30th April 2018

essay

In the novel the Kite runner written by Afghan- American author Khaled Hosseini, the main character we get to meet is Amir. the story set in Kabul, Afghanistan back in 1975 before the Russian invasion. the story point of view is taken from 1st person narrated by Amir who showed us how to live his life and the struggle he went through as a child, sharing his own story following along we get to really understand the different perspective of how the other half of the world lived and still lives today. Because this story is told from the first point of view what better way to see the foreshadowing of the emotional connections of guilt and jealousy than to have the person who feels the guilt speak. Throughout the novel we see a variety of word choices to remind us of the perspective the story is being told in, putting us under heavy influence of the different culture Amir had been brought up under. The author’s purpose in the book is to show his perspective

‘I became who I am today at the age of 12″ is the quote that opens up the novel of the kite runner it begins with the scene of Amir introducing himself who is also known as the narrator of the novel. Amir was borne in Kabul, Afghanistan where he spent most of his childhood playing with his best friend Hassan. Amir was the son of a very wealthy man so he got privileges that the other kids around him were unable to experience. The story takes place in Kabul, Afghanistan then changes to California, the United States from 1975 through to 2001. Khaled Hosseini the author of the book uses the setting to help the readers understand where he was brought up, the setting shows us as readers were the point of view comes from. The author implies this idea of “finally putting a human face to the Afghans” the narrator does by drawing string differences between the privileged Pushtun class which Amir was born into. The novel was first set in Kabul in 1975 this little town was lit up with people bustling through streets on horses and cars, with people filling up shops out onto the street. Amires home is in the ‘wealthy’ part of town where the houses are surrounded by large gates and beautiful gardens showing a place of luxury and safety here. The perspective of Amir and his father show is through their lifestyle of where they live, with the diversity separating the wealthy living from the poor showing no matter where you are in the world there will be segregation. At the start of the novel, Amir quotes “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 realise I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years.” this quote presents us with the perspective that Amir looks through, he is assuring that the past always resurfaced like everything you try to bury “claws” its way back. Amir had tried to leave his past behind but everything seems to be bringing him back to his past. The different languages we have exposed to shows the raw culture where Amire was brought up, referring back to the Afghan culture.

The setting in America changes the point of view in the novel as Amir and Baba sneak across the border and catch a flight to America where the rest of Amir’s childhood and adult life takes part. The scene now takes place in Fremont, California. This setting in many ways is a place of unfamiliar foreigners. Amir and his father are forced to start over, on Amir and Baba’s arrival to America it was a rather large shock to their system and their all their values had just become translucent, people would just look straight through them. Coming from a town where they could make money easy and were both living a wealthy life they now had been pushed down to the bottom of the class. Baba now had to fun a flea market booth to make money, he was no longer a wealthy man. Over time of working here, Amir slowly adjusts to the American lifestyle and loses his character and traits that connect him back to his birth country Afghanistan. During their stay in America Amir quotes ” for me America was a place to bury my memories. for Baba a place to mourn his.” Amir shares this journey as something to heal the past, he has had bad memories back in Afghanistan and tries to forget them while moving to the states. The setting is a big change coming from his hometown but easier for the readers to understand as we can relate back to the American lifestyle more than the Afghanistan lifestyle.

Hassoni uses foreshadowing on the first page of the novel as he quotes “I became what I am today at the age of 12, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975.” This type of foreshadowing is used as a flashback, the top of the chapter is headed with December 2001 so we know this chapter will have a flashback to amirs past. Chapter one foreshadows the whole entire novel as an Amire sets up the novel with little hints that are then later followed through within the chapter. At the start of the chapter we are given all these foreign names, Rahlm, Khan, Hassan, Baba, Ali, but who are these people? and how are they all connected? it is slightly overwhelming at the start of the novel having to overcome the different culture, language and names but then towards the end of the novel, it all starts to bind together.

Ever since the frigid winter day of 1975 in Afghanistan, amir had continued to remember the events that had occurred on that daunting day, and it continued to haunt him. Amir takes us on a crazy journey through his travels around the world trying to forget about his troubled past. Throughout the novel, he uses foreshadowing and his own point of view to help tell the story and show his experience of trying to find his own way in the world as he realises that his own belief system is not of his dominant culture. This novel shows the similarities as much as the differences between the two countries and the bold counter.

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