The+Kite+Runner

Punam Dhaliwal EN 3051 Alyson van Beinum 15 November 2010

Novel Study – //The Kite Runner// Khaled Hosseini’s //The Kite Runner// (2003) explores the personal, cultural and political tension in Afghanistan through the many relationships present in this novel. It tells the story of two young boys, Amir and Hassan, and their friendship. While Amir is the son of a wealthy Pashtun, Hassan is a Hazara, the son of the servant of the household. Amir has a strained relationship with Baba, his father, who he believes blames him for his mother’s death. Rahim Khan, Baba’s friend, better understands Amir and encourages his writing. The novel follows Amir’s betrayal of Hassan and his subsequent move to California with his father after the Soviet invasion. He later finds out from Rahim Khan, “There is a way to be good again,” and returns to Taliban controlled Afghanistan to rescue Hassan’s young son.


 * Pashtun**: An Eastern-Iranian ethno-linguistic group characterized by their use of the Pashto language and practice of Pashtunwali, a traditional code of conduct and honour. The code highlights principles of hospitality, justice and emphasizes the importance of protecting the Pashtun culture and race. Most Pashtuns are Sunni Muslims and are the primary ethnic group that comprises the Taliban.


 * Hazara**: A Persian-speaking people who are predominantly Shi’a Muslim. The fact that they belong to a different denomination of Islam is one of the reasons they have been persecuted by the ruling Pashtun class of Afghanistan. Hazaras united with the Northern Alliance against the common enemy of the Taliban.



Khaled Hosseini, the author of //The Kite Runner//, was practicing medicine when he first began writing the novel and is currently a Goodwill Envoy for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. He is originally from Afghanistan, and his father is a diplomat. His family was granted political asylum in the United States in 1980 after the communist coup and Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.
 * Brief Author Biography: **

In reading this text, students will explore the meanings and values attached to “childhood” in a postcolonial context. Questions of the child as a figure of innocence and vulnerability and as an autobiographical or biographical subject will be explored. I am able to identify with some aspects of the cultural contexts of this novel, being of South Asian descent. It would be easy for both myself and students to assume that my upbringing as the child of immigrant parents mirrors the immigrant experience of Amir and Baba, but it is important to understand and appreciate the characters in the literary framework in which they are presented. Children who have immigrated to Canada from various parts of the world, as well as children of immigrant parents, have the opportunity to relate to the characters of this novel.

Having previously taught this novel in a senior level university class, I am aware of student reaction to the controversial topics Hosseini tackles. Some of the cultural norms presented in this novel can be shocking and upsetting, but my aim is for students to first understand Afghan culture and society so that they can apply this insight to their reading of the novel. Furthermore, Afghanistan is presented as something completely “other” in the media, and reading a novel like this is important for students because it humanizes the country and its people. Having the experience of knowing what will and will not work, I have also been introduced to secondary material related to the novel that has further heightened my awareness of the complexity of this text. However, the primary reason why this novel should be studied in Canadian high schools is because it deviates from the norm of reading white authors who write about white characters. Students are exposed to characters from a different country and culture, and have the opportunity to explore the traditions, conflicts and societal norms they must grapple with.

** A). //In what grade level / course would you teach this text? Are there other courses for which it might also be appropriate?// **

//The Kite Runner// is appropriate for a senior level university preparation English class, such as ENG4U/4C and ETS4U/4C. Although the language is not overly complex, there is graphic content in the novel.

Sections of this novel can be used in a World Issues and history class because of the historical setting (the fall of the monarchy in Afghanistan, the Soviet invasion of the country, and the rise of the Taliban). It can also be used in various other senior level social science courses because of its discussion of topics such as family relationships and cultural practices.

Other books that can be studied alongside it are classics such as John Knowles’s //A Separate Peace// (1959) and Mark Twain’s //The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn// (1884) for their obvious discussion of the friendship between two unlikely friends. Whereas Knowles’s book concludes in tragedy, Twain presents a rather optimistic ending. John Boyne’s //The Boy in the Striped Pajamas// (2006) and //The Namesake// (2003) by Jhumpa Lahiri are two examples of modern literature that can be used alongside Hosseini’s novel. Boyne’s novel is told from the point of view of a nine-year son of a Nazi official who befriends a young Jewish boy interned at Auschwitz. Lahiri’s novel recounts the immigrant experience of the Ganguli family who settle in Massachusetts after arriving from Calcutta, India. It focuses on the social, religious, and ideological differences between the two cultures, and what this means for the young protagonist of the novel.

