The Kite Runner: Historical,
Political and Cultural Contexts
The Kite Runner: Introduction
First novel to be written in English
Title is derived from an old Afghan
hobby Gudiparan Bazi or Kite
Flying
It is a unique Afghan pastime
during windy spring season
Biography
Childhood
Events:
• In 1976, the Afghan Foreign Ministry relocated the
Hosseini family to Paris. They were ready to return
to Kabul in 1980, but by then Afghanistan had
already witnessed a bloody communist coup and the
invasion of the Soviet army. The Hosseinis sought
and were granted political asylum in the United
States. In September of 1980, Hosseini's family
moved to San Jose, California.
About the Author
Born in 1965 in Kabul, Afghanistan
Moved to the States in 1980
Attended Santa Clara University, Cal
Graduated from UC San Diego School
of Medicine in 1996
His specialty is internal medicine.
Synopsis
The novel maps the journey of the
Amir, the narrator.
The story takes place in Afghanistan,
Pakistan, and the United States from 1975
to 2003.
Synopsis
Amir belongs to:
a wealthy family whose father is a businessman
the dominant Pashtun ethnic group
the dominant Sunni religious group
Synopsis
Amir tells the story of his friendship with Hassan.
Hassan and his father, Ali, are Amir’s servants
He is a low-caste ethnic Hazara
He belongs to the minority Shi’it religious
denomination
He is the victim of discrimination due to his religious
and ethnic identity
Ironically, he is also Amir’s half brother
Synopsis
AMIR AND HIS GUILT FEELING:
Amir is overwhelm with guilt when he allows Hassan to be
beaten by the neighborhood kids and raped by one of the
boys.
SEPARATION:
Hassan and his father leave Kabul for Hazarajat
Amir and his father flee Afghanistan for Pakistan and
eventually they end up in Fremont, California
Amir takes his tragic memories to America
Synopsis
He returns to Afghanistan in search of Hassan
While in Pakistan, Amir finds out that Hassan and
his wife were killed by the Taliban regime
They left a son behind by the name of Sohrab
AMIR ARRIVES AT KABUL
He discovers that Sohrab has become the victim of
sexual assault by Assef.
Assef is a neighborhood boy who also molested
Hassan
Amir must defeat Assef in a physical battle in order to take
Sohrab out of Afghanistan and try to help repair his spirit.
The Taliban’s Achievement
They banished the warlords and forced to the northeastern
corner the country and formed the Northern Alliance
Restored law and order but through rigorous enforcement
of Islamic punishment: public beating, flogging,
amputation of hands, and stoning to death
The Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Suppression
of Vice was the powerful arm of the Taliban government.
The ministry issued strict religious decrees that denied
people the right to freedom of expression, association, the
right to work, and the right to education
They prohibited games such as kite flying, chess, music,
cassette
Other Factors the Contributed to
a Failed State in Afghanistan
A DIVERSE NATION
Afghanistan is nation of groups with disparate ethnic,
religious, and tribal traditions.
ETHNIC DIVERSITY
Over 30 different ethnic groups. They are not contained
within Afghanistan.
Pashtuns are the dominant ethnic groups, who account for
about 38 percent of the population and ruled Afghanistan
for most of the history of Afghanistan.
Tajiks are the second largest ethnic groups with about 25
percent of the population.
Religious Diversity
Afghanistan has two dominant religious groups, the
Sunni,or the so-called orthodox Islam, and Shi’ite or the
so-called heterodox.
Sunni constitutes 85 percent of the population and Shi’ite
consists of 15 percent of Afghan population
Shi’ites split from the Sunni’s in the seventh century over
who the Prophet Mohammad’s legitimate successors were
Shi’ites consider Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the
Prophet, the legitimate successor
Shi’ites developed their own conception of Islamic law
and practices.
In the past Shi’ites had been persecuted in Afghanistan.
THEMES
• Brotherhood- Baba treats Ali like a brother,
Amir and Hassan are like brothers
• Sacrifice
• Redemption
• Love
• The Effects of Violence
• Guilt
• Friendship
Characters
Amir: insecure main character; wants father’s affection
Hassan: loyal friend and servant to Amir
Baba: Amir’s strong, masculine father
Sohrab: Hassan’s son later in life.
Soraya: Amir’s wife later in the book
Rahim Khan: Amir’s spiritual father; Baba’s friend
Assef: admires Hitler; terrorizes Amir and Hassan
Ali: Hassan’s father and servant to Baba; Baba’s best
friend
SYMBOLS
• Kite-flying: winning the contest
represents victory and pride
• Books and stories: literacy is tied to
social status and power
• Physical deformities
• Dreams: haunting dreams and dreams of
hope
• Baba’s House: the fallen state of the
house represents the fallen state of
Afghanistan since the Russian invasion
and rise of the Taliban
Kite Running
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5S47aSl
ezs