Category: Literature

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a stunning debut novel that is highly important for the new century. It depicts a touching story about friendship and loyalty, betrayal and redemption, immigration and social problems. The novel is delicate, subtle, ironic, and sentimental which makes it resemble a painting that can be analyzed as a masterpiece. It is one of the novels that reveals the truths of immigration life. The purpose of the paper is to analyze cultural differences of Afghanistan and the United Stated after an immigration act and how the life abroad has shaped the main heros outlook and defined his actions.

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The role of immigration theme and its impact on heroes personalities

The time of the novel coincides with an actual end of peace in Afghanistan and the beginning of Soviet troops invasion in Kabul. Hosseini takes the reader on a journey of Afghan refugees with all the horrors and humiliations experienced by civilians during the war. The theme of going to another country is important for several reasons as it shows the evolution of personality.

First, the immigration to America clearly shows the differences between a person in Kabul and a person in Fremont. The book mainly focuses on the relationship between Amir and Hassan that have always had an abyss between them. Afghanistans class stratification had caused the differences. For boys, they may not notice any difference at first: But we were kids who had learned to crawl together, and no history, ethnicity, society, or religion was going to change that either (Hosseini 20). However, in Kabul, Amir was the member of the local aristocracy while Hasan belonged to a despised minority. The first father was an important person in the city, the second father was portrayed miserable. That differences would not matter in America. However, two boys were not the same in many ways: Amir spent hours reading and his friend was illiterate. Everyone could see what is wrong with Hasans appearance, he has a cleft lip, but Amir had another sort of ugliness deep inside. Nevertheless, Hasan and Amir were very close friends. Their story begins in the Kabul idyll which soon was replaced by terrible storms of war. Boys resemble two kites that were picked up by this storm and swept in opposite direction. Both of them have their own destiny and tragedy. They had strong ties, and Afghanistan was that linkage that is doomed to break by many ways, including immigration. Afghanistan is not a topic, but only the scene. Therefore, this book is written about the "hottest point" of the Earth. It does not find the reasons of war. In fact, it shows love, friendship, and charity. Amir recollects calm times of Afghanistan that was ruined by the invasion of the Soviet army. Despite the outward prosperity of Afghanistan, it has not been a country of equal opportunities for everyone for a long time. The polarization of wealth and poverty runs through the history of the country. After the establishment of the Republic, Amirs family was repressed and threatened. Thus, that was the reason why they had to move to California, the U.S.

Our Process

The representation of immigration is the best way to show how the hero overcomes obstacles and how he understands his weaknesses or strength. In the new country, Amir and his family have difficulties to adapt to the unfamiliar conditions. The Chapter Eleven focuses on how immigration has influenced the relationship between Baba and Amir. Baba has to sacrifice to ensure better future for Amir. From a wealthy benefactor, he becomes a gas-station worker. Baba and Amir should adjust to the language and new living conditions. Baba has lost his influence on people while depending on Amir in the United States. The incident portraying how different are people who come from Afghanistan from those who live in the United States is vivid in the situation with Nguyens and Babas lost ID (Hosseini, 107).

The novel also describes the reasons for living motherland because they can be different. People could be prosecuted for religion, threatened by death, or they are not willing to live in poverty striving for a better life without war. The Kite Runner introduces the readers the war in Afghanistan. Additionally, immigration theme makes the impression of portraying life within a life, when heroes have to start everything from scratch. In America, heroes experience a cultural shock and misunderstandings from the side of the U.S. citizens. The situation in The Kite Runner is exacerbated by the events on September 11th, 2001: Soon after the attacks, America bombed Afghanistan, the Northern Alliance moved in, and the Taliban scurried like rats into the caves. Suddenly, people were standing in grocery store lines and talking about the cities of my childhood... (Hosseini, 320).

Lastly, heroes do not meet their expectations, and the American dream is not what they wanted to see. Undoubtedly, the United States is famous for democratic values, well-being, multiculturalism, however, it has many issues as well. The problem that the heroes have in a new country is a territorial one as a geographical distance from America to Afghanistan is huge. Thus, nostalgia is increasing with age more and more. Though, Amir has changed in America greatly. He believes in the American dream trying to forget the pitiful events with Hasan. Hosseini tries to explain the feeling of Amir: For me, America was a place to bury my memories. For Baba, a place to mourn his (Hosseini, 108). Amir decides to pursue the intent to become a writer, even though Baba does not want it. For Amir, the new country has a much broader meaning than a simple escape from the war: America was different. America was a river, roaring along, unmindful of the past. I could wade into this river, let my sins drown to the bottom, let the waters carry me someplace far. Someplace with no ghosts, no memories, and no sins (Hosseini, 114). Moreover, the positive aspect of migration to America is the fact that father and son become closer to each other; however, it might be regarded as a necessity to survive. Sometimes, Baba reminds Amir of Hasan on graduation provoking guilt. It is interesting how America has changed the position of Amir in society making him closer to Hasan who was unprivileged and had to work much harder.

Our Benefits

However, Afghanistan does not leave Amirs soul. It is obvious from his decision to create a traditional family after he fell in love with Soraya. When Amir becomes an adult, he receives a worrisome call and decides to come back to Kabul, Afghanistan. Then, the author shows a war-torn country. Therefore, the theme of immigration shows the contrasts and becomes a good background to portrait feeling of guilt that has not vanished.

Khaled Hosseinis The Kite Runner, published in 2003, is about an Afghan boy who lives in a relatively affluent Kabul household until he and his father are forced to escape the country to Fremont, California. Immigration is one of the most important themes in the book. It helps Hosseini to better explain the morale. Immigration and adaptation to a new culture show the differences between Amir and Baba in Afghanistan and in America. Moreover, life in America does not deprive Amir of guilt for Hasan. Immigration theme is a story of a small and unfortunate man, who is not able to withstand the rough and brutal system, where there are ethnic and religious confrontations, where religion is used as a tool to justify violence. The book can be interesting to a wider audience not only because it allows readers to study the history of modern Afghanistan, but also because it makes us look differently at immigration and life in peace in motherlands which most of us do not always appreciate.

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