The Kite Runner Compare And Contrast

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a novel with a personal experience from the author of what people in Afghanistan had to go through to live a normal everyday life. The main focus of the story is on the two boys named Amir and Hassan who are both Afghan. To the Afghan society, Hassan is in a lower class than Amir and therefore Hassan is Amir’s servant. Amir is a Sunni Muslim and Hassan is a Shi’a Muslim. There is a major religious and ethnic difference between the two. Although their relationship is kind of sad, Amir and Hassan both become friends.

The author, Khaled Hosseini, is from Afghanistan and is a member of the Hazara ethnic group just like Hassan in the story. Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan which is also one of the settings in The Kite Runner. The story starts in Kabul, Afghanistan in the 1970’s when the country was getting out of monarchy. Afghanistan is a
country that is politically and religiously divided. People have different religious views and beliefs which causes problems and violence with the citizens and those who run the country.

Amir comes from a wealthy family and is the son of a rich Afghanistan businessman.
On the other hand, Hassan is not wealthy and is actually the son of Amir’s dad’s houseman. Amir is a Pashtun while Hassan is a Hazara which means they are from different social classes. The Hazaras are considered to be a lower class than the Pashtuns and are therefore only accepted in society as servants for the wealthy people. Amir and Hassan’ friendship is kind of weak because Amir’s jealousy causes problems between them. Amir’s dad favors Hassan which is why Amir longs for his acceptance and feels the need to ridicule Hassan and prove to himself that he’s superior. Amir thinks it’s necessary to put down Hassan because of the lack of attention he gets from Baba. One example of this is when Amir makes fun of Hassan because he’s not as educated, “Imbecile. It means smart intelligent. I’ll use it in a sentence for you. When it comes to words, Hassan is an imbecile” (29). Amir does not get anything from easing Hassan. He’s only proving that he’s smarter, but he still doesn’t have Baba’s
acceptance.

Hazaras are not really accepted in the Afghan society and this is why Hassan gets teased a lot and people give him a hard time. Hassan gets bullied and harassed by other kids. One of the kids, Assef, bullies him by saying, “Afghanistan is the land of the Pashtuns [...] His people pollute our homeland. How can you talk to him, play with him, let him touch you?” (40) Amir does not do anything to stop Hassan from getting bullied even though they’re friends because he also wants to be accepted by Assef and the other kids. Amir turns his back on Hassan because he only cares about being accepted by his peers and his dad.

I learned a lot about Afghan culture from reading The Kite Runner. The kite racing that happens in the story is an example of Afghan culture and tradition. Amir says that “The kite-fighting tournament was an old winter tradition in Afghanistan” (51). The customs associated with Afghan marriage are also examples of Afghan tradition. In the story, Amir courts Soraya and they fall in love. Baba has to see Soraya’s dad to ask for her hand in marriage to Amir. Then, a gathering happens after they are given consent and speeches are given in the ceremony. The wedding is traditional and is held in an Afghan banquet hall. Many other examples of Afghan culture are shown throughout the book and I personally learned a lot about the culture.