Carry It Forward: The Kite Runner

"Just because something is hard, doesn't mean you shouldn't try; It just means you should try harder."
-Unknown

While reading The Kite Runner, a I noticed a constant theme about irony and curiosity. Through Hassan's actions, I learned about not giving up and working hard, which is a theme I will carry forward. Hassan is illiterate but he constantly shows a growing interest in Amir's stories. He continuously asks questions and tries to comprehend new words in order to expand his vocabulary. Hassan doesn't give up on the stories just because he might not know a word, in fact, that pushes him and gives him the drive to learn what it means. For example, on page 28, it says, "But despite his illiteracy, or maybe because of it, Hassan was drawn to the mystery of words, seduced by a secret world forbidden to him." This shows that Hassan wanted to better himself by learning more and becoming a more knowledgeable being. Later in the passage, it explains how Hassan was able to solve the riddles more quickly than Amir. This shows that even if you have everything handed to you, you might not be right. Hassan wants to learn because he is so curious to see what he is missing out on. He makes a conscious effort to learn, whereas Amir just tries to trick Hassan. Amir isn't working hard to learn, he just wants to make Hassan feel inferior.

This is also shown through irony. Hassan's curiosity after reading Amir's story. On page 34, it says, "It appeared that on the same night I had learned about one of writing's objectives, irony, I would also be introduced to one of its pitfalls: the Plot Hole. Taught by Hassan, of all people....illiterate Hazara?" His innocence and curiosity allowed him to teach Amir something important every writer should know, even though Amir thought Hassan was being rude since he learned something from an uneducated servant. If Amir doesn't learn these skills and try to improve his writing, he can't get better, and that's because he isn't working towards it. Through curiosity, Hassan wanted to learn more. He worked hard to learn more, which I think is definitely an important topic to carry forward. By working hard, you can improve your skills and get new talents. This can allow you to become better at things you want to improve in. If Hassan gave up on stories because he couldn't read, he would lose his creativity and problem-solving skills. But because his curiosity allowed him to want to know more, he learned more words and life lessons through the tales. This shows the benefits of working hard, because if you give up, you can never become better. If you constantly work hard and put in effort, you will have a better shot at achieving your goals and will learn more through your experiences, even if you aren't successful every time.