Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner depicts the lives of two Afghan boys growing up in the turmoil of invasion, heartbreak, and war. Amir, the protagonist and narrator of the story, is Pashtun and Hassan, a Hazara boy, is Amir's servant with a cleft lip. Despite being separated by different ethnic and social backgrounds, the boys share a close friendship. However, the afternoon of a kite fighting tournament in 1975 leads to circumstances that neither boy could foresee, an event that traumatizes their lives. Afterward, Amir struggles to find his place in the world, filled with guilt and regret. When the Russians invade Amir and his father, Baba, must flee Afghanistan to America. Amir finally realizes that he must return to war-torn Afghanistan to atone for his sins. But Afghanistan has changed and will never be the same. From an outsider's perspective, The Kite Runner allows the reader to gain insight into the history and injustices of Afghanistan, from the fall of the monarchy and the oppression of the Hazaras, to the invasion of the Russians and the takeover of the Taliban. Many symbolic elements of the story reflect the history of Afghanistan. In particular, the narrative element is used by Hosseini to symbolize the oppression of the Hazaras, who are illiterate. The bond between Amir and Hassan is strengthened by their love of stories and literature. Amir reads to Hassan and together they create stories, including one in which they are "Amir and Hassan: The Sultans of Kabul". The juxtaposition between Amir and Hassan as characters is a technique used by Hosseini to construct the image of injustice in Afghanistan and to show how the power of stories can bring both harm and healing in times of unrest . In The Kite Runner, the power of the written word is used with prejudice by Amir against Hassan, but he eventually begins to mend his ways by saving Sohrab, Hassan's son, from the clutches of the Taliban. Powerful stories can help people understand how injustice happens, how it can be perpetrated, and how it can potentially be resolved. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay Books and storytelling are an integral part of Amir and Hassan's lives; it serves as a link between the two boys, but also affirms their differences. Amir, a Pashtun and son of Baba, a rich man with a renowned name, is literate; he can read, write and understand complex words. Hassan is a Hazara and the son of Ali, both servants of Baba's house. Unlike Amir, Hassan is illiterate, unable to read and write, a fate decided by his Hazara birth. "That Hassan would grow up illiterate like Ali and most Hazaras had been decided from the moment he was born, perhaps even from the moment he was conceived in the Sanaubars' unwelcoming womb - after all, what good was a servant for writing it?" (Hosseini 26) However, what Hassan lacks in literacy, he makes up for in natural intelligence, gentle nature and courage, unlike Amir, who is not respectful in his stance towards Hassan and abuses his privileges of master. The story-making between Amir and Hassan does not seem harmful - imagining themselves as "Amir and Hassan: The Sultans of Kabul", Amir's short story about tears turning into pearls, Hassan's dream about the monster in the lake and Amir reading to Hassan from the Shahnamah – but Amir often used the power of the written word against Hassan, ridiculing him for not understanding certain words. This is the power that Amir holds overHassan which damages their relationship and ultimately leads to Amir's act of cowardice when he fails to save Hassan from sexual assault. “In fact, I aspired to cowardice, because the alternative, the real reason I was running, was that Assef was right: nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had killed, to win Baba. Was it a fair price? The answer came to my conscious mind before I could counter it: he was just a Hazara, wasn't he? (Hosseini 73) Amir's jealousy of his father's care of Hassan was the catalyst for his betrayal, and Amir came to believe that Hassan was a worthy sacrifice to gain his father's love . Amir sincerely believed that Baba preferred Hassan as his son. “Self-defense has nothing to do with malice. You know what always happens when the neighborhood boys tease him? Hassan intervenes and pushes them away. I saw it with my own eyes. And when they come home, I say to him: “How did Hassan get that scratch on his face? And he said, “He has fallen.” I tell you, Rahim, there is something missing in this boy... If I hadn't seen with my own eyes the doctor remove him from my wife, I would never believe that he is my son. (Hosseini 21 – 22) Amir is considered weak in Baba's eyes, unlike