投稿類別：英文寫作類
篇名：
The Analysis of The Kite Runner and A Thousand
Splendid Suns
作者：
丁湘容。國立彰化女中。三年十三班
陳思慧。國立彰化女中。三年十三班
曾淳嘉。國立彰化女中。三年十三班
指導老師：
張玉娟老師
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The Analysis of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns
I.
Introduction
Hosseini dealt with the common elements in his two books, the cruelty of war,
struggles between human beings ; however, he put the hope in the book at the same
time. We would like to find out where the hopes led us to during the war and how
people survived under oppression and injustice in Afghan society.
II. Thesis
A. About the author
Hosseini was born in Afghanistan but he moved to Paris on account of the unstable
power which led to the bloody devastation to Afghanistan. Therefore, Hosseini didn’t
go through the dreadful war. After leaving Afghanistan, Hosseini led a smooth life.
Although the living environment was comfortable, he never forgot Afghanistan, the
only homeland to him. Hosseini described his childhood in Afghanistan as peaceful
and happy. He once got along with a Hazara person and taught him how to write and
read. The Hazaras1 was ever being persecuted in Afghanistan. As a result, this
personal experience inspires Hosseini to create these two books.
B. The summary of The Kite Runner
“For you a thousand times over.” Two pure souls met each other in the turmoil of war,
composing a touchable and impressive story about their brotherhood, just like a song
which has a deal of imperfect melodies, but it really comes out to be a song written by
a genius creator, which makes us attracted to it even cry for it.
The story got its start in Kabul in 1975. There is a master and Hazara servant’s
relationship between Amir and Hassan. They grew up together since they were born;
they were actually brothers from different mothers. Amir and Hassan always played
together. Sometimes they played cards, and sometimes they flew the kite or fought
against Assef, who always bullied lots of children living in Kabul. Also, Hassan loved
to listen to the story that was made up by Amir, and gave him some suggestions.
Every winter, districts in Kabul held a kite-fighting tournament. It was also the last
time Amir saw Hassan run a kite. In this tournament, when Hassan ran the last kite for
1
Since the beginnings of modern Afghanistan in the mid 18th century, Hazaras have faced
persecution from the Pashtuns and have been forced to flee from many parts of today's Afghanistan
to Hazarajat.
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The Analysis of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns
Amir, he did keep his promise, “For you a thousand times over.” Miserably, Hassan
was caught and raped by Assef. At the same time, Amir was standing close to the
mouth of the alley. Although Amir knew that it was the one last chance to make a
decision, and one final opportunity to decide who he was going to be. He could step
into the ally, stand up for Hassan—the way Hassan had stood up for him all those
times in the past. But finally, Amir chose to run away. He thought to himself,
“Nothing was free in this world. Hassan was the price he should pay like the lamb he
had to slay, to win his father by that blue kite.” After several days, Ali, who served
Amir’s father, knew what had happened and decided to move to Hazarajat. In 1980s,
Amir and his father moved to America because of the war.
There, Amir and his father struggled for life. They ran a stand in a flea market every
Sunday, and it was where Amir met his wife, Soraya. Before the wedding, Soraya
unveiled her secret to Amir, while Amir didn’t say anything, for he didn’t have
Soraya’s courage. One day, Amir visited the sick Rahim Khan, the business partner of
his father. He got the letter from Hassan, who had been dead for a period of time and
left a child. Due to the sense of regret, Amir decided to make up for Hassan by finding
his child.
Despite all the difficulties, he finally brought Sorahb, Hassan’s son, back to the USA.
The obstacles they encountered even once made Sorahb commit suicide. After that,
Sorahb became silent, didn’t want to say anything. On a rainy day, Amir, Soraya and
Sorahb went out and saw a few kites flying in the sky. Amir also bought a kite and
joined those kites. In Sorahb’s eyes, Amir could see his excitement that he hadn’t seen
for a long time. Seeing the green kite near theirs, Amir asked if Sorahb wanted him to
run a kite for him. Sorahb nodded, lightly. And finally, Amir heard himself said, “For
you, a thousand times over.”
C. The Summary of A Thousand Splendid Suns
It seems that two parallel lines will never reach a point. But not everything is in stone.
Mariam and Lalia led their own life respectively. However, a sudden blow changed
their lives and this drastic turn tied their fates.