Sections of Dominck LaCapra’s //Writing History, Writing Trauma// (2001) also provides relevant reading material, particularly the first chapter which provides an overview of the approaches to historiography used in literature. The ethnic conflict of this novel can be discussed in tandem with Romeo Dallaire’s //Shake Hands with the Devil// (2003), which discusses the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, propogated by the ethnic conflict between the Tutsi and Hutu peoples.



** B). //What are the main ideas/ issues/ teaching points which you would emphasize when teaching the text? (Consider the knowledge possibilities: Social, topic, cultural, textual.)// **

In teaching this text, cultural and social topics will be of relevant discussion. Students will be exposed to a culture which they may know very little about and therefore it is important for them to understand the meaning of the cultural practices the novel represents.


 * SOCIAL KNOWLEDGE:**

__Socioeconomic status – class differences__

Amir, the son of a wealthy Pashtun, goes to school and is highly literate, whereas Hassan has to stay at home and help his father.

__Ethnic Identity__

The Pashtuns are an Eastern-Iranian ethno-linguistic group in Afghanistan. There is a belief that Pashtuns are the descendant of Qais Abdur Rashid, the mythical ancestor of the Afghan race, who is belived to have met the Prophet Muhammad and returned to the Afghanistan-Pakistan area as a Muslim. Pashtuns speak Pashto and follow the Pashtunwali Code which highlights concepts such as hospitality, family, and brotherhood. Most Pashtuns are Sunni Muslims, and are known for being the primary ethnic group that comprises the Taliban. The Hazaras are a Persian speaking people mainly concentrated in Hazarajat. Hazaras are predominantly Shia Muslims. When a Pashtun ruler assumed control Hazarajat in the nineteenth century, the Hazaras faced extreme oppression and forced displacement. In the twentieth century, the new successor granted amnesty to the Hazaras, but they continued to face social, economic and political discrimination. It is interesting that when Amir returns to Afghanistan, he has to wear a fake beard and turban to assert his cultural identity. Through this Hosseini calls attention to the formation of cultural identity. Amir also makes the comment that he feels like a tourist in his own country, to which his driver, Farid, responds that he was always a tourist. Thus, Amir’s identity as an Afghan is questioned because as a wealthy Pashtun he was privy to a different Afghanistan than the driver or Hassan. Hassan’s identity is made more complex because he is also the son a wealthy Pashtun, but is raised instead as a poor Hazara. The ethnic conflict is discussed by the author in a video entitled //Letters from Readers// available on his personal website.

__Social Justice/Human Rights__

Hazarajat fell to the Taliban in 1998, who carried out large ethnic massacres. The Taliban made the following statement about the Hazaras that year: “Hazaras are not Muslim, they are Shi’a. They are kafir [infidels]. The Hazaras killed our force here, and now we have to kill Hazaras... If you do not show your loyalty, we will burn your houses, and we will kill you. You either accept to be Muslims or leave Afghanistan... wherever you go we will catch you. If you go up, we will pull you down by your feet; if you hide below, we will pull you up by your hair” (//Human Rights Watch)//.

__Family units and relationships__


 * TOPIC KNOWLEDGE:**

__Father-Son Relationship__ Amir and his father have a complex relationship, not only because Amir thinks his father blames him for his mother’s death, but because Amir is constantly striving to please his father. His father does not show him much affection, and it is this desire to please that shapes the horrific incident that takes place within the first one hundred pages of the novel. However, the father is presented as a benevolent figure who cares for the poor and unfortunate. At one point Amir remarks he is jealous of the orphans his father built an orphanage for. Baba remains above all else, a father, as demonstrated by the fact that his name is never revealed. For Amir, and within the context of this novel, he is a father and for Hassan and Ali, he is //Agha Sahib//, but even this title is only in use during the beginning of the novel.

