Purpose of the Kite Runner
Due to different perspectives, Hosseini’s book, “The Kite Runner”, has been interpreted differently. Some claim that Hosseini is targeting the American readers, enlightening them about Afghanistan, some say that he is concerned about the effects of the war in Afghanistan and some presume that he’s just writing a story with no motives whatsoever. In my opinion, all 3 interpretations are equally acceptable. It only depends on what the reader wants to think of Hosseini, as an intentional writer, a journalist, or a storyteller.
When “The Kite Runner” came out, it caught a lot of attention because of the 9-11 incident. As an American citizen, writing a book about Afghanistan in American English could be a coincidence, or Hosseini’s goal was to target the Americans. In the book, there are a lot of American spellings such as “color”, “traveling” and words like “hollering”. The book also has allusions to American movies like “Rio Bravo” with John Wayne and “The Magnificent Seven” with Charles Bronson. Even Baba’s car was American. This shows that Amir’s family, in general, the rich people in Afghanistan, had a lot of American influence, portraying the similarity between Afghans and Americans. By targeting the readers in USA, Hosseini displays the normal life of Afghans to them, and especially for the people who stereotype Afghans as terrorists.
On the other hand, Hosseini pops in facts of Afghanistan in the novel from time to time. These paragraph or phrases are structured like a journalist writing a news article. As a result of being an American citizen at quite a young age, Hosseini may be concerned and feels the need to study or write about the effects and history of the war in Afghanistan. Due to caste discrimination of Hazaras because they are Shi’a muslims, Hosseini puts Hassan and Ali the Hazaras as servants to the Pashtuns: Amir and Baba. Certain minor characters in the novel even contribute to ridicule them. The climax of the story, when Assef butt-rapes Hassan
When “The Kite Runner” came out, it caught a lot of attention because of the 9-11 incident. As an American citizen, writing a book about Afghanistan in American English could be a coincidence, or Hosseini’s goal was to target the Americans. In the book, there are a lot of American spellings such as “color”, “traveling” and words like “hollering”. The book also has allusions to American movies like “Rio Bravo” with John Wayne and “The Magnificent Seven” with Charles Bronson. Even Baba’s car was American. This shows that Amir’s family, in general, the rich people in Afghanistan, had a lot of American influence, portraying the similarity between Afghans and Americans. By targeting the readers in USA, Hosseini displays the normal life of Afghans to them, and especially for the people who stereotype Afghans as terrorists.
On the other hand, Hosseini pops in facts of Afghanistan in the novel from time to time. These paragraph or phrases are structured like a journalist writing a news article. As a result of being an American citizen at quite a young age, Hosseini may be concerned and feels the need to study or write about the effects and history of the war in Afghanistan. Due to caste discrimination of Hazaras because they are Shi’a muslims, Hosseini puts Hassan and Ali the Hazaras as servants to the Pashtuns: Amir and Baba. Certain minor characters in the novel even contribute to ridicule them. The climax of the story, when Assef butt-rapes Hassan