Preview

Examples Of Discrimination In The Kite Runner

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
707 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Examples Of Discrimination In The Kite Runner
Discrimination has been presented throughout cultures ever since the beginning of time, and thousands of years later it is still existent throughout the world. Discrimination is the practice of treating people poorly depending on who they are. A place where discrimination has existed to this day would be Afghanistan, and the book, The Kite Runner, does a great job showing the reader how discrimination has stayed in the Afghan culture through the years. The book is about an Afghani kid named Amir, who lives with his disapproving and rich father, Baba, who is well known in the Afghani community. With Baba’s wealth came the benefits of having a huge house along with Hazara servants. Baba treats the Hazaras respectively, but in the Afghani community, …show more content…
At a point when Assef is talking to Amir he talks about when he helped with a massacre of shooting on Hazaras describing “[how he] left the bodies in the streets, and if their families tried to sneak out to drag them back into their homes, we'd shoot them too. We left them in the streets for days. We left them for the dogs. Dog meat for dogs,” (Hosseini 277). Identically the metaphor is similar to the simile where the Hazaras are being compared to garbage, but this time, they were compared as if they were dog meat and were good for nothing else. This quote shows the brutality associated with being discriminated against. Not only were they shunned in society, but they were killed in brutal ways with no regard for their lives. The metaphor of comparing the Hazaras to dog meat shows how singled out they were in the Afghani …show more content…
One of Amir’s old Hazara servants wrote him a letter after he had left Afghanistan, explaining how “kindness is gone from the land and you cannot escape the killings,” and then he goes on to describe a story of how a woman was struck by a man “so hard she fell down. He [then screamed] at her and [cursed] and saying the Ministry of Vice and Virtue does not allow women to speak loudly. She had a large purple bruise on her leg” in the end (Hosseini 216). This manner shows how women are not even allowed to speak and the way the author described it you can almost hear the man shouting at the women beating her with her responding with curses. In The Kite Runner, the author uses unique imagery to show how women are shown to be inferior.

Furthermore, The Kite Runner the author uses similes, metaphors, and imagery to portray how Women and Hazaras are discriminated against in the Afghan community. These examples of figurative language show the reader that in the Afghan community people are not treated equally and some are seen as inferior. The discrimination of these groups of people is still sadly being treated the same to this day in the country

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Discrimination is like looking at a box of crayons and not seeing all of the colours, this is a huge problem today. In the novel, “The Wednesday Wars” by Gary D. Schmidt the Vietnamese refugee, Mai Thi, gets discriminated by the students and teachers of Camillo Junior High in almost everything she does. Mrs. Bigio, one of the teachers at the school, changed her relationship towards Mia Thi from ignorance, to a delighted friendship. I think that Mrs. Bigio changed her attitude towards Mia Thi because she witnessed the students bullying Mia Thi in the halls and realized how cruel it is not to treat her equal to everyone else. The fact that the children in the book were so disrespectful and mean in their actions towards Mia Thi, just shows you…

    • 205 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, characters resist the status quo many of their family and friends believe in to take a stand against racial injustice. For example, Atticus takes the case to defend Tom against his family’s wishes, because if he didn't, “.... [he] couldn't hold [his] head up in town, [he] couldn't represent this county in the legislature..” (100). Scout was asking Atticus why he would defend Negroes if he wasn't supposed to, and Atticus told Scout he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't accept the case.…

    • 353 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The political discourse and historical tragedies that affect a country can cause turmoil in the lives of the citizens that reside there. The people of Afghanistan have been forced to cope with the chaos of their country which has left them traumatized and inconvenienced. In the novel, The Kite Runner, each character has their lives drastically changed as the events of Afghanistan's past world issues create hardship, grief, and difference for the lives of Amir, Sohrab and Farid.…

    • 1544 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Set throughout the time of Afghanistan’s feud with Russia and also the control of the Taliban cluster, Khaled Hosseini's novel The Kite Runner takes US through the excruciating journey that emeer (The main character) should endure to achieve redemption for his sins still as his father’s love. Hosseini shows US the death of a child's innocence once emeer horrifically witnesses his supporter, Hassan, obtaining raped and will nothing to prevent it, each attributable to the very fact of their social variations and also the ‘reward’ that emeer would gain if he let it pass. This death of emeer's innocence propels the story forward by pushing Amir to come back to extreme measures so as to disembarrass himself of the…

    • 182 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rarely has a book left me speechless like The Kite Runner has. It was so beautifully haunting that I simply could not tear my eyes away from reading it. The portrayal of the characters emotions were so raw, that it left me in tears or crying in denial. Nonetheless Hosseini has published Kite Runner as his first book, which I find immensely awe worthy. To deliver a masterpiece that leaves its readers too stupefied to not deliberate in life is what amazes me about kite runner. Furthermore, the book has provided such realistic insight on the political upheaval that has occurred in Afghanistan. Within its 371 pages it has provided me a peak into the different ethnic groups and its social hierarchy. Not only does The Kite Runner emanate a wonderfully crafted story it also educates its readers with each turn of a page. Despite having a rather heated political situation circulating around the world presently, I still believe that people should read it. With so many misconceptions regarding Muslim nations floating around and eventually being seen as the truth, a read like this properly clarifies the gray…

    • 953 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When the average person thinks of Afghanistan, thoughts of war, danger, and suffering might arise. Through reading The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, one can look at another side of Afghanistan. The real Afghan culture shows pride in tradition, heritage, and…

