The Kite Runner: Historical,
Political and Cultural Contexts
The Kite Runner: Introduction
First novel to be written in English
Title is derived from an old Afghan
hobby Gudiparan Bazi or Kite
Flying
It is a unique Afghan pastime
during windy spring season
About the Author
Born in 1965 in Kabul, Afghanistan
Moved to the States in 1980
Attended Santa Clara University, Cal
Graduated from UC San Diego School
of Medicine in 1996
His specialty is internal medicine.
Synopsis
The novel maps the journey of the
Amir, the narrator.
The story takes place in Afghanistan,
Pakistan, and the United States from 1975
to 2003.
Synopsis
Synopsis
Amir belongs to:
a wealthy family whose father is a businessman
the dominant Pashtun ethnic group
the dominant Sunni religious group
Synopsis
Amir tells the story of his friendship with Hassan.
Hassan and his father, Ali, are Amir’s servants
He is a low-caste ethnic Hazara
He belongs to the minority Shi’it religious
denomination
He is the victim of discrimination due to his religious
and ethnic identity
Ironically, he is also Amir’s half brother
Synopsis
AMIR AND HIS GUILT FEELING:
Amir is overwhelm with guilt when he allows Hassan to be
beaten by the neighborhood kids and raped by one of the
boys.
SEPARATION:
Hassan and his father leave Kabul for Hazarajat
Amir and his father flee Afghanistan for Pakistan and
eventually they end up in Fremont, California
Amir takes his tragic memories to America
Synopsis
He returns to Afghanistan in search of Hassan
While in Pakistan, Amir finds out that Hassan and
his wife were killed by the Taliban regime
They left a son behind by the name of Sohrab
AMIR ARRIVES AT KABUL
He discovers that Sohrab has become the victim of
sexual assault by Assef.
Assef is a neighborhood boy who also molested
Hassan
Amir must defeat Assef in a physical battle in order to take
Sohrab out of Afghanistan and try to help repair his spirit.
The Taliban
The world Taliban is the plural of and Arabic word, Talib
or someone who seeks religious knowledge before he becomes a
preacher in a mosque
They were the sons of Afghan refugees in Pakistan and
attended Pakistani schools of theology
Became active in October 1994 in Qandahar and
continued there advances in the country with help of
Pakistan
By 1997 they held about 90 percent of the Afghan
territory, including Kabul
THE TALIBAN ACHIEVEMENT
They brought relative peace and security in the country
The Taliban’s Achievement
The banished the warlords and forced to the northeastern
corner the country and formed the Northern Alliance
Restored law and order but through rigorous enforcement
of Islamic punishment: public beating, flogging,
amputation of hands, and stoning to death
The Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Suppression
of Vice was the powerful arm of the Taliban government.
The ministry issued strict religious decrees that denied
people the right to freedom of expression, association, the
right to work, and the right to education
They prohibited games such as kite flying, chess, music,
cassette
The Taliban and the World Reaction
Only three countries recognized the Taliban government:
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Pakistan
Initially, America gave a lukewarm support to the Taliban.
We hoped the regime would be a partner in oil-pipeline, UNOCAL or
Union Oil Company of California
CONCLUSION
The new game, Cold War, between the U.S.A. and the former Soviet
Union brought death and utter destruction to the country
Over 5 million Afghans abandoned their homes and went into exile in
other countries
Close to 1.5 million lost their lives
Many left their homes for secured areas of the country
Other Factors the Contributed to
a Failed State in Afghanistan
A DIVERSE NATION
Afghanistan is nation of groups with disparate ethnic,
religious, and tribal traditions.
ETHNIC DIVERSITY
Over 30 different ethnic groups. They are not contained
within Afghanistan.
Pashtuns are the dominant ethnic groups, who account for
about 38 percent of the population and ruled Afghanistan
for most of the history of Afghanistan.
Tajiks are the second largest ethnic groups with about 25
percent of the population.
Ethnicity
Hazaras consists of
about10 to 15
percent
Pashtun
Tajik
Hazara
Ethnicity
Others (Turkmen, Aimaq,
Baluch, Nuristani)
13 percent.
Uzbak
Pashtun
Uzbaks consists of
about 9 percent
Baluch
Religious Diversity
Afghanistan has two dominant religious groups, the
Sunni,or the so-called orthodox Islam, and Shi’ite or the
so-called heterodox.
Sunni constitutes 85 percent of the population and Shi’ite
consists of 15 percent of Afghan population
Shi’ites split from the Sunni’s in the seventh century over
who the Prohet Mohammad’s legitimate successors were
Shi’ites consider Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the
Prophet, the legitimate successor
Shi’ites developed their own conception of Islamic law
and practices.
In the past Shi’ites had been persecuted in Afghanistan.
Conclusion
The Kite Runner tells the sad story of Afghan people.
They have suffered at the hands of foreign invaders and
their own people
I have attempted to explore the causes behind the
Afghan tragedy and elaborated on the following causes:
The Great Game
The Cold War
Heterogeneity of Afghan Society
Tribal tradition
The result was the failure of Afghan state.
Kite Running
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5S47aSl
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