Hassan who is honest in everything he does. Hassan's integrity and courage are what Baba admires, and according to Amir, Baba dislikes him because he is a coward. The Shanamah, described as a 10th-century epic of ancient Persian heroes, presents the tale of “Rostam and Sohrab.” This is Amir and Hassan's favorite story. It follows the story of Rostam, a warrior, who mortally wounds his archenemy, Sohrab, in battle only to discover that Sohrab is his son. In The Kite Runner, the fate of Amir and Hassan symbolically reflects the tragedy of “Rostam and Sohrab”. After failing to save Hassan from his attackers in the alley, establishing him as a thief and then discovering that they were brothers, Amir believes that his cowardice and actions against Hassan led to his death, without having been touched in the back of the head by the Taliban: “I am the cannon on its ascending arc. I see that face behind the plume of smoke swirling from the mouth. I'm the man in the herringbone vest. (Hosseini 221) An opportunity for redemption and healing presents itself to Amir, however, saving Sohrab, Hassan's son, from the clutches of the Taliban. Sohrab, a symbol of all the terrible things that have happened to the characters and to Afghanistan, creates an image of hope. Thus, the power of stories ends up harming Hassan; Amir abuses his literacy abilities because of Hassan's illiterate status and Amir's jealous nature of Hassan's sense of wisdom. Healing this injustice is brought by Sohrab, whom Hassan named after the Persian tale of "Rostam and Sohrab", when Amir saves him to atone for his sins against Hassan. The use of language is crucial in any story; he develops the tone and style and decides on the narrative point of view. In The Kite Runner, Hosseini uses a first-person narrative to develop Amir's personal story, with his tone attributable to his personal characteristics. The combined use of English and Fari allows the reader to connect on a more personal level with Amir, giving a sense of heritage to his character. “If the story had been about anyone else, it would have been dismissed as laaf, this Afghan tendency to exaggerate…” (Hosseini 12) As a child, Amir's tone is lyrical, illustrating the naivety of the youth, and develops a darker, more somber tone. morbid feeling of self-assessment as he becomes an adult, "sometimes my whole childhood feels like along lazy summer day with Hassan, chasing each other among the tangles of trees in my father's yard, playing hide and seek, cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians..." (Hosseini 24) The sense of freedom that Amir felt as a child with Hassan conveys the notion of innocence that both shared. However, after Hassan's attack, their innocence and sense of naivety are stolen. The style of the text is structured by the genre of the bildungsroman – the development from childhood to adulthood of a character whose personality is shaped by experience. The Kite Runner is formed in a three-part structure, starting with Amir's childhood, then his experience in America and his return to Afghanistan. As a narrator, Amir gives the reader personal insight into different events and characters. However, his understanding is limited and he takes a biased perspective as a character, "and that's the problem with people who mean everything they say." They think everyone else does too. (Hosseini 51) In Amir's opinion, Hassan is honest, but thinks he is using it selfishly with other people's expectations. As an adult narrator, Amir becomes more mature but remains cowardly in his actions towards Hassan. His change in tone, less forceful and more considerate, gives his character a sense of growth since his childhood. “We had both sinned and betrayed. But Baba had found a way to do good out of his remorse. (Hosseini 278) After saving Sohrab from the Taliban, Amir visualizes more of his father in him than when he was a child, and discovers more about himself personally. Overall, Amir's use of language and role as narrator illustrate that heartbreaking issues such as war cannot be appreciated until they are made personal. History can be woven into stories, and history can also inevitably become its own story. When reading The Kite Runner, this notion is recognized by the mention of Amir and Hassan's mothers, respectively dead and separated. Amir, who has a difficult relationship with Baba, has character traits similar to those of his mother who died in childbirth. He believes he killed his mother and that Baba is mad at him. Amir often avoided his father by reading his mother's books. “That’s how I escaped my father’s distance, in my dead mother’s books.” (Hosseini 19) However, Amir's love of literature