The Many Styles of Kites

After finishing three-fourths of Khlaed Hosseini's novel, The Kite Runner, it is clear that there is a very distinctive style in the book. While the book is set with the tumultuous events of Afghanistan during the 1970's through the early twenty-first century, it is not about how one survived during the rough era in Afghanistan and more about characters, specifically Amir and Hassan, and how their relationship progresses and their decisions impact their lives.

One of the main stylistic choices of the book is to have told in first person narration. The narrator is Amir. The selection of Amir for the narrator is important because of how he views events differently from others. This is evident during the original coup d'etat before Soviet Intervention. Amir lives in an affluent neighborhood, which is barely affected during the change in regime. This is shown when Amir returns to Afghanistan after years in America and states that he "feel[s] like a tourist in his own country." (231). His driver scoffs at this remark and rambles on about Amir's luxurious house and servants. He states that Amir has never known the real Afghanistan, the part which dirt covered beggars roam the streets looking for spare change, instead he has always been a tourist in his own country. Because of Amir's limited viewpoint and the fact that he leaves for America, we do not get a good view of the turmoil in Afghanistan. Included in having Amir as the narrator is we only get his view of when Hassan gets raped. We only get Amir's inner struggle and reliving of that day and his inability to look either Hassan or himself in the eye after doing simply watching the event. Hassan also some issues he has to overcome before trying to return to normal. He has to forgive Amir and be able to go into public without fear, but we do not get to delve into these problems because of the choice of point of view.

Another interesting stylistic choice is the fact that the later part of the novel is written like a journey myth. A journey myth is when a hero is called to an unknown world to retrieve and return with a reward all while facing ordeals along the way. In the case of the novel the hero is Amir and the unknown world is Afghanistan at the turn of the century after the Taliban has taken over. The reward is Hassan's son. The previous part of the novel was character development to make sure that the people involved were complex characters with multiple motives, especially Amir. Amir wants to finally feel at peace for watching Hassan be assaulted, but he also wants to make Baba proud even after his death. He also wants to fulfill Rahim Khan's dying wish. Finally, Amir has gotten a wife of his own now and wants to return safely to America. By having the story act like a journey myth enforces the reasoning behind choosing Amir as the narrator. Khaled Hosseini wants to make the reader feel everything that his hero feels on his journey. He clearly uses the technique to make the novel about Amir's adventures instead of him living in Kabul as Afghanistan drastically changes.

No Longer Baba's Afghanistan

During the beginning of The Kite Runner there are two major changes in the book: Amir sees Hassan get raped which completely changes their relationship and a revolution where the monarch of Afghanistan is ousted and Amir and Baba have to flee to Pakistan. However, Khaled Hosseini does not mention many details about the revolution. This is completely on purpose. He did not want to write a textbook about the history of Afghanistan, he wanted to write a compelling novel driven by his narrator's internal struggle and his relationships with other characters. Hosseini does a great job writing the novel, but I am left wondering about the historical context of the revolution since I was not alive during that time and never even came close to touching on the subject in any of my history classes. In my efforts to gain more background knowledge here is what I learned about the situation.

To get the whole picture one must first go further back in time then needed, so I will be starting with Afghanistan in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Afghanistan at this point was still considered to be an empire. Previously it had been conquered by the Mongols in the thirteenth century, but had never been defeated or owned by any western power. The ruling system for Afghanistan was still a monarchy right up until the revolution. Because Afghanistan had kept the same ruling system for such a long time they were not used to change. In describing Afghans, Amir was quoted in saying "Afghans cherish custom." (51). Afghans have not changed their ways in so many years that the revolution must have been a shock,

It all started when in 1973, two years before Hassan is raped, when a coup d'etat disposes of of King Zahir Shah, a person that had been the ruler of Afghanistan since 1933. The coup is lead by his cousin, Mohammed Daoud Khan, who then becomes the ruler and self proclaimed "first president of Afghanistan" after abolishing he monarchy. This night is actually described in the book as the day people were only "hunting ducks" in Kabul. It is also referenced to be the beginning of the end of the Amir and Baba's old way of life. After the coup d'etat life becomes more difficult for a few years, but nothing too drastic. We also do not get a good sense of the change of life because of how wealthy Baba is and how focused Amir is on his relationship to Hassan.

