Classic English Literature
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hoseini hit the bookshelves in 2003. The text gives the reader ideas for colour by revealing the conflicts and complexities in characters in Afghanistan during post colonialisatin and colonialisation period. The novel has been highly appreciated for the historical and ethnographic insights provided and has been interpreted using diverse themes. The main themes of coming of age, ethnicity and morality are highly conflicting and the author has presented the history and culture of Afghanistan to form a backdrop for the story. The narrative in The Kite Runner is shaped by the central themes of redemption, guilt and sin (Janecova, 40).
The narrative opens when Amir, the main protagonist gets a call from Rahim Khan, a friend of his father. Rahim maintains that “there is a way to be good again”(Hossaini, 2). The story begins from here intricately explores a tale of ethics and morality. In his childhood, Amir failed to save his friend Hassan from being sexually exploited. This act was again complicated when Amir came to know that Hassan was his half brother. The social marginalization and class difference takes its toll in the growing years of Hassan and Amir. Amir belongs to the elite Pushtun class while Hassan belongs to the Hazara or the servant class. The plot is further complicated when Amir schemes and manages to throw out Hassan from the household. Then, Amir and his father escapes to Pakistan and then to the United States of America during the Afghan and the then Soviet Union war. Amir finally settles down in America, is married and is a successful novelist (Saraswat, 167).
Between the ethical dilemmas of right and wrong, the main protagonist has been labelled as an individuals who displays dynamic yet conflicted western and modern sensibilities (Jeferess, 393). Amir’s is shamed as he is not able to defend Hassan and the same thought is shared by Amir’s father who believes that Amir does not have masculine qualities. On the other hand, the traitor Assef views Amir to be an opponent of religion and ethnicity mainly because of Amir’s friendship with Hassan and the liberal thoughts of his family (Saraswat, 174).
The reader is further enlightened that Hassan and his wife were executed in front of Amir’s house in Afghanistan. This information is given to Amir by Rahim Khan. The protagonist is grieved to hear about his friend’s death. This grief arises from the fact of not only losing a friend but the fact that he might have contributed to certain situations that have led to Hassan’s death. The personal worries are universally echoed by people who live in the country and abroad and the manner in which they are paralyzed against the torture by the Talibans and feeling of guilt and remorse at not being able to save their loved ones (Janecova, 41).
Hossaini’s The Kite Runner is an allegory of Afghanistan. The novel in itself is a reflection of the history and the need for the people to heal from the diverse transgressions and torture they were exposed to. The novel’s historical setting is a subtext in itself to reveal the numerous injustices and inequalities that are committed in this nation based on ethical and racial discrepancies. The ethnic and religious tensions in Afghanistan is depicted by the manner in which Hassan belonging to the Hazara class is humiliated and tortured by the upper class Afghans.
The Kite Runner is an allegory as it questions the society on moral transgressions and the moral tenets regarding the contexts of intervention and accountability (Jefferson, 394). It delves into the culture in Afghanistan, which displays the ethical absolutes prevailing during the war based on the completion of justice or vengeance. An example set in this book is the manner in which oppressed Muslim children and women can be saved from the torture from Muslim men. The final chapters of the book in which Amir successfully saves Sohrab from the clutches of Assef and brings him to America represents the ethical contention of good against evil. The book discusses the debate on “goodness” on the ethical perspective of humanitarianism by explaining and building upon the discrepancies on those who can be deemed as a human as they fail, repent and then try to redeem their mistakes and those who are evil and does not try to atone for their acts of oppression on others. The popular American belief of viewing every Muslim to be evil is contradicted in this book which distinguishes between “good Muslims” and “bad Muslims” (Jefferson, 399).
The Kite Runner is a very touching and impressive narrative depicting the problems and real situations in an ethnic and diverse society. The book has drawn parallels to the society in Afghanistan with that in the United States by narrating hopes, failures and fears of human beings. The book also questions us on intricate moral issues by using the symbols of redemption, fear and failure as the main tenets that makes the reader to ponder upon the manner in which one may act in similar situations.
Works cited
Janecova, A. “Fear and redemption in Khaleed Hossieni’s novel The Kite Runner”. Arts Aeterna, 3.1(2011): 36 – 42. Print.
Jefferess, D. “To be good (again): The Kite Runner as allegory of global ethics. Journal of Postcolonial Writing, 45.4(2009): 389 – 400. Print.
Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner: Graphic Novel. A&C Black, 2014.
Saraswat, N. “Theme of identity and redemption in Khaleed Hossieni’s The Kite Runner”. International Journal of Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Studies, 1.4(2014): 166 – 175. Print.