Mariam was born to a single family because of the different social status of her
mother and father, the servant and the master. Nana was Mariam’s mother, who
treated Mariam strictly. In contrast, Mariam’s father, Jalil, seemed to be a friendly
person and he read the story for Mariam. To Mariam, the most pleasant thing was to
stay with her father. Therefore, she put Nana’s ironic but melancholic alarm aside and
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The Analysis of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns
rushed into Jalil’s home. However, she only found the cruel truth that she was an
abandoned daughter and later her mother’s suicide paralyzed her. Nowhere to go, she
was forced to marry an unknown man, Rasheed.
Mariam was pregnant and Rasheed took good care of her. Mariam felt her life was
saturated with happiness and thought it was the end of misery. But, however, since she
lost her baby by accident, she simultaneously lost her right of happiness. What served
her were fist, punch and grouch. Rasheed scared Mariam with his shifting moods,
volatile temperament and extremely picky personality. Mariam was suffering again.
The other line, Lalia, kept writing her story of life. Lalia was an ordinary student. The
most important person to Lalia was Tariq. They kept each other company until the
army intruded the country. The people fled one after another; however, when Lalia
was about to leave, a bump fell down, taking her parents’ lives. In the accident, Lalia
became an orphan and was secured by Rasheed. Rasheed was tempted to marry Lalia
and Lalia agreed soon in that she had conceived Tariq’s baby.
Rasheed tried his best to ingratiate himself with Lalia because Lalia was expecting his
baby. On account of Rasheed’s preference to Lalia, Mariam was neglected more and
was hostile toward Lalia. After a period of time, the family has two new members,
Aziza amd Zalmai. The former wasn’t welcomed by Rasheed for she was a girl;
however, the latter was spoiled. Due to the domestic abuse toward Laila and Aziza,
Mariam offered help secretly. Since then, they relied on each other because of baby.
At length, Aziza was sent to the orphanage in Rasheed’s insistence. Lalia was
heartbroken again, but later she saw a glimpse of hope--- Tariq was back. Time could
change everything but their affection. But when Rasheed was told this affair, Lalia
was fed with the overwhelming fit and whip. As Rasheed was ready to end Lalia’s life
by gun, Mariam appeared, and did the decision for the first time, killing Rasheed.
After Rasheed’s death, Lalia escaped to another country with Tariq and kids. And
Mariam was sentenced to death with a tranquil and peaceful mind.
D. Tormenting War
Soviet War in Afghanistan
The background of two stories was Soviet War in Afghanistan. It started in December,
1979, and ended in February, 1987, which lasted for 10 years.
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The Analysis of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns
The chaos that struck them started from 1973, when the king, Zahir Shah, was away
in Italy. In his absence, his cousin Daoud Khan had ended the king’s forty-year reign
with a bloodless coup. In March, 1981, Amir and his father fled to America.
In Kabul, 「“The rafiqs2, the comrades, were everywhere and split Kabul into two
groups: those who eavesdropped and those who didn’t.” (p123) 」Everyone should
be careful when doing anything and couldn’t trust anyone. People tell on each other,
even in the private home, rafiqs teach children to spy on their parents.
Though the wars always bring something worst to people, the life still has to keep
going on. And sarcastically, the affections are proven to be the strongest and purest.
Take Laila and Mariam for example. Their encounter was not at their will at first. It
was the war that brought them together. In such a miserable environment, they learned
that they had to cooperate to survive the big era’s tragedy.
On the flip side in The Kite Runner, the war also let Amir have the chance to know
more about his father. They ran to America to avoid the war’s tortures. Also, Amir
found his father’s bravery and courage to stand up for strangers at risk of his own life.
It seems that the war puts a great deal of tests on people. However, it is the toughest
environment that can bring out the truest side of people, including the worst desire of
ambitious politician and the sincerity of being kind and helping others in the
difficulties. And it is the righteousness of roles in the both stories that composed such
touchable affections.
E. Haunting Discrimination
1. Ranking Discrimination
Nowadays, mankind can seal their fate by the effort they make. However, it was not
the case in that jittery Afghanistan. As soon as a new life came to the world, its
destiny was arranged. In The Kite Runner, we can see the obvious impact of the
inherited rank, such as the inborn unfairness, complicated love, and permanent wound
in heart.
