The Kite Runner: Highlighting the Plight of Afghanistan

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Healing with both medicine and words, Khaled Hosseini was captivated by Persian literature and the literature of his, now changed, native country. Lamenting his countries ruin, Hosseini uses the tragic metamorphosis in his country as the backbone of his novels. Born in Kabul, Afghanistan on March 4, 1965, Hosseini loved poetry and kite fighting. When he turned five, he moved with his family to Tehran. Here, Hosseini taught his family’s Hazara cook how to read and write, showing Hosseini an early view into the cruelties of the world and the power of words (Esten). After a stay in Iran, Hosseini had returned to Kabul by 1973; however, the instability forced him to move to Paris. When Afghanistan was plunged into more chaos with the coming of the Soviets, the Hosseini family applied to move to America. In 1980, Hosseini and his family had moved to San Jose, California as destitute foreigners who barely spoke any English.

So, father and son earned revenue by selling miscellaneous objects at a flea market. Also, Hosseini’s spark in literature reignited after he read The Grapes of Wrath in class, and so he began to write again (Esten). Eventually, he earned his M.D. at the University of California, San Diego. Later, with the issues of his native country as his themes, Hosseini decided to turn his small stories into a novel. After he became published, he took the United Nations’ offer to become an envoy for the commissioner of refugees. Once he returned to Afghanistan after 27 years, he was shocked at its condition, and so he quit medicine to keep writing and being an envoy. Even though he is a fledgling author, Hosseini has still been able to produce novels which have gained extreme fame. Ultimately, Hosseini’s subjects mostly invo...

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Works Cited

Bibliography

“Biography.” Khaled Hosseini. Authorbytes, 2011. Web. 19 Feb. 2011. .

“Biography of Khaled Hosseini.” GradeSaver. GradeSaver LLC, 2011. Web. 2 Mar. 2011. .

Esten, Hugh, ed. “Tapestry of Friendship, Redemption and Hope.” Acad, of Achievement. American Acad. of Achievement, 24 Sept. 2008. Web. 19 Feb. 2011. .

Luebering, J.E. “Hosseini, Khaled.” Britannica Biographies. 2010 ed. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, 2010. Britannica Biographies. Research Center. Web. 19 Feb. 2011. .

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