Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

The Cultural Context of the Kite Runner

Good Essays
357 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Cultural Context of the Kite Runner
And, under the same roof, we speak our first word, mine was Baba” Kite runner is about a twelve year old boy �� Amir, who wanted be loved and treasured by his father. Through his continuous and struggling effort in earning Baba’s affections, the lack of security and recognition from Baba lead to his willingness to sacrifice other people around him just to secure his position in Baba’s heart, which paves the way for future devastating events. Thus, to a great extent that I agree “The kite runner’ is a story of a boy’s thwarted longing to be his father’s pride and joy. Baba’s disappointment of Amir’s failure to inherit Baba’s personality, interests and career, makes him longed for Baba’s pride and joy. Baba as a reputable businessman, do not have much time to spend with Amir, he had to socialize with other reputable businessman in Afghanistan all the time. “He’d close the door, leave me to wonder why it was always grown ups’ time with him.” The lack of family time together exposed Amir to think whether Baba cares or loves him. Also, Baba wants Amir to follow his footsteps, to be like him as a strong, courageous, kind hearted and diligent man, “he once wrestled a bear with bare hands”, his passion for soccer, successful career as a businessman, his compassionate heart to build an orphanage for homeless kids acts as a huge contrast to the cowardice, physically and mentally weak Amir, who always bury his face into poetries and books, fail to defend himself when being bullied by street kids and Assef, “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything”. Baba once forced him to join the soccer team, which Amir embarrassed himself. When it became abundantly clear that I hadn’t inherited a shred of his athletic talents, he settled for trying to turn Amir into a passionate spectator, which unfortunately, Baba discovered his son’s lack of interest. The expectation that Baba had for Amir causes disappointment and aloofness, their father-son...

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Afghanistan’s troubled times resulted in the Taliban’s takeover and the suffering of the Afghan people which would challenge the people to face great adversity in the time to come. The characters would have to seek redemption despite the circumstances in Afghanistan and its society’s standards. In the books A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini betrayal allows the theme of redemption and self-sacrifice as well as the perseverance in the face of adversity to develop, these themes are shown through the characters Amir and Miriam.…

    • 89 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Kite Runner Summary

    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The story opens in pre-Taliban Kabul, Afghanistan. The protagonist, Amir, is recalling events from his childhood. He lived a lavish life with his father, Baba, and their servant, Ali and his son Hassan. Hassan and Amir grew up together and were almost like brothers, however Ali and Hassan belonged to the religious minority group, the Shias, and Baba and Amir, Sunni Muslims, superior. The different religious sects made it difficult for the boys to be real friends, despite their many character similarities and personal connection to one another. Hassan and Amir had a lot in common, such as the fact that they both grew up without a mother. Though they were raised with different beliefs, they were brought up together, and spent their entire childhoods making memories with each other.…

    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I believe the source of Amir’s power is in his ethnicity because he was born in a higher class. I also believe that Hassan had some power since he was the son of Baba. Throughout the book, you can see that Hassan had lived a plight free life. Amir would always scoff at Hassan about literature even though Hassan is unschooled. Hassan always stayed loyal although I would think he would feel animosity towards Hassan. I also think that Hassan’s passive ways have power over Amir. Amir hates that he cannot undo what he did, or have Hassan deal the same pain unto him. This makes Amir feel bad because he knows that he has hurt Hassan. While Hassan doesn't hurt Amir back, Amir is handling things in a pragmatic way. Amir’s goal was to get rid of Hassan.…

    • 195 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Amir wants to please his father because Amir would like to be a son Baba can be proud of. Baba loves his son yet he still wants Amir to be a “little Baba” because Amir doesn't stand up for himself and doesn't act as Baba would. Amir knows this and tries to be more like his father. Baba is seen as “the perfect man” because of his successfulness, strength, and personality or character. The community sees Baba this way because he is so willing to sacrifice himself for others and they have even made fables about Baba’s strength by fighting a bear and Amir views his father in the same way; as seen in the dreams Amir has and how he describes his father. Amir tries to make Baba proud of him through trying soccer but is short lived because he isn't…

    • 211 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Kite Runner, written by Khalid Hosseni is a novel, which follows the life of childhood friends Amir and Hassan who grew up together in Afghanistan during the seventies. Both had very different family backgrounds; Amir is the only son of a rich and powerful businessman while, Hassan’s father is a servant in Amir’s family. Amir and Hassan spent most of their free time together despite having very different personalities. This novel is told from the first person perspective by the main character, Amir. The novel is told as a story of Amir’s past, which contributes to the theme of loyalty and betrayal in the novel as it allows the reader to understand all aspects of Amir’s life. The reader is able to read exactly…

    • 1364 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Amir Vs Baba

    • 438 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a story about a boy named Amir. The book is in Amir's point of view. The story follows the life of Amir from twelve year old boy to a thirty eight year old man. He used to live in Kabul, Afghanistan with Baba, his father. They had two servants, Ali and Hassan, his son. Throughout the story, both Amir and Baba made some questionable decisions to make Ali and Hassan quit their job.…

    • 438 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When the average person thinks of Afghanistan, thoughts of war, danger, and suffering might arise. Through reading The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, one can look at another side of Afghanistan. The real Afghan culture shows pride in tradition, heritage, and…

