...In Khaled Hosseini's fictional novel, The Kite Runner, the characters Amir, Baba and Saunabar are used to demonstrate the constructive forces of shame. Baba was generous to make up for his shame of Hassan, Amir was more than willing to do whatever it took to make up for his unatoned sins and Hassan’s mother, Saunabar, came back to him after she abandoned him as a baby. Sanaubar’s shame and guilt for leaving Hassan when he was a child...
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...love. This event leads to two paths, one in which a person tries anything to redeem themselves and another where selfishness takes over. Likewise, Macbeth by William Shakespeare and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini use the main characters from their works to demonstrate that sometimes without a second thought, betrayal takes place. They also show how some characters use betrayal to their advantage while others redeem themselves, as well, how even those who stay loyal end up having to pay the same price. At the end however, how people react to the guilt that they encounter in the past is what makes them who they are in the future. Macbeth and The Kite Runner both show how the main characters betray those who respect as well as trust them. Macbeth's eyes are blinded by the power of the throne and he will do anything just to obtain it. Since no one expects Macbeth to betray anyone close to him, he takes this as an advantage and says to himself “a false face must hide what a false heart doth know.”(I, vii, 94-95) With this in mind, it is evident that Macbeth betrays Duncan, Banquo and the whole of Scotland. He uses his innocence and trust that he gained from others to hide what his true intentions are and ends up betraying many people just for the good of himself. Similarly, in The Kite Runner the main character Amir is troubled by the guilt that builds inside of him after he betrays his best friend- Hassan, his father- Baba and Hassan's father -Ali. All these characters are...
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...How betrayal can lead to redemption Betrayal is an issue several people can relate to, either done by a family member or a friend. In the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, we witness how betrayal played a vital role in the downfall of the main characters Amir and Hassan’s friendship, and how it influenced Amir’s pursuit to redeem himself in hopes to move on from his mistakes. The novel begins with Amir as an adult, recalling an event that took place in 1975 Kabul, Afghanistan and how this event was what changed the rest of his life and made him who he now is. This event was Amir’s reluctance to help Hassan while he was being raped, and how this impacted his desire to, later on, mature and be “good” again. Khaled Hosseini shows how Amir’s Islamic faith and guilt over abandoning Hassan ultimately led Amir to forgive himself and seek redemption. All in all, this novel demonstrates that even in cases of betrayal, redemption is possible. In The Kite Runner, Hosseini tells a story of the close friendship of two young boys who come from different social classes, Amir, the Pashtun wealthy boy and Hassan, the Hazara servant. Taking place in Kabul, Afghanistan in the 1970s a time where there was a huge...
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...The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a beautifully written story about the life of one Afghani boy's struggle from riches to rags and finding the truth about people in general. The story is about two boys growing up in pre- Soviet and Taliban Afghanistan. Amir is a Sunni or the privileged class; Hassan is Shi'a, which is the lowest minority. Even still the two boys, grow up together as brothers. Until one horrible incident changes everything. The Kite Runner is a story about love, guilt, truth, and redemption. Amir grows up as the only son of a WEALTHY MAN in Kabul where life is rich and full of possibilities prior to the Soviet invasion. His father Baba is disappointed in the bookish, non-athletic child he must raise. Amirs' playmate Hassan, a Hazara servant seems to have more of Baba's respect than Amir. Baba's love for Hassan and his disappointment in his own son drive Amir to taunt and abandon Hassan, even though he loves him more deeply than even he himself knows. Amir, burdened by jealousy, can't come to his friend's aid when he brutally raped, not even on the most glorious day of their childhood when together they claim the kite-fighting title. When the Russian army invades, Amir and his father flee to the United States. Amir grows up poor and in a different land, but with the same Afghanistan culture. He marries, goes to college, while wondering what happened to his childhood friend, the one he betrayed. As time marches on, Amir loses his father and is summoned to Pakistan...
