Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini: An Analysis

Relationships between people are often easily affected by background and religion no matter how lengthy and strong they are. The ways different people view connection are influenced by their culture, which leads into the damaging and destruction of the already exist relationships. Khaled Hosseini, in his book The Kite Runner, illustrates the struggles of relationships caused by cultural and religious reason through the stories of two young boys, Amir and Hassan. Ever since they were born, Hassan had shown endless love and appreciation for Amir, but Amir not treating Hassan as equal due to the different social status the two has in Afghanistan culture. As the story went on, the increased wrongdoings of Amir towards Hassan led to the separation of the two and a never reconnected relationship. In The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini argues that the cultural background and religious beliefs that are practiced heavily greatly influences the relationships between people. The impact often results in the wrong decisions made, harming the people around and destroying their lives. .
The culture background that Amir grew up with heavily influenced how Amir treats the relationships that he has with other people. The relationship that he has with Hassan is
greatly impacted by the social structure of Afghanistan, which separates people into two different groups- Pashtun and Hazaras, with Pashtun having more rights and power. Throughout the story, this culture that Amir grew up with easily changed his ability to connect with Hassan. In one scene, he was summarizing the stories that Baba and Ali had when they were kids, with Baba never calling Ali his friend. This thought greatly impacts Amir as he thinks, “The curious thing was, I never thought of Hassan and me as friends either. Not in the usual sense, anyhow... Because history isn't easy to overcome. Neither is religion. In the end, I was a Pashtun and he was a Hazara, I was Sunni and he was Shi'a, and nothing was ever going to change that. Nothing.” The history of Baba and Ali hugely affected how Amir treated Hassan, since the relationship Baba and Ali had was extremely similar to the one that Amir has with Hassan. The history makes Amir realize that throughout the different generations of Afghanistan, Pashtuns and Hazaras will never have the same equality. This quote shows the idea of friendship between Hassan and Amir.with the word “friend”. It is pointed out to emphasize the relationship the two should have and highlights the idea of close relationship between the two. The phrase “history isn’t easy to overcome” shows the heavy influence of culture on relationships, with “nothing” able to “change” it. The history of the relationship between Pashtun and Hazara was demonstrated, and the impact that culture has on people remains unbreakable. In another part of the novel, Amir and Hassan were being threatened by Assef, with Assef questioning how Amir can play with the worthless filth that Hassan is. As it came down to the wire, Amir almost blurtted out, “But he’s not my friend! He’s my servant!... when Baba’s friends came to visit with their kids, didn’t I ever include Hassan in our games? Why did I play with Hassan only when no one else was around?” (41). Amir expresses his true thoughts about Hassan as he starts remembering how he actually treats him. “He’s my servant” refers to real feelings that Amir has for Hassan, with him clarifying the difference between him and Amir. Servant shows the different social level the two has due to their different social status in Afghanistan culture. When Amir mentions “Baba’s friends” and how he only plays with Hassan when “no one else was around”, he shows that he’s not proud of the relationship that he has with Hassan. He’s aware of the discrimination of Hazara by the Pashtuns, which forces him to make the decision to cover up the friendship that he has with Hassan. The different social levels created by the culture draws apart the relationship that Amir and Hassan has, and impacts Amir to treat Hassan as someone lower than him.
The difference between Amir and Hassan often results in disaster, with Hassan covering up for Amir and Amir not caring much about what Hassan does for him due to him being “superior”. In one scene of the novel, Hassan refused to give over the blue kite that he ran for Amir to Assef, who overpowers Hassan and rapes him to humiliate him. Amir arrived at the scene but did not help Hassan; he hid behind the walls and cried as he thought, “Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay...Was it a fair price...He was just a Hazara, wasn’t he?” (Hosseini 77). Amir completely dehumanized Hassan, with him treating him as a “price” instead of a real human being. This shows the absolute difference in how Amir and Hassan treat each other. Hassan is willing to be raped to protect the kite at all cost, but Amir just thought his actions were logical since Hassan was “just a Hazara”. The culture that distinguished the two different social status is what Amir base his actions upon, and the friendship that he has with Hassan was completely abandoned without a second thought. Later when he frames Hassan for stealing a watch to relieve himself from the guilt, Hassan helps him for the last time. Amir realizes this and thought, “This was Hassan’s final sacrifice for me… I wanted to move on, to forget, to start with a clean slate. I wanted to be able to breathe again… I didn’t cry and I didn’t chase the car” (109). Amir uses Hassan as a tool to achieve whatever he wants regardless of the outcome. “ Final sacrifice” is used to show the ending of their relationship, with Amir sending away Hassan so he can never see him again. Amir wants to get rid of the guilt that he’s feeling so he can “move on”, “forget”, and “start with a clean slate”. These words are used specifically to show the eagerness of Amir to get rid of Hassan. When Hassan finally leaves and Amir “didn’t cry and didn’t chase the car”, the amount of care Amir shows towards Hassan disappears and the damage done to Hassan and Ali was permanent.
Culture diverse throughout the world, but the implementation of it into people’s lives diverse in the magnitude and how deep it is embedded within people’s minds.
These magnitude results in different decisions that can often harm other people. Throughout the book, Amir and Baba shows us how their background changes how they connect with other people. In The Kite Runner, Hosseini proves how great the influence of culture have on people, and how it makes people take actions that harm others. He points out how people practice their culture and embrace their backgrounds, and emphasize on how far people can take their religion. People should focus on what they want to do and not let culture affect their own opinions
completely.