Final Post for Kite Runner

The Kite Runner was simply a masterly done novel that demonstrates the struggle and hardships of one country and the transition in life when Afghanistan is left behind to start a new life in America. It took me a while to realize this but towards the end I started seeing a correlation between how Baba and Amir acted and how Hassan and Sohrab acted. It was as if Baba and Amir were always meant to take care of Hassan Sohrab. Also because we see how in the whole novel Amir is depicted as a weak individual who always needs Hassan to get him out of tough situations and that he never makes the right choices, while Baba is portrayed as the perfect man with perfect morals and unstained respect. It was interesting to see then how Baba was actually the worst kind of sinner even in his own eyes and that the only reason he behaved in such a way and was such a hard-ass on Amir is because he wanted to somehow cleanse himself and his family of the filth he threw on the name by sleeping with Ali’s wife. On the other hand we have Hassan and Sohrab. Both of these characters just cultivate the reader’s sympathy and empathy from the first encounter. They are like loyal pit bulls who will destroy anything that threatens to hurt the people they love.  They are Hazaras and are seen as the scum of society, but in all truth, they are the best people society could ask for. Gentle, noble, loyal, willing to fight and learn. I loved the fact that Hassan somehow passed on his slingshot abilities to his son, and even the instance when they both saved Amir with the slingshot against Assef. Assef… Assef just made me cringe from the first moment he was introduced to the novel. His reference to Hitler, his prejudice against Hazaras, his overall vibe and his manner of bringing fear and discomfort to all children yet being a fake beloved figure to all the parents made me hate him with a passion. I was happy he got the ball to the eye, and I am happy it came from Sohrab, but I also have to admit I was happy when he beat the crap out of Amir too because Amir had it coming. Hosseini did an amazing job when it came to describing a place and bringing in the audience to the setting. He also did a very good job in transporting the reader from one setting to another. From Afghanistan to Pakistan, to America, etc. I also liked how Hosseini would always use the vernacular, and even how in the little flee market, people stuck to their roots and spoke their native tongue to cherish their heritage. This story had a lot of protagonists and antagonists in my opinion. For the protagonists, I saw Rahim Khan, Soraya, Hassan, and even Sohrab himself at times. All this characters pushed Amir to be better one way or another. Hassan by giving him guilt that needed redemption, Sohrab as his second chance at doing right, Rahim as his forgiver but more importantly the one that taught him to learn to forgive himself, and Soraya as the one that also lacked love as a child and is now sharing the love she had to spare with Amir. As for the antagonists, I saw Assef obviously, Amir himself, the Taliban, and the country itself. Sad to say that Amir’s own father, Baba, was caught in the middle between antagonist and protagonist for me. This is because he did not only turn out to be a hypocrite and a liar, but he also took out all his remorse and regret on Amir. With that being said, it would be unfair to call him a bad father. He did his job and he taught Amir right from wrong and embedded all the right morals into him, the fact that Amir did not catch on until a much later age was out of his control. I liked this book a lot. It was fast to read, dense with thrilling scenes and adventure, and kept me interested in what the next page would hold all throughout the book.