The Kite Runner Middle American Conflict Analysis
The Kite Runner: Interactions with the United States-Middle Eastern Conflict
The turmoil of the Middle East today is largely shaped by the perspectives of outsiders around the world. The Kite Runner, a historical fiction piece by Khaled Hosseini, contributes significantly to these perceptions. In the novel, the author uses the United States-Middle Eastern conflict as a foundation for many of the story’s central elements, which in turn have impressed a profound effect on the development of this situation in contemporary history.
The novel’s central conflict takes its roots in the relationship between the United States and Afghanistan following the Soviet Invasion of 1979-1989. The author expresses the passive role Amir chooses to uphold during …show more content…
Assef’s raping of Hassan as an allegory of America’s choice of involvement following Russia’s forceful occupation of Afghanistan. While Amir decides “in the end [to] run” and “aspire[s] to cowardice”, in the same manner, the USA elected not to partake directly in the conflict, amounting to cowardice in the eyes of other nations (Hosseini 77). Following the traumatic ordeal, Amir, overcome with the burden of guilt, returns to Afghanistan to rescue Sohrab, the son of Hassan, in an attempt to resolve this internal conflict. A number of relief efforts organized by the United States for the nation, including the Agency for International Development, draws influences from this idea, making “the geopolitical decision… not to abandon them”, but to “help them rebuild” in recompense (Becker). In this regard, the principal conflict involving Hassan and Amir interlaces with the historical relationship between America and Afghanistan, both circumstances impressing profoundly upon each other.
The concept of irony reveals itself in both the themes of the novel and the developments of the Middle Eastern situation.
The novel’s greatest irony takes place in Amir’s choice not to intervene in Hassan’s rape. Amir aims “to win Baba” by bringing his father the blue kite, offering “Hassan [as] the price [he] had to pay, the lamb [he] had to slay” (77). Ironically, by making this choice, Amir becomes exactly the sort of coward Baba disapproves of, the “man who can’t stand up to anything” (77). Furthermore, the protagonist’s attempt to ultimately achieve happiness by attaining the pride of his father earns him the overwhelming burden of guilt and despair that he carries throughout the novel. This predicament borrows its element of irony from the US-Middle Eastern strife. America “stood by, watched, and did not intervene as Afghanistan was brutalized by one regime after another” because it aspired to preserve lives and other national resources (Hosseini). The country decided based on interests of conserving its well-being. Ironically, in choosing to adopt a passive stance, the United States allowed Afghanistan to fall into a state of utter turmoil; after funding the Mujahideen during the “struggle with the Soviet Union”, America stood by while the regime evolved into an anti-Western establishment, becoming “the people we fight today” (Clinton). This prompted the US to enter a state of tumultuous warfare with the Middle East following the 9/11 attacks, spilling American blood, ultimately leading to the detriment of the country’s well-being. The nation’s realization of the unintended consequences of its actions by politicians and historians alike are reflective of and draw perception from Amir’s analogous experience in his flashbacks of the past. The element of irony interweaves itself into the details of both The Kite Runner’s plot and the US-Middle Eastern conflict, connecting the two occurrences
deeply.
