The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

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Immigration a highly debated issue here in the U.S. Many people say immigrants abuse the system especially illegal immigrants. The problem is that a lot of people do not realize that immigrants with green cards do work and pay for everything including taxes. People are just unaware of how much immigrants contribute to the U.S, and how hard making the decision to come here can be. Coming to the U.S is not cheap for some. For Amir and Baba, from The Kite Runner, it is physically difficult and finically difficult. Many come here with little to nothing and leave behind a lot,yet still people come. Most come here for two things: freedom and safety. The freedom to do what they want and including economically, and the safety to live in peace from wars or persecution. Most immigrants come to America for the American dream of freedom, and safety which comes at a price.

Immigrants coming to America may lose a lot of power and prestige in their search for freedom and safety. In Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, General Taheri is shown to be a very ethnocentric man Hosseini page 167. The General Taheri has a very ethnocentric view on Afghanistan society that it is the best, but it also show what he has lost. In Afghanistan, he had a lot of prestige, but he immigrated for safety and freedom from the Soviets. He sacrifices his prestige more than anything to come here. Even though General Taheri refuses to relinquish his pride, and refuses to work. The General gains freedom and safety from the Soviet, but other than that he lost a lot of power by coming here. For some immigrants, the loss is big and for others it is minor.

Immigrants may also lose how they go about living their day to day lives. In the Kite Runner Baba did not understand in Ame...

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... Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead, 2003. Print.

Lahiri, Jhumpa. "My Two LIves." Ed. Lynn Z. Bloom and Louise Z. Smith. The Arlington Reader Themes For Writers. 4th ed. Boston: Bedford/St.Martin's, 2014. 97-99. Print.

Mukherjee, Bharati. "A Father." Literature and the Writing Process 9th Edition. Ed. Elizabeth McMahen, Susan X. Day, Robert Funk, and Linda Coleman. 9th ed. Boston: Longmen, 2011. 363-70. Print.

Mukherjee, Bharati. "Two Ways to Belong in America." Ed. L. Kirsznert and S. Mandell.Patterns for College Writing. 10th ed. Boston: Bedford/St.Martin's, 2007. 415-18. Print.

Rajasekar, James, and Franck Renand. "Culture Shock in a Global World: Factors Affecting Culture Shock Experienced by Expatriates in Oman and Omani Expatriates Abroad."International Journal of Business & Management. Canadian Center of Science & Education, 1 Feb. 2010. Web. 5 Mar. 2014.

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