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...Redemption Takes Over Mistakes are made by everyone, some are more extreme than others but they all have their benefits and consequences. In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, redemption is a major theme. Redemption occurs in the characters lives through personal sacrifice and this also benefits others. Hassan, Baba and Amir are all characters in the book that go through self-sacrifice and benefit others to try and redeem themselves. Although they all go through this, they happen in different ways. First of all Hassan is a character in the novel who achieves redemption through personal sacrifice such as his rape event, going back to Baba’s house with Rahim Khan and spiritually when Sohrab hits Assef in the eye, while ultimately benefitting others. Hassan redeems himself spiritually because when Hassan and Amir were younger he tries to do the same thing as Sohrab, but didn’t actually hit Assef. Sohrab technically finishes the job for Hassan by hitting Assef with his slingshot. Another event that helps show this is that they both aim for the left eye. Secondly, Hassan goes through personal sacrifice when he decides to leave his home and lifestyle to go back to Baba’s house with his family and Rahim Khan. “Then he ask[s] me about your father. When I told him, Hassan burie[s] his face in his hands and br[eaks] into tears. He wept like a child for the rest of that night.”(207). “Agha sahib was like my second father… God give him peace.”(208). In these two...
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...Kite Runner vs. Poetry Key quotes: “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything” – Baba says this to Rahim Khan as a comment on the behaviour of Amir. Through this he identifies Amir’s greatest flaw: cowardice. It is this trait that leaves him desperately craving Baba’s love, and ultimately leads to be letting Assef rape Hassan. It also foreshadows Amir’s return to Kabul in search of Sohrab; the test of Amir’s character also tests whether Baba’s statement is true. “Huddled together in the dining room and waiting for the sun to rise, none of us had any notion that a way of life had ended” – This sentence appears towards the start of chapter five and indicates the fall of the monarchy and the descent of Kabul (and indeed Afghanistan) into political instability. The peaceful world Amir knows, made possible by Baba’s wealth, turns into one full of violence and uncertainty. It ultimately leads to Baba and Amir fleeing the country. “There is a way to be good again” – Rahim Khan says this to Amir over the phone when trying to encourage him to come to Pakistan and in the dialogue this appears like an afterthought. It reveals that Rahim Khan knows the truth about what Amir did to Hassan. It also ties into the theme of redemption, allowing the reader to believe that by returning to the Middle East, Amir will be given the opportunity to break the cycle of guilt he is trapped in. “My body was broken—just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later—but...
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...The search for redemption “That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years.” Amir thought in the beginning of the novel “The kite runner”. In the novel we meet two boys from two different ethnic groups living in Kabul, Afghanistan. Amir copes with his decisions 26 years after betraying his best friend, Hassan to get the attention and acceptance from his beloved father. The novel is written by Khaled Hosseini in 2003 and is a redemption story. In order for Amir to cope with his guilt, he needed to find redemption of his betrayal of Hassan. Amir develops through the story and is a dynamic person. The protagonist of the novel is Amir. He is the son of Baba, a wealthy man living in Kabul in Afghanistan. Amir and his father Baba are Pashtun, the larger ethnic group in Afghanistan. He thinks that his father blames him for killing his mother during childbirth, and he tries to get his father’s acceptance and attention. Amir as a young boy is very jealous of Hassan, and the attention Baba gives to him. The only time he really gets Baba’s attention and love is when he and Hassan wins the kite tournament i 1975. Amir describes himself as a coward, a description that is made clearly when Hassan gets raped by Assef, when Amir is watching without doing anything. “From just around the...
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...forgiveness. Forgiveness plays an important part in The Kite Runner. Hassan had forgiven Sanaubar after she abandoned him when he was only a few days old. Hassan had forgiven Amir many times for acting like a coward. Amir goes on a journey seeking forgiveness by raising Sorab as his own child. Hassan had forever given Sanaubar after abandoning him when he was only a few days old. Hassan took her in, and treated her as if nothing had happened since she left when he was just a baby. Hassan himself has...