Hassan and Amir were born in the same family. If Amir hadn’t perceived the
distinctions between them --- the servant and master, their brotherhood would have
lasted. Amir loved Hassan but the embarrassing relationship made him sometimes
2
The communist party.
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The Analysis of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns
doubt whether he could treat Hassan as a true friend. However, in some respect,
Hassan appeared to own more than Amir, which irritated Amir. If they had had the
same status, it would have been natural to Hassan to own so much. Hassan shared
more love, performed better in athlete than Amir, and, most important of all, he could
see through Ami’s vacant heart and pointed it out. Amir was jealous, ragged and
haunted by an inexplicable emotion.
Amir ever tested Hassan’s loyalty by asking him to eat dirt at his request. He accused
Hassan of stealing money. And finally, Hassan was kicked out of home because of
Amir’s complex emotion.
Ali, a servant with a crippled leg, served Amir’s father, who he called Baba. Baba and
Ali grew up together and Baba used to do tricks on Ali as well. Like Amir said, 「“in
none of his story did Baba ever refer to Ali as his friend.” (P. 29) 」Despite that,
Ali was willing to help Baba bear the biggest insult of man—being abandoned by
wife. Hence, all the teasing was turned toward Ali but not to Baba. At length, Ali left
house with Hassan and died in the war.
Amir and his father have one thing in common— they both turned their back to those
who sacrificed for them. The tragedy was caused by the ranking discrimination.
Another kind problem of servant and master can be seen in A Thousand Splendid Suns
as well. Because of the ranking discrimination, Nana and Jalil’s love was not accepted
by the society. It was the shame for a man that he had an affair with servant. Therefore,
the pregnant Nana was forced to relocate to a remote village. Few years later, Nana
committed suicide in that Mariam chose to stay with Jalil. In Nana’s case, not only the
status but the affection was unfair.
2. Racial Discrimination
「“I was a Pashtun and he was a Hazara, I was Sunni and he was Shi’a”(P.27)」
said Amir. Hassan was a Hazara, a race whose hometown is Hazarajat. It’s an isolated
place. Despite living in Hazarajat unwillingly, they have regarded Hazarajat as
Hazara’s important home until today. Hazara is a diligent race; they do what others
don’t want to do. They are dismissed by Pashtun especially, because they have many
features like Asian, such as flat-nose, thin-eyes and wide-cheek. Also, they were
classified as low class. Day by day, Hazara look down on themselves and regard it as
a truth.
Take Assef for instance. He hated Hazara very much. 「“Afghanistan is the land of
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Pashtuns. It always has been, always will be. We are the true Afghans, the pure
Afghans, not this Flat-Nose here. His people pollute our homeland, our water.
They dirty our blood.”(P.137)」 He pointed at Hassan. And just few days after he
said this, Assef raped Hassan when he wanted to protect Amir’s kite. He helped Amir
run the kite, and also chased it back, because he had said to Amir before, “For you a
thousand times over.” It’s a short sentence which means a lot in this book, including
the sacrifices Hassan has made several times and the royalty he wanted to get it
through to Amir.
It was the racial discrimination that caused all these problems. If it had not been the
racial discrimination, Amir’s father would have acknowledged Hassan as his legal son.
If it had not been the racial discrimination, Hassan wouldn’t have been raped by Assef
and then Amir wouldn’t have been trapped in the regret that he didn’t save Hassan.
Racial discrimination is always a problem that exists in our world. Though it may not
be so serious nowadays, there are still many examples. If one day human beings can
treat every race equally, the relationship among all people will surely become closer!
3. Sexual Discrimination
Afghan put much emphasis on female’s loyalty and purity. In The Kite Runner, it
mentioned how women were punished if they had the affair before marriage.
Hassan’s mother was a melancholic myth in this book. All the few descriptions,
nevertheless, all focused on her the bad images. Maybe Hassan’s mother wasn’t that
shameful. Her profile and fame were distorted by those authorized men.
