Sunday, September 20, 2009

Best of Week: The Kite Runner 9/14-9/18

Culture in The Kite Runner
In my opinion, one of the most important things we talked about this week is about the culture that is shown in the book. For example on page 38 it says, "Years later, I learned an English word for the creature that Assef was, a word for which a good Farsi equivalent does not exist: 'sociopath.'" I believe this quote tells a lot about the culture, by showing that there isn't an equivalent and that such a thing doesn't exist in their culture. Does this mean that such a drastic condition for a person doesn't exist? Is Amir over-emphasizing the use of the word sociopath? This also shows the power of words, which relates to my last post about Hassan learning new words and working hard to better understand the culture through reading.

Another instance when culture plays a large role is when General Taheri throws out Amir's story. It's important that Amir didn't say anything or pick up the story in his presence because in this culture, more so than others, respecting elders is so important, and Amir realized it was important to respect Soraya's dad. If he didn't then he probably wouldn't have gotten Soraya's hand in marriage when he asked for it from the General. This also demonstrates the connection between micro and macro, because it shows how Hosseini put these micro characters into the macro-ness of the world if you will, and then moved them to a new setting. Yet, the macro-ness of their culture affected their lives so much, that they integrated it into their new surroundings. Although it may have be a micro part compared to the larger surroundings and American culture they were surrounded by, it was a large part of their daily life, which shows how culture was practiced, especially when they live in an Afghan community in America.

Finally, culture is shown as a struggle throughout the novel in Hassan and Amir's friendship. There is such a large gap between Hazaras and Pashtuns that Amir can't make up his mind whether or not they are friends. It shows that there is a large cultural division between the two groups and how that plays into their daily lives. It shows how the two groups cannot quite be seen in public, which Assef makes very clear. Culture therefore, plays an important role throughout The Kite Runner in various ways.

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