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...Research Paper on “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini Introduction: The international best-selling novel, The Kite Runner was first published in 2003 by Riverhead Books, written by the Afghan-born American novelist and physician, Khaled Hosseini. He was born into a Shia family in Kabul, and later on in his life when the family moved to Paris because of his father’s occupation, Hosseini’s family was unable to return to Kabul due to the bloody Saur Revolution; hence they had to seek political asylum in the United States. Being as young as he was, roughly 11 years of age, the actions of his home country must have left an impression on him. It is such a great read because among many other themes such as betrayal, redemption, bullying, inhumanities of revolution, discrimination, loyalty, hypocrisy, horrors of rapes etc. the main focus of this story is of a man who is haunted by his past demons. We see in some of the opening lines of the novel, “I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975… That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out.” These opening lines gets the ball rolling on what is to come and to be expected from the story, of possibly an aged man who is looking back at the past and justifying how it has made him the way that he is to date. The setting vividly takes place in the disorderly country of Kabul, Afghanistan...
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...well-to-do Pashtun boy, and Hassan, a Hazara and the son of Amir's father's servant, Ali, spend their days in a peaceful Kabul, kite fighting, roaming the streets and being boys. Amir’s father (who is generally referred to as Baba, "daddy", throughout the book) loves both the boys, but seems critical of Amir for not being manly enough. Amir also fears his father blames him for his mother’s death during childbirth. However, he has a kind father figure in the form of Rahim Khan, Baba’s friend, who understands Amir better, and is supportive of his interest in writing stories. Assef, a notoriously mean and violent older boy with sadistic tendencies, blames Amir for socializing with a Hazara, according to Assef an inferior race that should only live in Hazarajat. He prepares to attack Amir with his steel knuckles, but Hassan bravely stands up to him, threatening to shoot Assef in the eye with his slingshot. Assef and his henchmen back off, but Assef says he will take revenge. Hassan is a successful "kite runner" for Amir, knowing where the kite will land without even watching it. One triumphant day, Amir wins the local tournament, and finally Baba's praise. Hassan goes to run the last cut kite, a great trophy, for Amir saying "For you, a thousand times over." Unfortunately, Hassan runs into Assef and his two henchmen. Hassan refuses to give up Amir's kite, so Assef exacts his revenge, assaulting and raping him. Wondering why Hassan is taking so long, Amir searches for Hassan and hides...
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...Forgiveness is a necessary part of human existence, although it is hard to forgive others, and sometimes harder to give to ourselves. The Kite Runner is full of examples of forgiveness between people, with themselves. Baba forgives Hassan, Hassan forgives easily, and Amir is unable to forgive himself but throughout the book the readers saw the travel of Amir how he forgive himself. The opening sentence sets this theme with "I became what I am today at the age of twelve," as Amir relates how he believes one action at that young age defined his entire life. However, as the novel progresses, the reader comes to the conclusion that it was not one action, but a series of choices and events that created Amir's persona as an adult. By holding onto his guilt and fear of discovery, Amir could only bury his past for short periods of time before his own conscience uncovered it and the emotional baggage attached. Throughout the course of Amir's life, he made choices based on jealousy, fear, and guilt, and thus allowed his life to be immersed in regret and shame until he finally allowed himself redemption. Baba first demonstrates forgiveness when he pardons Hassan for stealing Amir's money and watch (even though Hassan didn't actually steal it). Baba is unaware that Amir was only framing Hassan for stealing his money and watch. Baba asks, "Did you steal that money? Did you steal Amir's watch, Hassan?" Hassan responded, "Yes." By Hassan taking the blame of stealing Amir's belongings, he...