Soraya fell victim to undeserved reputation as well. She ever eloped with her cousin
before meeting Amir. This mistake brought her endless sneers and mocks. 「“I make
one mistake and suddenly everyone is talking nang and namoos, and I have to
have my face rubbed in it for the rest of my life.” (P.193) 」But their stories were
not the worst. In Afghanistan, a woman’s loyalty was equal to her life. Thus, when a
woman betrayed her husband, it meant she was likely to be buried alive. This was the
most hopeless screaming voiced from a woman on the verge of death. 「“ It was a
cry of wild animal trying to pry its mangled leg free from the bear trap.” (P.291)」
A Thousand Splendid Suns is composed of two unprivileged women’s stories.
Consequently, we can see plenty of oppression to female through their interactions.
Take Mariam for example. Rasheed viewed her as a sexual tool. Her function was to
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conceive a “son.” As soon as Rasheed realized the fact that she was infertile, she was
abandoned immediately.
Another example was Lalia’s daughter, Aziza. Aziza and Zalmai were the siblings, but
it was she that was sent to orphanage. The phenomena pointed out the inferior status
of female and how valueless their lives were.
Nevertheless, afflicted by violent Rasheed, Mariam and Lalia reacted differently.
Mariam tried her best to please Rasheed even if she was out of favor. 「“She bought
makeup and put it on for him. But he winced with such distaste that she washed
it all off, tears of shame mixing with soapy water, rough and mascara.”(P.105)」
On the flip side, Lalia was bold to challenge Rasheed’s authority. 「“Rasheed raised
the belt and came at Mariam. Then an astonishing thing happened: The girl
(Lalia) lunged at him. She grabbed his arm and tried to drag him down.”(P.225)」
All in all, despite the different responses to violence, it was evident that the sexual
discrimination has taken deep roots in Afghanistan.
F. Genuine Love
1. Father’s love
In The Kite Runner, Amir’s father is a serious person. Because of his bastard, Hasssan,
Amir’s father felt guilty. Wanting to make up for Hassan, Amir’s father made him as a
servant in his house in order to take good care of him and treated him as his own son.
Though Amir and Hassan were good friends since young, what Amir really felt
toward Hassan was envy.
In A Thousand Splendid Suns, Mariam was also a bastard. Mariam’s father, Jalil,
couldn’t unveil her existence because she was born illegally, so he made Mariam and
her mother live in a cabin away from his house. Though Jalil would go to cabin to see
her once a week and he definitely loved her, Mariam still envied that his other
daughters who could share all his father’s love.
Things all changed after the war broke out. Though Amir’s father still remained
serious, his love toward Amir became deeper and deeper. On the other hand, though
Jalil made Mariam marry a man and then moved away, his love toward her still lay in
his deep heart. Father’s love even supported him to go back to see Mariam when he
knew he was about to pass away.
Relationship between parents and children could never change even when they
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encounter obstacles. And it was the war that steadied the love between the Fathers and
their children. It was the father’s love that gave their children hope.
2. Friendship
Many touchable stories would be created in such a horrible background. Some said that
wars can bring out the worst side of human beings. And the “true affection” can be
tested through the chaos.
In A Thousand Splendid Suns, Mariam and Laila are brought together because of the
war. Laila was deceived that her lover, Tariq, was dead. Therefore, she had no choice
but to marry Rasheed, a brutal businessman. At first, Mariam didn’t like her. Because
she thought that it was Laila who stole her husband from her. However, the
relationships between them changed step by step owning to their horrible suffering
from Rasheed. Besides, she gained a great amount of joy from Laila’s two babies, Aziza
and Zalmai. They immersed themselves in the moments with the babies as if they were
in the paradise. In the end of story, Mariam even sacrificed herself to save the children,
Laila and Tariq. Mariam helped them build a happy home. She didn’t feel regret at all
when she was executed.「”And yet she was leaving the world as a woman who had
loved and been loved back.”(p.396)」 She considered the sacrifice reasonable and
worth doing for Laila. It proves that the friendship between them is powerful and true.
Then, she thought,「” She was leaving it as a friend, a companion, a guardian. A
mother. A person of consequence at last.” (p.396)」
On the other hand, in The Kite Runner, Amir and Hassan are separated by the war in the
end. They even didn’t have a chance to see each other when Hassan died. Legally, Amir
was Hassan’s master. But they hurled the rocks, watched movies together. Most
important of all, they had a fantastic cooperation when they flew the kites. Not until
Rahim Khan told him a striking truth that he and Hassan were brothers did he start to
recall the regretting past. 「”Rahim Khan had summoned me here to atone not just
for my sins but for Baba’s too.” (p.244)」Therefore, he decided to rescue Hassan’s
child, Sohrab from war. He left America and stepped his feet on his hometown, Kabul
in Afghanistan. Despite lots of challenges on his way, he kept going and never gave up.