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bpromg

    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Babas lack of love and affection towards Amir has proven to change Amir into a boy that is constantly in search for his fathers love. Amirs best friend,” Hassan” is always there to protect him when he gets into fights because he is too timid to stand up for himself. Baba is reluctant to praise Amir because he feels as Amir lacks courage and is a coward in many situations. For example; when Assef was disturbing Amir, Hassan had to take out his slingshot and threaten Assef to leave at once because Amir was too scared to do anything about it in that situation. “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything.”…

    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pashtuns and Hazaras are two different ethnic groups that play significant roles by how individuals behave or think throughout the text. "'Afghanistan is the land of Pashtuns. It always has been, always will be. We are the true Afghans, the pure Afghans, not this Flat-Nose here'"(69). This quote is an example of how Assef, a Pashtun, thinks that he his more superior than another person just because of their ethnicity. Additionally, this quote is foreshadowing how Assef is going to behave later on and explains his actions."'The Talibs said he was a liar and a thief like all Hazaras and ordered him to get his family out of the house by sundown'"(304). Even though the Talibs are not an individual, this quote is proof that ethnicity plays a major role in the book because of how the Talibs treated another person with a different ethnic background. The Talibs stereotyped all Hazaras as liars and thieves, even though that is not true. Therefore these two quotes showcase how people are influenced to act,…

    • 568 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kite Runner Themes

    • 2157 Words
    • 9 Pages

    The Kite Runner is an Afghan American fiction novel written by Khaled Hosseini. In the text the story of a man, named Amir’s, past is told. In continuation, a reader of the novel may get the impression, at the beginning of the book, that Amir is just an ungrateful child that receives everything he wants, but in reality that is not the case. Throughout his journey he dealt with various hardships that inflicted drastic alterations on it. As readers explore a journey down memory lane with Amir, a magnitude of themes is presented through the challenges that Amir faces. Ultimately, the trials and tribulation that people face help mold them into who they are.…

    • 2157 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    `Of Mice and Men, and To Kill a Mockingbird; what do these novels have in common? Both show childlike innocence, and how it is annihilated in society by adults. However, Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner, thinks the exact opposite. His novel encompasses the topic of growing up, and how it is fueled by making and fixing mistakes that prompt mature decisions in the future. Throughout the novel, Khaled Hosseini depicts coming of age through the main character, Amir, a boy living in Afghanistan with his best friend and servant, Hassan. As a child, Amir makes bad decisions that end up hurting Hassan. The decisions he makes when he is more mature reflect Amir nearing completion on his path to manhood. In The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini portrays that coming of age…

    • 1417 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The theme “Created in the Image of God” is saying that everyone is special and no human life should be wasted because God loves us all equally and has a plan for everyone. This theme also explains that everyone is created differently for a reason. The song Don’t Laugh at Me is about the people in the world that are made fun of and Mark Wills is saying that in God’s were all the same. The song Don’t Laugh at Me represents the theme “Created in the image of God” because Mark Wills is explaining that God made us all different for a reason and he loves us all equally and we shouldn’t be treated different because we have braces or because we are blind; we should all be treated the same.…

    • 450 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is Baba’s choice that set the story of Amir and Hasan into motion. His brief moment of infidelity and the fact he was never able to fully claim his illegitimate son led to a chronicle of events that defined Amir. However, it was not only this choice that came to affect the people around him. The way he raised Amir under the constant pressure of being someone he was not, ultimately led for his son to believe he needed to prove his worth. During the kite contest Amir confesses that he needs to “Show [Baba] once and for all that his son was worthy” (56), showcasing a boy who has the incessant need to prove his self-worth. Despite this Baba never truly accepted his son as he was, and even confessed that Amir is “A boy who won’t stand up for himself” (22). Throughout the majority of his life, Baba tried his best to shape Amir into the son he designed. Just like how he bends the world into his liking Baba sought to mold Amir to be just like him. In the end, however, it was revealed that he was merely a man with a “tortured soul” (301), who saw redemption in the marks he would leave the…

    • 858 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Role and Conflict

    • 1218 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Amir, is the central character and is shaped both in character and intellect by power. He is privileged and wealthy, but also steeped in jealousy and cowardice. He is selfish and guilty of abhorrent behaviors. The one positive strength Amir has is his friendship with Hassan. Considered best friends this is a friendship that is generally one-sided with Hassan showing the loyalty and trust. There is an ongoing conflict for this friendship because Amir shares paternal heritage with Hassan. Hassan was born into servitude and thus Baba, the boys’ father, cannot lay claim to Hassan’s heritage. The Afghan traditions and culture pose a conflict for Baba regarding Hassan. Hassan for his part is loyal, forgiving, and an all-around pleasant person to be with. The two boys are drawn to each other naturally. Hassan is the family servant and never wavers in his loyalty to the family even with the knowledge that he should be considered part of it. At the same time, Baba struggles with his own morals and the rigid Afghani traditions. He is proud and determined but also emotionally detached from Amir. Amir feels the detachment deeply and constantly strives to receive Baba’s affection.…

    • 1218 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The relationship between Baba and Amir is a complex one as Baba reveals his role as a father, friend, and foe. Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner explores this rollercoaster between Baba and his son Amir. As the novel unfolds, the lives of the characters unravel –as do their relationships and their sense of identity. Baba serves as an important link that connects each of the characters and also bridges the uncertain with the certain, lie with truth, pain with pleasure, servant with master, dark with light and then ultimately death with life. Each of these connections triggers strong emotions in Amir about feelings towards his father and how he feels about himself. This mixture of negative and positive…

    • 1807 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays