Final Response: The Kite Runner

Wendell Pfeffer

English

Final Response: The Kite Runner

            The Kite Runner discusses the struggles and beautiful sequences of the narrator’s life in Afghanistan and the United States. Still there’s more to this book than just the story because what I find remarkable about The Kite Runner is the way it characterizes Afghanistan from start to finish. The beauty of this book is that it details life in Afghanistan before the Russians and Taliban moved in and destroyed everything. The kite tournaments, beautiful landscapes, houses and nice streets really made Afghanistan stand out. Before this book all I really knew about Afghanistan was that it was a warzone and a location the Taliban wanted to take back, but after reading the kite runner I discovered that Afghanistan was so much more than what it is now. It was a diverse cultural city that I would have loved to visit if it were still standing today.

            Apart from the setting of the book there is a great significance with the relationship Amir had with his father. As a boy Amir cherished the fictional writing world – he would write stories and would dictate them to Hassan. But his father wasn’t so much of a big fan. He wanted Amir to get into sports and be more like him when he was a kid. This separation of likes and dislikes really affected their relationship in a negative manner. Amir would always try and get his fathers attention, but he would always get looked down upon. This was a big struggle for Amir because his goal when he was a child was to make his father proud. This really made him suffer and Baba’s friend Rahim Khan knew that. He would always try and comfort Amir and take on the roll of being a father towards him. Hassan on the other hand really demonstrated Baba’s qualities fully. He was athletic, one of the best kite flyers in Kabul, smart but illiterate and he would fight back if he was threatened while Amir did not. The only difference was that he was a Hazara, but still baba would always show his affection towards Hassan more than he did with Amir. This is why Amir was so cruel with Hassan – he would make fun of him during his stories, talk behind his back, set him up and not stand up for him. Many people in class would think that Amir is naturally a bad person because of this, but if you look at it in his perspective he wasn’t receiving any love from the person he looked up to the most. Instead his servant, not to be mean, was receiving all the attention. I would have reacted the same way but to a lower degree. If Amir would have known that Hassan was his brother that might have changed so many things. It was an evil thing for the father to not tell them they were brothers. I understand that Baba has his reputation to protect but family always comes first no matter what. Apart from the lie Baba is a man worth looking up to. He works hard, protects/helps others, provides a good example for his son and maintains a good reputation within his community. That one incident when Baba prevented a woman from getting raped really demonstrated what type of person he really was. From their on out I really started to respect Amir’s father in so many different ways. Baba’s best friend Rahim Khan is also  a really good man. He would provide Amir with love when he needed it most and would help Amir overcome his sadness brought by his father’s negligence.

            Amir’s father was “torn between two halves” – Amir and Hassan. Amir did not have a good relationship with his father, however, once Amir and Baba moved the United States away from Hassan their relationship grew immensely. Baba learned to accept Amir’s love for writing and literature. Amir would also spend one on one quality time with his father at the flea market and other enjoyable sites in the United States. Amir’s character also changed completely – he was not the typical childish kid anymore, he has grown similar to what kind of person Baba is. This notion is put to the test when Amir marries Soraya and when he goes to Kabul to recover Hassan’s lost child - Sohrab. The unique thing about recovering Sohrab is that Amir finally overcame his fear of getting into any sort of trouble; he was no longer a coward. Even though it was Sohrab that defeated Assef Amir risked his life to save Hassan’s child and for that I am proud of him. I would have really loved to see Hassan and Amir re unite but the Taliban’s racism towards the Hazara’s ruined everything. It is the sole reason that Hassan and his wife are dead or maybe Assef was the one that planned it. It really struck me to see Assef become so evil by the end of the novel. I never thought he was the Taliban with the dark glasses. He resembles Hitler completely on the racial part but adds on towards his evil character – he sexually abuses kids and that is one of the worst and most disgusting things any man or woman can do. Imagine how hurt Sohrab feels after having to go through his parent’s death and then being sexually abused by a man with a long beard. His attempted suicide resembles what he feels after having to go through so many hardships in life at such a young age.

            This book is definitely one of the most remarkable books I have ever read. It gave me a first person perspective on the narrator’s life in which I truly did appreciate and even though there were some depressing/sad moments I really gained a lot of knowledge and life lessons from the story. Aside from that I really recommend this book to those who haven’t read it.