The novel has deeply impacted Western views of the Middle Eastern conflict. The story’s setting raises awareness on the dark reality of the situation taking place in contemporary Afghanistan. Additionally, The Kite Runner brings forth delicate issues within the nation that were historically suppressed from view, placing tensions like ethnic conflict under the scrutiny of the international community. The pivotal scene in which the Pashtun antagonist rapes a Hazara servant under the witness of several characters and, because the victim is “just a Hazara”, successfully gets away with it strongly highlights the social inequalities between the two ethnic identities (75). This issue has since garnered attention from the Western world, bringing focus to an obscure predicament nested within the Middle Eastern turmoil. The “subject of controversy”, though considered “less than honorable” in Western Asia, has furthermore amassed scrutiny “within the Afghan community”, with readers debating on “the ethnic flavors of the scene” and whether they accurately reflect certain facets of the Pashtun supremacy transpiring in the nation (Hosseini). The author’s vivid portrait of post-Soviet, civil war Afghanistan draws attention to the horrors of the Middle Eastern conflict. The scene in which the novel depicts a desperate Afghani “haggling over [his] artificial leg… on the black market” for food drives home the degree of hardship endured by innocents caught in the midst of violent turmoil (259-260). The paragraphs illustrating Dr. Rasul, a professor who “used to teach at the university” now stripped of his status and forced to beg on the street, emphasize the degradation of civilized society following the Soviet occupation (249). These elements strive to remedy the Western perspective of the Middle East, and have shaped the face of several American relief campaigns, including several UNHCR efforts in Afghanistan that assist “refugees returning from Iran and Pakistan” (Achievement). Together, the author’s portrayal of a war-torn Afghanistan and illumination of social tensions within the Middle Eastern conflict forever impact the way westerners view the modern struggle. By allegorically representing the US-Afghan relationship following the Soviet occupation through the plot’s central characters, the novel helps influence the standpoints of certain Afghanistan relief efforts organized by America. The author conveys the prominence of irony in both the course of Amir’s development throughout the novel and the nature of the US-Middle East affair following the Cold War, with both circumstances drawing influence from one another’s perceptions. The author’s portrayal of ethnic tensions and post-war Afghanistan creates a resonant impact on the Western view of the Middle Eastern conflict. Together, the US-Middle Eastern conflicts form the base of the novel’s principal elements, which in turn have generated profound effects on the development of this situation.
Works Cited:
Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead, 2003. Print.
"Hillary Clinton Speaks out about US Links with Taliban - YouTube." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 04 Nov. 2011. .
"Khaled Hosseini on Criticism of His Work - YouTube." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 04 Nov. 2011. .
"Khaled Hosseini Biography -- Academy of Achievement." Academy of Achievement Main Menu. Web.
04 Nov. 2011. .
Becker, Elizabeth. "A NATION CHALLENGED - RELIEF - A NATION CHALLENGED – RELIEF
U.S. Orders New Aid to Help Avert Famine in Afghanistan - NYTimes.com." The New York
Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 03 Nov. 2001. Web. 04 Nov. 2011.
.
The turmoil of the Middle East today is largely shaped by the perspectives of outsiders around the world. The Kite Runner, a historical fiction piece by Khaled Hosseini, contributes significantly to these perceptions. In the novel, the author uses the United States-Middle Eastern conflict as a foundation for many of the story’s central elements, which in turn have impressed a profound effect on the development of this situation in contemporary history.
The novel’s central conflict takes its roots in the relationship between the United States and Afghanistan following the Soviet Invasion of 1979-1989. The author expresses the passive role Amir chooses to uphold during …show more content…
Assef’s raping of Hassan as an allegory of America’s choice of involvement following Russia’s forceful occupation of Afghanistan. While Amir decides “in the end [to] run” and “aspire[s] to cowardice”, in the same manner, the USA elected not to partake directly in the conflict, amounting to cowardice in the eyes of other nations (Hosseini 77). Following the traumatic ordeal, Amir, overcome with the burden of guilt, returns to Afghanistan to rescue Sohrab, the son of Hassan, in an attempt to resolve this internal conflict. A number of relief efforts organized by the United States for the nation, including the Agency for International Development, draws influences from this idea, making “the geopolitical decision… not to abandon them”, but to “help them rebuild” in recompense (Becker). In this regard, the principal conflict involving Hassan and Amir interlaces with the historical relationship between America and Afghanistan, both circumstances impressing profoundly upon each other.
The concept of irony reveals itself in both the themes of the novel and the developments of the Middle Eastern situation.
