The Kite Runner

In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the story is set in three distinct settings: 1970’s Afghanistan, in the city of Kabul, the USA and modern Afghanistan under the Taliban regime. Despite the different times and places, the social background of these remain the same, dominates by the rulers and norms of Afghan culture. Afghan society is very strict and conservative. There is a class order and Hazara are at the bottom as a servant or peasant class. In this novel, Hosseini used Amir’s guilt and regret about his past to develop the idea that among bitterness and regret lies hope for redemption.

The main characters of the story, Baba and Amir, are Pashtuns, the majority ethnic group in Afghanistan. While Hassan and his father, Ali, are Hazaras, a minority group and the most persecuted ethnic people of Afghanistan. Although Baba has grown up with Ali and does not feel a hatred for the Hazaras, other Pashtuns in the novel, particularly Assef and his Taliban kindred, believe that the Hazaras are only fit for extermination. The first hint of this transition occurs when Amir and Hassan have an encounter with a violent older boy Assef, who wants to persecute Hassan for being a Hazara. Assef, who believes Hitler was an ideal leader, tells Amir that he is betraying his Pashtun heritage by treating a Hazara boy as his close friend. While Assef's bigotry outrages Amir, who is unable to think of a response. Ultimately, Hassan stands up to Assef and his lackeys; when Assef and his lackeys threaten to hurt the two younger boys, it is Hassan, not Amir, who saves them both by using his slingshot to drive the bullies away. Amir and Hassan characterize the difference between the haves and the have-nots in society. Hassan is the have-not is the Afghan society. His family has no social status, he lives in a mud hut and work as a servant along with his father in Baba’s household. Hassan faces life head on and deals with it. He has the faith to show him the way. Hassan