__Home__ The idea of home and belonging is prevalent in //The Kite Runner//. Amir leaves Afghanistan for America and returns to find that it no longer resembles the Afghanistan he grew up in. Amir remarks that the Afghanistan is forever linked in his mind with the image of the young boy with a China-doll face perpetually lit by a hare lipped smile. When he does return to his birth country, he is troubled by the changes and Farid’s comment that he was always a tourist in the country.

__Friendship__ Hassan remain a loyal servant and devoted friend, roles or positions that are not separate but instead connected. From the very beginning Hassan is presented as a figure completely devoted to Amir, who says, “Hassan never denied me anything” (4). Amir also notes that Hassan always takes the blame, and immediately their relationship is characterized as one where Hassan gives and Amir takes. Although initially Hassan is introduced as Amir’s friend, his position as a servant is later acknowledged, and the ethnic difference between the two boys is brought up by a remark from a passerby.

__Silence__ It is important to note that the reader never receives Hassan’s thoughts or feelings of what happened to him or his experience of the rape; rather, it is related by Amir and the novel is largely concerned with how Amir reacts to the rape and what he must do to overcome his guilt. Hassan’s silence can be linked to his minority position as a Hazara. Unlike Amir, he does not go to school and instead helps his father. Within the society he grows up, Hassan has no voice, being a member of a marginalized and oppressed group. However, this is not to suggest Hassan is completely silenced within the narrative, because he is not; instead, the moments he does speak up are in defense of Amir. In the beginning of the novel, Hassan assumes the blame for firing slingshots at the dog even though it is Amir who comes up with the idea (4). Later, Hassan does not allow Assef to take the blue kite, because he says it belongs to Amir. Even in his final moments, Hassan stands up to the Taliban for the sake of Baba and Amir and their home (231). Thus, the question is not whether or not Hassan has a voice, but rather it is important to examine the moments when he does speak up. Hassan does not speak up to defend himself or explain to Baba that he did not steal Amir’s watch; he offers himself as a sacrifice for Amir.

__Historical__

Timeline of Events in Recent Afghan History:


 * 1973**: Mohammad Daoud Khan, cousin of King Zahir Shah, overthrows monarchy and becomes first President of Afghanistan by establish Daoud’s Republic of Afghanistan.
 * 1978**: Daoud Khan is assassinated by the Marxist People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan, with help from the Afghan army. This event has come to be known as the Saur Revolution. PDPA establishes Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA).
 * 1979**: Initial Soviet deployment, which eventually led to Soviet occupation by the end of the year
 * 1980-1985**: Combat between the Soviets and DRA forces and the mujahideen (persons involved in a jihad), financed by US, UK, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, China and Iran.
 * April, 1985-January, 1987**: Soviet exit strategy – Soviet troops transferred burden of fighting the mujahideen to the Afghan army
 * January, 1987-February, 1989**: Soviet withdrawal – Soviet troops did not engage in much offensive operations, instead relying of defense techniques against the mujahideen. First half of Soviet contingent withdrawn from May-August, 1988 and second half withdrawn from November, 1988-February, 1989, negotiating a ceasefire with mujahideen. Remaining Soviet troops leave on February 15, 1989.
 * 1989-1992**: Civil war between DAR forces and the mujahideen continues.
 * 1992-1996**: Democratic Republic of Afghanistan falls and mujahideen forces capture Kabul, which results in a four year period where different factions of the mujahideen turning on one another.
 * 1996-2001**: The Taliban, a predominantly Pashtun Islamic terrorist movement, seize control of Kabul. The United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan, also known as the Northern Alliance, is formed, uniting various Afghan groups fighting against each other to fight the shared enemy of Taliban instead.
 * October, 2001**: War in Afghanistan begins, a US military operation in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

__Geographical__ Google Lit Trips: Allows students to understand the geography of Afghanistan using Google Earth: []


 * CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE:**

__Afghanistan__ An examination of Pashtunwali Code Afghan cuisine Muslim holidays/celebrations Comparison with American/Canadian traditions