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...IntroductionMany times since his death in 1883, Karl Marx’s ideas have been dismissed as irrelevant. But, many times since, interest in his ideas has resurfaced as each new generation which challenges the unequal, unjust and exploitative nature of the capitalist system looks for ideas and a method to change the world we live in.Marx’s ideas – a body of work collectively described as Marxism – was added to by his closest collaborator Frederick Engels after Marx’s death and subsequently added to and enriched by the writings and living experience of Lenin and Trotsky who led the 1917 October Russian Revolution.For any person looking to change the world in a socialist direction the ideas of Marxism are a vital, even indispensable, tool and weapon to assist the working class in its struggle to change society.Most people who describe themselves as socialists will have at one stage or another looked at Marxist ideas and, unfortunately, some have chosen to ignore the rich experience and understanding that Marxist ideas add to an understanding of the capitalist world and how to change it.However, Marx’s ideas are once again becoming fashionable; even amongst people Marx would have regarded as his political opponents. Having been voted the thinker of the Millennium in a BBC poll in 2000, Marx has now been taken up by university professors and City analysts alike as offering one of the most modern ways to understand globalised capitalism.But, for socialists who wish to permanently remove...
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...KITE RUNNER QUESTIONS BY: JANHAVI AHUJA CHAPTER 20 STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS 1. Why is Farid treating Amir differently now? 2. Why were “fathers a rare commodity in Afghanistan”? Fathers were a rare commodity in Afghanistan because during the war it was the mean that went out to fight. They were looked at called out to fight for their country and to keep their families safe. Afghanistan like many countries in this sense because when there is a war they look for men to stand up and fight. With war deaths come, so if fathers are the ones fighting the war. It is them dying and being injured and going missing. So there was less fathers around in the time of wars. 3. What advice did Farid give Amir regarding the Taliban? The advice that Farid gave Amir regarding the Taliban’s is that to never go against the Taliban’s because they love to start conflicts. 4. What did Amir learn about his mother? From whom? Amir learned about his mother that she was a very beautiful woman and she loved almond cake and honey tea. He learned this from Dr.Rasul who taught at the same university his mother did. 5. Why are children with mothers but not fathers considered orphans? Why can’t their mothers take care of them? The text is not suggesting mothers cannot take care of their children. In Afghan culture, that is what a woman's role is - to take care of and raise the children. Because this and pleasing her husband are what women are supposed...
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...THE KITE RUNNER by KHALED HOSSEINI Published 2003 Afghan Mellat Online Library www.afghan-‐mellat.org.uk _December 2001_ I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975. I remember the precise moment, crouching behind a crumbling mud wall, peeking into the alley near the frozen creek. That was a long time ago, but it's wrong what they say about the past, I've learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-‐six years. One day last summer, my friend Rahim Khan called from Pakistan. He asked me to come see him. Standing in the kitchen with the receiver to my ear, I knew it wasn't just Rahim Khan on...
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...THE KITE RUNNER by KHALED HOSSEINI Riverhead Books - New York The author makes liberal use of _italics_ and I have missed noting many of them, but the rest of this text file should demonstrate good proofing. Copyright © 2003 by Khaled Hosseini Riverhead trade paperback ISBN: 1-59488-000-1 This book is dedicated to Haris and Farah, both the _noor_ of my eyes, and to the children of Afghanistan. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am indebted to the following colleagues for their advice, assistance, or support: Dr. Alfred Lerner, Don Vakis, Robin Heck, Dr. Todd Dray, Dr. Robert Tull, and Dr. Sandy Chun. Thanks also to Lynette Parker of East San Jose Community Law Center for her advice about adoption procedures, and to Mr. Daoud Wahab for sharing his experiences in Afghanistan with me. I am grateful to my dear friend Tamim Ansary for his guidance and support and to the gang at the San Francisco Writers Workshop for their feed back and encouragement. I want to thank my father, my oldest friend and the inspiration for all that is noble in Baba; my mother who prayed for me and did nazr at every stage of this book’s writing; my aunt for buying me books when I was young. Thanks go out to Ali, Sandy, Daoud, Walid, Raya, Shalla, Zahra, Rob, and Kader for reading my stories. I want to thank Dr. and Mrs. Kayoumy--my other parents--for their warmth and unwavering support. I must thank my agent and friend, Elaine Koster, for her wisdom, patience, and gracious ways, as well as Cindy Spiegel, my keen-eyed and...
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