Finally, he succeeded in keeping the only child of Hassan, who was not only his friend
but also his brother.
G. The rebirth
1. Back home
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Experiencing physical abuse, psychological torture and extreme fear of war, Amir and
Lalia survived. However, they didn’t move out to be a outsider; instead, they went
back to Afghanistan. To Amir, it was a road of forgiveness. His life was given a new
significance when he found Sorahb. Additionally, he brought a coveted kid for Soraya,
for she was infertile. As for Lalia, she set foot on Mariam’s old house and delivered
love there. She built an orphanage not only to spread Mariam’s kindness but
commemorate the loves they owned.
2. The hope in A Thousand Splendid Suns
On the opposite side of the darkness, the brightness must exist. The war strikes,
destroying the life of people and bringing darkness to them, but the hope will then
soon sparkle in that horrible darkness.
Laila and Tariq went back to their hometown with their children, where the story
started. The war devastated the village seriously, so they decided to rebuild it in order
to start a new life. There, Laila and Tariq rebuilt an orphanage, where Laila had once
sent her daughter Aziza. It became news and the photo of them was put on the
newspaper. Walking down the aisle of the orphanage, seeing the children play outside
and studying in the classroom, Laila felt consoled. She knew that these children,
whose pure hearts hadn’t been contaminated by the outside world, would be the hope
of the country. When Laila was teaching in class, the baby in her body kicked her
suddenly, which gave her the hope. This new life would certainly bring the warmth of
hope to everyone, like Aziza had brought happiness to Mariam.
The sun shone into the room; Laila walked to the window and let the sunlight fall on
her face. The peace at that moment made Laila feel hopeful, and it seemed that the
future of them would be full of hope, too.
3. The hope in The Kite Runner
After he overcame the three difficulties, one is the outpost of Assef, another is the
right to get into America, and the other is Sohrab’s suicide, Amir successfully took
Sohrab to America. It’s really a meaningful and valuable hope for Amir, representing
a wish to reduce his father’s shameful, and a chance to make up for the regret for
doing harm to Hassan.
To Sohrab, Amir might be a brave and reliable person at first. But the situation
changed when he found that he would be delivered to the horrible orphanage, though
it didn’t come to be true at last, but the fear of harm had stamped in his delicate heart.
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The Analysis of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns
Since then, Sohrab cut down his access to anyone to show his disappointment to the
world. He was once so reliant on his last hope to refresh his life, but it ended up going
to betray him. Sohrab felt he was cheated again and again, but he was only a child! A
child should not be discriminated against or be raped.
Therefore, Amir started making his most efforts to build the relationship between each
other. Most important of all, he should give the powerful hopes to Sohrab helping him
discover a whole new life in a world filled with love. Amir and Soraya rebuilt a
hospital in Afghanistan after 911.
In a country that is bombarded with the wars, the “hope” is particularly powerful and
is also a faith that makes people follow it. It’s just like grasping a rope in the darkness
which leads to light.
III. Conclusion
The ranking, sexual and racial conflicts still existed in Afghanistan even though it
interacted with the world more in culture, tourism and economy. However, more and
more people called for reformation of government and the philanthropic activities
took roots on this mainland. Took Lalia and Soroya for instance. They respectively set
up the orphanage and the hospital to attend to those neglected and unprivileged ones.
On the other hand, the most primitive thing in every human’s heart – love, supported
this war-stricken people survive and helped them stand the turmoil of war. The misery
brought the entire nation together, creating a positive and strong power. Thus, we are
convinced that every Afghan will get a brighter future.
IV. References
1. Khaled Hosseini (2009)。A Thousand Splendid Suns。America：Penguin Group
USA。
2. Khaled Hosseini (2007)。The Kite Runner。America：Penguin USA。
3. Wikipedia。2010/11/10，http://wikipedia.tw/。
4. Wikipedia。2010/11/10，http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burqa。
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