 * TEXTUAL KNOWLEDGE:**

__Narrative Structure__ 1st person point of view Framed in the present with flashbacks Bildingsroman Use of Pashto terms

** C). //What are the issues/challenges you might encounter in teaching the text?// **

There are several controversies regarding this text because of its stereotypically malicious portrayal of the Taliban. The main antagonist, Assef, is a sadomasochist pedophile who is heavily influenced by Nazism, and as a child gifted Adolf Hitler’s //Mein Kampf// to Amir on his birthday. This representation enforces Western notions of a group of people, and can be seen as a form of discrimination. Furthermore, there is a lack of strong female voices in this text, and some female students may find it difficult to engage with the text. Students may also bring in their own preconceived notions of Afghanistan and its people, and therefore it will be essential to help students move past these stereotypes. The proposed assignments will create a better context for the novel. The rape of Hassan will be difficult to understand and discuss, and requires a high level of maturity. Students will undoubtedly have questions about this scene, but may not be willing to voice these questions. Therefore, the onus is on the teacher to discuss this scene with careful consideration of what this image will arouse in the minds of the students. The young age of the boys will also be disturbing, and it is important for the teacher to handle the topic with care and sensitivity.



** D). //Describe one possible assignment / activity which you could use when teaching the text. How does it connect to the curriculum expectations of the course you are teaching?// ** Before beginning to read the novel, I would start by viewing Anwar Hajher’s //16 Days in Afghanistan//, a short documentary on Hajher’s return to his homeland after the fall of the Taliban. This will allow the students a visual representation of modern Afghanistan, with an introduction to Afghani cuisine and culture, and interviews with various Afghanis from different occupations (doctor, labourers, street photographer, and army colonel).

While reading the novel, students are encouraged to compile a vocabulary list, as they will encounter many new words from the Indo-Aryan languages of Pashto and Punjabi such as //naan//, //tandoor//, and //kameez//. This assignment aligns with the Reading and Literature Studies stream: Reading with fluency (3.1-3.3).

One possible assignment is to watch the movie version in conjunction with a stage adaptation of the novel. It has been adapted for the stage throughout California and Midwestern states, and it may be possible to obtain/purchase materials from the various playhouses, perhaps even a video recording of a performance. These materials would then be used to help students build an understanding of how novels are adapted for the screen and the stage and the different processes involved. They will be exposed to film techniques (lighting, angles), props, and script development. Students would then have the opportunity to form small groups and select a scene from the novel to either perform live for the class, or produce a video recording. This assignment aligns with all of the strands in the Media Studies stream.

Students can also be asked to write a short reflection paper on a further exploration of one specific element of the text and how it is presented in the novel in comparison with the film. For example, they may choose to explore why a certain scene is omitted from the film and its implication, or how a certain scene is staged. This assignment aligns with the Writing stream: Developing and organizing content (1.1-1.5); Using knowledge of form and style (2.1-2.5); and Applying knowledge of conventions (3.1-3.7).

A summative assignment would require students to choose a social, cultural, topic or textual teaching point and lead a 20-30 minute presentation on how this knowledge is reflected in the novel. The teacher would provide a list of possible topics, or students can choose their own topic after clearing it with the teacher. In small groups of 4-5, students would then teach this material to the class, making use of visuals (photographs, videos) and produce a relevant handout for their peers. Students will self evaluate their contribution to the presentation, as well as conduct a peer evaluation of the work of their group members. This assignment aligns with Oral Communication stream: Speaking to communicate (2.1-2.7).

In reading the text, students will address the overall and specific expectations of Oral Communication, Reading and Literature Studies and Writing streams, and the adaptation assignment will address the overall and specific expectations of Media Studies. Students will interpret and analyze the text and address communications strategies in their seminar presentation.

Through my engagements within the academic stream, I have been made aware that this novel is increasingly studied in senior level English courses, and students are eager to discuss various aspects of the text. The level of enthusiasm with which students approach this text is highly encouraging, indicating students appreciate reading literature set in geographical areas other than the West and learning about different cultures and societies. It is important for educators to address the various social and cultural topics inherent in this novel rather than simply using it as a token text.