relays the struggles of Amir (A young Shi’ boy), Hassan (a young Hazera servant boy) and Baba (Amir’s father) as they are growing up in an ever-changing Afghanistan. The young boys face difficult challenges most adults will never have to experience. Amir, Hassan, and even Baba must overcome cruelty in every aspect of their lives.
Flying kites was a source of Amir 's happiness as a child as well as a way to attain his father’s approval. In Kabul, Afghanistan, a kite flying tournament was held annually. Young boys laced their string with glass and attempted to cut the strings of other kite flyers. That last on standing was deemed the champion and the idol of all the younger children. Before Amir competed in his kite tournament, Baba said, “I think maybe you 'll win the tournament this year. What do you think?” (Hosseini, 50) Amir took this opportunity and told himself that, “I was going to win, and I was going to run that last kite. Then I’d bring it home and show it to Baba. Show him once and for all his son was worthy. Then maybe my life as a ghost in this house would finally be over.” (Hosseini, 50) Amir wanted the approval and affection of his father badly enough that he was willing to allow Hassan to get raped in order to attain it. After this kits became the symbol of Amir 's betrayal to Hassan. The kite ultimately becomes the way that Amir connects with Sohrab, mirroring how Amir connected with Baba when he was a
At the beginning of The Kite Runner, young Amir wins a kite fighting tournament. He feels like he has finally redeemed himself for his father. However, Amir’s happy day turns dark, when an hour later, he witnesses Hassan, his best friend, raped in an alley. He had “one final opportunity to decide who [he] was going to be. (77) Instead of standing up for his friend and...
Going through all these different motifs, it taught Amir many different lessons, good and bad. But in the end, Amir finally is able to let go of his guilt and make his awful choice to not help Hassan in his time of need, have somewhat of a better outcome. In the novel The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini’s repeated the use of rape, sickness, and sacrifice to represent many different things throughout the novel.
Baba ran from the truth, and so did Amir to protect the family name, even if that meant betraying the people closest to him. Baba was a man more worried about his image than anything, and that is what he taught his son as well. Slowly that is all Amir knew how to do: protect his family and himself, leading him into a life of guilt, and running from people when situations were challenging, instead of making the admirable decision and helping a friend. He shows his unconditional love when he suddenly packs up and leaves all he has ever known, “‘[Ali and Hassan] can’t live [there] anymore.life here is impossible for [them] now”’
As a foreword, the story of The Kite Runner focuses on a man named Amir. In his childhood, he enjoyed a high-class life in Kabul, Afghanistan, living with his father Baba. They have two servants, Ali and his son Hassan. They are Hazaras, a lower class ethnic minority in Afghanistan. In one Winter of their childhood, Amir and Hassan participate in a kite-fighting tournament; the goal is to be the last kite flying. When a kite is cut, boys chase after it as a trophy. Amir wins the tournament, and Hassan flies to catch the losing kite. Later, following Hassan's path, Amir comes upon a neighbourhood bully named Assef about to rape Hassan who has the trophy, the blue kite. Amir does not interject, believing this will secure him the kite. Thus, Amir sets forth a chain of events he must redeem in his adulthood.
Amir and Hassan’s relationship is a recurring theme throughout the novel. In the ethnic caste system, Amir is a Pashtun and Hassan is a Hazara. Pashtuns are placed in a much higher caste than Hazaras, therefore Hazaras are treated as servants to the Pashtuns. Every morning, Hassan prepares Amir’s breakfast, makes his clothes and cleans his room for him. In the annual kite tournament, at least two people must work together in order to properly maneuver the kite, one to lead the kite, and another to feed the kite’s glass string. Hassan’s role is the latter. His role is to feed the kite’s string for Amir and run after any fallen kites. The glass string attached to the kite is dangerous as it is coated with shards of glass and leaves bloody marks and cuts on the hands. Although Hassan catches the fallen kites, he must always bring it back to Amir. One winter, when Hassan and Amir were waiting under a tree for the kite to come to them, Hassan asks Amir “Would I ever lie to you, Amir agha?” (Ho...
Because Hassan did not give the kite, Assef decides to rape Hassan as a “punishment”. Instead of helping his friend out, Amir just walked away from the scene and let Hassan get violated in one of the most vulgar ways. After this incident, Hassan quietly walked back home and gave Amir the kite for which he was confronted by Assef for. The kite in this situation proves to be an important symbol. Whereas earlier in the novel the kite represented happiness and fun to Amir, in this situation it represented sin and guilt to Amir.
The Kite Runner focuses on the relationship between two Afghan boys Amir and Hassan. Amir is a Pashtun and Sunni Muslim, while Hassan is a Hazara and a Shi’a. Despite their ethnic and religious differences, Amir and Hassan grow to be friends, although Amir is troubled by Hassan, and his relationship with his companion, one year his junior, is complex. Amir and Hassan seem to have a "best friend" type relationship. The two boys, Hassan and Amir, are main characters in the book titled, The Kite Runner. The two boys have a relationship that is significantly different compared to most. There are many different facets that distinguish the relationship the boys possess. The boys do write their names in a pomegranate tree as the "sultans of Kabul" (Kite Runner 27) but, their friendship is not strong and it is one sided. Hassan has love for Amir. He loves him like a brother. Hassan is exceedingly loyal to Amir. The relationship between the two boys is emotionally wearing and rather gloomy for the most part. The main reason for their complicated relationship is the fact that Amir is Pashtun, and Hassan is Hazara. The Afghan society places Hassan lower than Amir. Hassan is Amir's servant. The placement of Hassan in the Afghan society disenables Amir from becoming Hassan's true friend. Amir sees Hassan as lower than human. Amir ruins the chance for friendship between himself and Hassan because he is jealous of Hassan, he thinks of Hassan as a lower human, and because Amir possesses such extreme guilt for what he has done to Hassan. Amir is an unforgivable person overall.
Betrayal, redemption, and forgiveness are all major themes in The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini. The novel also focuses around the theme of a broken relationship between father and son as well as facing difficult situations from ones past. Amir and Hassan are best friends with two completely different personalities. Each character in the novel faces their own hardships and eventually learns to overcome those difficulties. Beginning with betrayal then the characters have to make their way to gaining redemption and forgiveness from others, as well as their self, is carried on throughout the novel. It is a continuous story of the relationships between Amir and his father Baba and facing their challenges from the past every day of their present.