The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - Essay Example

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini The Kite Runner is a novel written by Khaled Hosseini, an Afghan-American author and it explores the story of Amir, the son of a rich Afghan and Hassan, the son of his father's servant Ali (Hosseini, 2005). The novel intricately examines the various idiosyncrasies and complex relations that emerge during the cataclysmic events of Amir's life covering many epochal events. The two children, culturally separated by a yawning abyss of wealth and social status are however friends and have many things in common, namely, preoccupied fathers and since they are motherless, they share the same wet nurse and grew up in the same confines of a culture that differentiated sharply on wealth, social status and gender. The document examines various relations that run between different characters in the complex story. Amir and Baba’s relationship before and after the move to America: The relationship between Amir and his father Baba is 'estranged'. Amir is show as a weak and cowardly person who hates bloodthirsty games and finds solace in poetry and he would let anyone in the streets bully him. Baba is angry at this lack of will to defend himself and he even speaks about this to Ali, his servant. However, during the annual kite festival, Amir wins the prize, cuts down his opponents kite and Hassan, his servant runs to fetch the kite, where he is cornered in an alley, beaten and raped by Assef, the neighborhood bully. The bully says to Hassan "Something he can play with when he’s bored, something he can kick when he’s angry. Don’t ever fool yourself and think you’re something more.” (p, 71). A small change is evident in Baba's attitude towards Amir and he even rewards him for this act of winning the kite festival prize. Later on, when the duo move to USA, Baba's attitude changes and he regards Amir with respect, after he graduates from High School and is on his way to earn a college degree (p. 55-87). Redemption: The complex relations of redemption are intricately linked and this novel is about redemption that is an act of repaying a debt. Hassan, the servant is deeply loyal to a jealous and Amir and even though Amir witnessed the attack, he does not speak about the incident. Later, it is revealed that Hassan is actually Baba's second son and Amir's half brother. This enrages Amir who fells robbed and betrayed by Baba who is now dead. Amir is now filled with intense self-remorse and guilt that he treated his brother in such an undignified manner. When he receives news about Hassan and the death of his wife at the hands of the Taliban, he is filled with even more remorse and to expatiate or his sins, he decides to go to Pakistan and save Sohrab, Hassan son and this is the major theme of redemption in the novel (p. 250-279). The theory formed about redemption is that while the characters behave crudely in the early years of life, experience and new revelations bring a change in the attitude and they mature, transforming themselves into rational individuals who recognize their faults and finds ways to atone for the loathsome behavior of the past. Class and social status: It is evident that class and social status forms a strong undercurrent in the novel and it forms the basis of relations among the characters. Baba is a rich businessperson, a Pashtun and Sunni Muslim, and Ali, a Hazara and a Shi’a Muslim is his servant, and even though they have been together for decades, the master-servant relation exists between them. A deep divide exists between these two followers of Allah, the holy prophet and even though Baba confides his secrets to Ali, the relation never grows to friendship even though Baba fathers a son with Ali's wife since Ali is a cripple. Amir, though he is close to Hassan, never develops an affinity though he needs the servant boy to bail him out of fights with the neighborhood kids and he lets Hassan defend him. However, Amir is gnawed with feelings of inadequacy when he finds that Hassan is better than he is. It is clear that the continued presence of Hassan brings to consciousness, his own inadequacy and he finds ways and means to get Hassan out of his father's house (p. 34-57). Friendship and loyalty: Friendship and loyalty in the initial chapters are one sided and this seen in the relation between Amir and Hassan. Amir, the son of a rich businessperson demands that Hassan should be loyal to him. The idea of friendship as an equal appears irrational to him and Hassan is fiercely loyal to Amir. Two important incidents come out and the first incident is when Hassan runs to retrieve the kite and gets beaten and raped by Assef, the neighborhood bully. Amir watches from an alley but does nothing to come to his servant's aid and Hassan shows his loyalty by keeping silent. In another incident, Amir, choking with jealousy about Hassan, places his money and watch under Hassan's pillow in order to implicate and brand him as a thief. Even though, Hassan knows that Amir has planted the money, he keeps quiet and gets a dressing down from Baba (p. 52-71). In the later part of the story, after Amir grows up and matures, he realizes the loyalty and friendship that Hassan provided him and goes to Pakistan and Kabul to rescue Sohrab, Hassan's son who was kidnapped by Assef who is now the area Taliban chief. After intense narration, Amir confronts Assef who beats him up badly and finally repays the debt by spiriting the young Sohrab out of Taliban's clutches. This is another example of friendship and loyalty. Expectations for women: The number of female characters in the novel is limited since Amir's and Hassan's mothers are missing in the novel. Soraya, from California and daughter of Baba’s old friend, General Taheri is the only major character and marries Amir. However, she is worried about her past since she lived with another person for a month and as per Afghan rules, such women are considered as 'fallen' (p. 312). References Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. NY: River Head Books, 2005 Read More