Stereotypes In The Kite Runner

In the novel, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, many of the main characters in novel have a stereotype that play an important role to the development of the novel as a whole. The author uses the stereotypes of the privileged son, the Christ-like figure, and the religious fundamentalist to show that their roles only define them if they choose to be defined by it.

In this book, the main character Amir represents the stereotype of being the privileged son. Throughout the novel, he has repeatedly taken advantage of his status to get himself out of situations. For example, when his friend Hassan got raped. “I was a liar, a cheat, and a thief. And I would have told, except that a part of me was glad. Glad that this would all be over with soon" (Hosseini 105). Instead of telling the truth about Hassan getting raped, Amir did everything but that so he didn’t get in trouble. He told Baba, when he asked why Hassan hadn’t been around, told him that Hassan was sick. Amir asked Baba about getting rid of Ali and Hassan, but when he asked his father was ashamed that he wanted to get rid of their family and told him no. SInce this wasn’t what Amir wanted to hear, he decided to take matters into his
Had the novel been written and portrayed any other way, the novel wouldn’t have had the same powerful effect it has on the reader. Despite the differences in social classes between Amir and Hassan, they still loved each other, no matter what happened at the end of the day. As shown by Assef’s beliefs which were shared by much of Afghanistan, Amir and Hassan had a rare relationship. Even though society frowned upon their relationship, they were still friends. This goes to show that by the author defining characters by their stereotypes and making it such a big part of their personality, that the love Amir has for Hassan and vice versa has no