and becoming a writer is what brings healing to his relationship with Baba, as Baba realizes that writing stories helps Amir connect to people , especially with Soraya whom he later marries, and he becomes proud. "'Liar.' I lifted Baba's blanket 'What is that?' I said, but as soon as I picked up the leather bound book, I knew... "I can't believe you can write like that," said Soraya Baba pulled her head out of it. pillow. “I put it there. I hope you don’t mind. I returned the notebook to Soraya and left the room. (Hosseini 159) When Amir finds out. Baba read one of his stories, he accepts that, despite his harshness of character, Baba ultimately appreciates and loves him for who he is. Mentions of Sanaubar, Hassan's mother, are portrayed as folklore or tales. of fairies, as if she had existed and no longer existed after being condemned with a dishonorable reputation “While my mother died of hemorrhage during childbirth, Hassan lost hers less than a week later. her birth She lost her to a fate that most Afghans considered far worse than death: she fled with a clan of traveling singers and dancers. (Hosseini 6) Sanaubar's stories create harm toHassan, especially when he is bombarded by soldiers who claim to have “taken” her. Sanaubar's misdeeds are ultimately exonerated by Hassan when she returns years later as an older woman seeking forgiveness and caring for Sohrab. In The Kite Runner, the role and integrity of women are depicted through stories from the past, including Soraya, Amir's wife. , who eloped with an Afghan man years ago. Hosseini uses this as a way to express the injustice of male domination over women. Soraya expresses this injustice: “their sons go to nightclubs looking for meat and get their girlfriends pregnant, they have children out of wedlock and no one says anything. Oh, these are just men who have nang and namoos [pride and honor], and I have to rub it in my face for the rest of my life.” (Hosseini 164) The injustice towards women in The Kite Runner is not completely resolved. Eventually, Soraya and Amir marry despite his past. Amir believes that he cannot judge her for her sins, "and in the end, the question that kept coming to me was: how could I, of all people, punish someone for their past?...IJe suspected that Soraya Taheri was a better person than me in many ways. Courage was just one. (Hosseini 151 – 152) Amir's past experiences in Afghanistan ultimately lead him to admire Soraya rather than despise her; his honesty and courage in the face of his situation ironically reflects his cowardice in his actions towards Hassan. A feminist view of Soraya's courage and honesty, compared to Amir's cowardice, could be seen as a sense of empowerment for Afghan women. Her sincere attitude towards her past and her marriage to Amir because of her admiration for it heals her. When Baba and Amir flee to America, it changes their lives and leaves Baba yearning for what he once was: his status as a wealthy man and his honorable reputation in Afghanistan. “I look at him across the table… the smells of the gas station – dust, sweat and gasoline – on his clothes… He missed the sugar cane fields of Jalalabad and the gardens of Paghman. He missed the people coming in and out of his house, he missed walking the bustling alleys of Shor Bazaar and greeting the people who knew him and his father, who knew his grandfather, the people who shared ancestors with him, whose past was closely linked to his own. (Hosseini 119-120) Baba continues to feel a strong sense of cultural heritage and connection to Afghanistan; America has stripped away this past. However, America offers Amir hope and a new beginning. So, stories of the past may create justice for some, but injustice for many. Even before the Russian invasion, Afghanistan was an oppressed country. The division between the Pashtuns and the Hazaras is highlighted in The Kite Runner through the friendship of Amir and Hassan, the brotherhood between Baba and Ali, and the abuse Ali and Hassan receive in public. Hazaras have characteristic Mongol traits, and both Ali and Hassan are mistreated for this, especially Ali. “They chased him down the street and laughed at him as he limped past. Some had taken to calling him Babalu, or Boogeyman. 'Hey, Babalu, who did you eat today... Who did you eat, you flat-nosed Babalu?' » (Hosseini 8) Ali had suffered from polio at a very young age and walked with a stiff leg. People often create stories to provide answers to problems and ethical questions. In The Kite Runner, Hosseini addresses this question through Amir's guilt over Hassan's fate, telling himself that Hassan was a fitting sacrifice. While saving Sohrab from the Taliban, Amir is beaten and,.