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pashtuns and Hazaras are two different ethnic groups that play significant roles by how individuals behave or think throughout the text. "'Afghanistan is the land of Pashtuns. It always has been, always will be. We are the true Afghans, the pure Afghans, not this Flat-Nose here'"(69). This quote is an example of how Assef, a Pashtun, thinks that he his more superior than another person just because of their ethnicity. Additionally, this quote is foreshadowing how Assef is going to behave later on and explains his actions."'The Talibs said he was a liar and a thief like all Hazaras and ordered him to get his family out of the house by sundown'"(304). Even though the Talibs are not an individual, this quote is proof that ethnicity plays a major role in the book because of how the Talibs treated another person with a different ethnic background. The Talibs stereotyped all Hazaras as liars and thieves, even though that is not true. Therefore these two quotes showcase how people are influenced to act,…

    • 568 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kite Runner Themes

    • 2157 Words
    • 9 Pages

    The Kite Runner is an Afghan American fiction novel written by Khaled Hosseini. In the text the story of a man, named Amir’s, past is told. In continuation, a reader of the novel may get the impression, at the beginning of the book, that Amir is just an ungrateful child that receives everything he wants, but in reality that is not the case. Throughout his journey he dealt with various hardships that inflicted drastic alterations on it. As readers explore a journey down memory lane with Amir, a magnitude of themes is presented through the challenges that Amir faces. Ultimately, the trials and tribulation that people face help mold them into who they are.…

    • 2157 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Discrimination in our world is a common thing. It comes in all types of forms from the way we look, what religion you practice or the color or your skin. Throughout history this shows to be true with the Jews during WWII all the way to the African Americans in South Africa. Discrimination is a horrible event that has caused pain and suffering to even good people just based on the different ways people do things and the way some look.…

    • 727 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The novel `The Kite Runner’ by Khaled Hosseini explores and involves many themes. One of the key themes in this novel is that of Cruelty and Violence. An obvious element within this theme is how Hosseini addresses and explains the horrendous invasion that evolves Afghanistan. It becomes a place where joy cannot be experienced separately from pain and fear.…

    • 1285 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee focuses more on the aspect of racial discrimination rather than “poor white trash” discrimination (Hovet 187). It is so conspicuous that a man loses his life because of it. While the discrimination is more prominent regarding race, the Finch family is also greatly discriminated against throughout the novel. Racism is very prominent in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, as evidenced when Tom Robinson, a black man, is accused of raping a white woman in the 1930s South; because of his innocence and untimely death, all lives in the novel will be changed forever, including Atticus Finch.…

    • 1838 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    American women's lives are nothing compared to the lives of women in Afghanistan. The Taliban has limited the rights of women in the societies where they have taken over, including Afghanistan. The women are not respected nor treated equally because of the Taliban laws. The Taliban restrictions and mistreatments of women include: whipping, beating, outlawing education for women, sexually assaulting women and verbal abuse of women. In Khaled Hosseini's novel, The Kite Runner, the rights of women are affected by men having the cultural dominance over women, society rules, and lifestyle.…

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Kite Runner Essay

    • 899 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the Kite Runner discrimination in Afghanistan is demonstrated by the relationship between the Pashutns and Hazaras. The Hazaras were often demeaned and persecuted (www.Sparknotes.com). Baba, however, taught his family to be kind to the Hazaras. Baba learned this from his father, who was a highly regarded judge in Kabul (Hosseini 24). The story describes a day when the grandfather sentenced two young Pashtun men into the military for killing almost an entire Hazaran family. The grandfather was very dismayed that the five year old boy who survived the incident would be left an orphan. Amir remembered “As for the orphan, my grandfather adopted him into his own household, and told the other servants to tutor him, but to be kind to him” (Hosseini 24-25). The young survivor was named Ali. Quite a few years later, Baba took in Ali’s son Hassan to be a servant for his son Amir. While Baba’s house was a fair and kind place to live there was still a social barrier (www.Sparknotes.com). For example even though Baba called Ali his “family”, Ali still lived in a hut and slept on the floor (www.shmoop.com). Although Hassan was believed to be Ali’s son he was actually Baba’s out of wedlock son (Hosseini 224-225). Baba and Ali never told Amir or Hassan that they were brothers because it was shameful…

    • 899 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Discrimination can lead to death. In the novel The Kite Runner a man named Hassan was murdered in the middle of the street, along with his wife for being Hazara. The Taliban’s murdered Hassan because they thought he was a squatter living in Amir’s house. He told him he was their servant and was taking care of the house while they were gone. As Rahim Khan is telling the story of Hassan to Amir he explains that “The Taliban’s said he was a liar and a thief like all the Hazara’s and ordered him to get his family out of the house by sundown” (Hosseini, 230). Rahim Khan is implying that Hassan didn’t do anything wrong, he was just looking after the house for a friend. The Taliban’s think the Hazara people are liars and thieves so they didn’t believe him. When they told him to get himself and his family out by sundown he argued with them, they shot him in the middle of the street while people were watching. His wife, witnessing what happened, ran out into the street and the Taliban’s shot her to. Both dead, leaving their son to be sent to an orphanage. Hassan shouldn’t have been murdered for such a senseless thing like that; he was treated like trash just for…

    • 1456 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Kite Runner

    • 1524 Words
    • 7 Pages

    This essay will discuss the central themes of the book The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. Because the story is told at a time before the War on Terror, it brings the reader back to an Afghanistan the average American never knew existed and presents the current socio-economic reality of a United States one may choose to ignore. The description of Afghanistan before its many "occupations" is a tragedy in itself. The Author portrays a country on the cusp of greatness, which of course makes the inevitable future occupations all the more tragic. When Amir returns to Afghanistan after nearly twenty years, his shock is palpable. He has come back to an entirely different country, and only fragments remain from his past.…

    • 1524 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays