The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner focuses on the life of Amir, a cowardly young boy part of the ruling caste of Pashtuns, and the son of a wealthy merchant residing in the outskirts of Kabul. At his side we see Hassan, his servant and best friend who is a member of the Hazara caste, a cultural group long persecuted in Afghanistan. As Amir tries to meet his father’s demands, we see the close relationship between the boys diminish, as ethnic and political tensions arise in Afghanistan. One day, a savage yet preventable attack is bestowed upon Hassan, an act that could have been prevented had Amir stepped in. Overcome with guilt and shame, Amir convinces his father to get rid of Hassan and his father, as he finds it almost impossible to confront them. Upon the beginning on the Soviet invasion, Amir and his father leave for America, leaving Hassan and his father behind. Years later, Amir is finally beginning to loose his feeling of guilt when he receives a call from an old friend residing in Pakistan. The dying wish of this friend requires Amir to go on a mission to Afghanistan, a mission which will finally allow him to face his demons and overcome his guilt once and for all.

This book was written by Khaled Hosseini, a 40 year old Afghan American writer. Born in Kabul, his family moved to France in 1976 where his father worked in a government position. Hosseini’s family was suppose to return to Afghanistan in 1980, but was weary about the Soviet invasion. Instead, they requested political asylum and moved to the United States. Hosseini completed medical school at the University of California in 1993 and has kept a job as an internist since. The Kite Runner is loosely based on his life and his direct experiences with Afghan culture.

Modern World Nations: Afghanistan

Modern World Nations: Afghanistan is an informational text that covers the different cultural, social, political and historical aspects of the nation. In the book, we learn of the different racial groups that reside in the country as well as the different conflicts that arise within them. Different languages are explored such as Dari (a language that derives from Farsi) and Pashtun, a native language exclusive to Afghanistan and western Pakistan. The book also shows an in-depth look into the politics of Afghanistan, discussing the fallen monarchy of the past and the pro-Islamic policies of the Taliban of more recent times. The book concludes by covering the last two decades, primarily the Soviet Invasion and the rule of the Taliban, along with the horrors and harsh conditions they afflicted on Afghanistan.

Jeffrey A. Gritzner, the chairman of the Department of Geography and the Asian studies program at the University of Montana, wrote this text. He is also an active member of the Association of American Geographers and has a great interest in world religions as well as global traditions and customs.

B. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The Kite Runner

The writing style of The Kite Runner is truly amazing, as it makes the reader feel as if they are witnessing the events firsthand. Written in first person, the reader joins Amir on his many journeys throughout his childhood and adult life. This point of view is particularly effective in this novel since Amir often has personal thoughts that we may not be aware of normally. For example, Amir is very fond of writing and story telling, a hobby that his father looks down upon. As result, Amir keeps his hobby a secret and writes his stories privately. In my opinion, the first person perspective is especially effective when a novel wishes to focus on its main character in detail and tries to reveal more then we would normally know. It is also effective when reflecting on how Amir feels about a particular event or situation as we can directly observe his inner thoughts and reactions which give us a more clear reflection of his personality.

Another interesting technique used in this novel is the use of foreign words. In many conversations throughout the book, we see many of the characters speaking Farsi or using a Farsi word during a conversation or when referring to someone. In fact, Amir refers to his father as “Baba” throughout the entire novel (the equivalent of “dad” in Farsi). This technique is useful as it gives the reader a more realistic view on the story since all of the events are occurring in a foreign country where English is not the native language. Amir travels to a variety of places throughout the book and comes into contact with different ethnicities and cultures so it gives us a feeling of realism when we see the portrayal of accents or foreign words, since English is not the first language of many of the characters.

Modern World Nations: Afghanistan

This informational text is presented in a very clear-cut, direct manner. This is a positive attribute of such a book since it allows the reader to comprehend the facts without being sidetracked by colourful language or fancy terms. The author uses many statistics and graphs, along with maps and pictures to give the reader a true understanding of the cultural, geographical, and political aspects of Afghanistan. The book is written in a third-person perspective, the way most informational texts are since the author’s information in the book are not based on his first hand experiences.

D. BOOK REVIEW AND PERSONAL RESPONSE

* Since my non-fiction is an informational text, I was not able to find a review for it. As result, I will be doing a personal response on 2 articles for the Kite Runner.

Article 1

The author of this review explains the happy beginning of Amir’s childhood, one where he and his friend and servant Hassan live together in harmony despite racial and socioeconomic differences. He goes on further to say that the book is very straightforward, since there are few plot twists and little use of complex language. I agree with this statement and feel that in the case of the novel, direct language allows the reader to focus more on the horrendous and tragic events that occur to not only Amir and his close family, but also the Afghans as a people. The review goes on to say that the contrast of pre-Soviet Afghanistan and the post-Soviet Afghanistan is an important and dramatic change. I agree that this distinction is a very important part of the novel since it demonstrates the vast changes that can occur due to a damaging and dominating political rule. The review also explains how the power of racism