The novel’s greatest irony takes place in Amir’s choice not to intervene in Hassan’s rape. Amir aims “to win Baba” by bringing his father the blue kite, offering “Hassan [as] the price [he] had to pay, the lamb [he] had to slay” (77). Ironically, by making this choice, Amir becomes exactly the sort of coward Baba disapproves of, the “man who can’t stand up to anything” (77). Furthermore, the protagonist’s attempt to ultimately achieve happiness by attaining the pride of his father earns him the overwhelming burden of guilt and despair that he carries throughout the novel. This predicament borrows its element of irony from the US-Middle Eastern strife. America “stood by, watched, and did not intervene as Afghanistan was brutalized by one regime after another” because it aspired to preserve lives and other national resources (Hosseini). The country decided based on interests of conserving its well-being. Ironically, in choosing to adopt a passive stance, the United States allowed Afghanistan to fall into a state of utter turmoil; after funding the Mujahideen during the “struggle with the Soviet Union”, America stood by while the regime evolved into an anti-Western establishment, becoming “the people we fight today” (Clinton). This prompted the US to enter a state of tumultuous warfare with the Middle East following the 9/11 attacks, spilling American blood, ultimately leading to the detriment of the country’s well-being. The nation’s realization of the unintended consequences of its actions by politicians and historians alike are reflective of and draw perception from Amir’s analogous experience in his flashbacks of the past. The element of irony interweaves itself into the details of both The Kite Runner’s plot and the US-Middle Eastern conflict, connecting the two occurrences
deeply.
The novel has deeply impacted Western views of the Middle Eastern conflict. The story’s setting raises awareness on the dark reality of the situation taking place in contemporary Afghanistan. Additionally, The Kite Runner brings forth delicate issues within the nation that were historically suppressed from view, placing tensions like ethnic conflict under the scrutiny of the international community. The pivotal scene in which the Pashtun antagonist rapes a Hazara servant under the witness of several characters and, because the victim is “just a Hazara”, successfully gets away with it strongly highlights the social inequalities between the two ethnic identities (75). This issue has since garnered attention from the Western world, bringing focus to an obscure predicament nested within the Middle Eastern turmoil. The “subject of controversy”, though considered “less than honorable” in Western Asia, has furthermore amassed scrutiny “within the Afghan community”, with readers debating on “the ethnic flavors of the scene” and whether they accurately reflect certain facets of the Pashtun supremacy transpiring in the nation (Hosseini). The author’s vivid portrait of post-Soviet, civil war Afghanistan draws attention to the horrors of the Middle Eastern conflict. The scene in which the novel depicts a desperate Afghani “haggling over [his] artificial leg… on the black market” for food drives home the degree of hardship endured by innocents caught in the midst of violent turmoil (259-260). The paragraphs illustrating Dr. Rasul, a professor who “used to teach at the university” now stripped of his status and forced to beg on the street, emphasize the degradation of civilized society following the Soviet occupation (249). These elements strive to remedy the Western perspective of the Middle East, and have shaped the face of several American relief campaigns, including several UNHCR efforts in Afghanistan that assist “refugees returning from Iran and Pakistan” (Achievement). Together, the author’s portrayal of a war-torn Afghanistan and illumination of social tensions within the Middle Eastern conflict forever impact the way westerners view the modern struggle. By allegorically representing the US-Afghan relationship following the Soviet occupation through the plot’s central characters, the novel helps influence the standpoints of certain Afghanistan relief efforts organized by America. The author conveys the prominence of irony in both the course of Amir’s development throughout the novel and the nature of the US-Middle East affair following the Cold War, with both circumstances drawing influence from one another’s perceptions. The author’s portrayal of ethnic tensions and post-war Afghanistan creates a resonant impact on the Western view of the Middle Eastern conflict. Together, the US-Middle Eastern conflicts form the base of the novel’s principal elements, which in turn have generated profound effects on the development of this situation.
Works Cited:
Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead, 2003. Print.
"Hillary Clinton Speaks out about US Links with Taliban - YouTube." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 04 Nov. 2011. .
"Khaled Hosseini on Criticism of His Work - YouTube." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 04 Nov. 2011. .
"Khaled Hosseini Biography -- Academy of Achievement." Academy of Achievement Main Menu. Web.
04 Nov. 2011. .
Becker, Elizabeth. "A NATION CHALLENGED - RELIEF - A NATION CHALLENGED – RELIEF
U.S. Orders New Aid to Help Avert Famine in Afghanistan - NYTimes.com." The New York
Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 03 Nov. 2001. Web. 04 Nov. 2011.
.