Khaled Hosseini then skips ahead from 1975 to 1981 when Amir and Baba are being smuggled in Pakistan. At this point two major changes have happened to Afghanistan. First there was the Saur Revolution, where communists came to power in Afghanistan and disposed of President Khan. Before this regime could gain any traction, protesters took to the streets in an uprising against the new communist rulers. Within months this turns into a full fledged civil war. Then in 1979 the USSR intervenes in support of the communist side. At this point many Afghans are fleeing into Pakistan to avoid the war. This is where we see Amir and Baba when they are being smuggled out of the country. At this point it is the end for the old ways of life that Amir and Baba used to have. They eventually move to the United States and Baba loses the country he loved and the community he had.

The People who Fly the Kites

Character development changes a good novel into a great one. Sure, someone can write an amazing plot that has the reader wanting to find out what happens next, but good character development also can drive the plot and gives the reader someone to root for and against. Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, is about a boy growing up in tumulous 1970’s Afghanistan when their monarchy fell to a coup d’etat. The book is driven by the characters, their development, and how they interact. Even though Hosseini introduces numerous characters in the first section only a handful are important.

First, there is the narrator, Amir, he is the son of a wealthy businessman. His only goal in life at the young age of eleven is to make his father proud of him. His father, Baba, is a large businessman who values physical strength and ability and financial worth more than anything else. To his dismay his son is a bookworm who is unathletic and squeamish at the sight of blood. The only true bond that Amir has with his father is their shared interest in kite fighting, a traditional sport in Afghanistan. Baba is not even proud of Amir when he does well in kite fighting if he does not win the overall tournament. The desire for his father to be proud of him affects Amir so much that he changes his goals and ambitions to be the son his father wanted.

The next most important characters are Amir and Baba’s servants, Ali and Hassan. Ali is an old, crippled man who was taken in by Baba’s family when he was younger. Even with all his struggles Ali is still very devout. Ali’s son, Hassan, is a boy around the same age as Amir and is also a servant to Baba’s household. Hassan is very loyal, kind, and thoughtful. Since he is a servant Hassan does not go to school, but instead relies on Amir to read him stories. Hassan is also more athletic and seemingly gets more attention from Baba because of his abilities. Hassan and Ali are also Hazara whereas Amir and Baba are Pashtun. The Pashtun have always been in power in Afghanistan and the Hazara have been discriminated against.

The best part about these characters is contrasting them. Hassan and Amir are foils of each other. Hassan is the kind yet poor kid in the unfortunate situation of being a servant, and worse than that a servant that is also discriminated against because of his religion. He puts that all behind to be a great friend to Amir and would do anything for him, an example being when after Amir won the kite fighting tournament Hassan ran to get the kite whose string was just cut and did everything to get it and then give it to Amir. Amir is wealthy and smart, but he does not treat Hassan very well. He teases him by making fun of the fact that he does not know long words, even though it is out of Hassan’s control. Amir will also not refer to Hassan as a friend in public even with them spending a great amount of time together. Hassan and Amir’s relationships with their fathers is also comparable. Even in Hassan and Ali’s poor conditions they still have a good relationship, while Amir and Baba are powerful and have lots of money, but cannot form a good relationship.

So far in this novel I have enjoyed the characters and their development. The main characters are dynamic and has multiple roles in the story. Amir is caught in his internal struggles while Hassan and Ali face the issues being a minority. That being said I am sure dynamics will change as the novel progresses through the fall of the monarchy in Afghanistan.