In the end...

     At the end of the novel, Amir is running to catch the kite that he and Sohrab were flying. In my eyes, this represents release. Finally, Amir is at peace with himself, all stresses and anxieties have been cut and it is time to run away from the past. At the beginning of the book, Amir talks about how Afghanistan is calling him for his unatoned sins. At this point of the book, all of this comes to an end.
     Personally, I think that the story just suddenly eneded. As a reader, I wish that there was more of a happily ever after ending. Perhaps Sohrab finally seeks happiness and enjoys his new family and lives a happy childhood. And, Amir and his wife are happy with their new found family.

The Political Climate in Afghanistan and it's Influence

                The setting of this story holds immense significance because of how Afghanistan factors into the plot and is influential in various ways.  The story is of course framed through the narrator’s eyes, Amir.  Just as Amir undergoes rough patches, hardships, trials and tribulations, so does Afghanistan.  Amir and the state of Afghanistan are correlated.  The book commences as the reader is placed in the “quiet” era when Afghanistan was ruled by a King as opposed to a formal government.  These times in general allow for their citizens to go upon their business, without the tremendous interference of the state that is later forced upon them.  Afghanistan transitions into a period of being a republic.  The republic is interrupted when the Soviet Union barges into the country in efforts of acquiring land in the middle of Britain, itself and France.  Traditional Afghan rebels and revolutionaries combat the intruders and chaos ensues.  Many scholars agree that Afghanistan has been a difficult country to seize, as its mountainous countryside make for difficult combat.  The Afghan natives don’t have any option but to watch in horror or flee their beloved homeland for safe havens such as Pakistan or the United States.  In this sense, the situation can be labelled by Hanna Arendt’s definition of evil; which is an absence of rights. The public has exactly zero say.  No choice.  It’s really stay and risk dying or move.  With the removal of the monarchy and any sort of order, and the republic reigning as the best thing to a governing body, Assef prospers because of his father’s affiliation with the new President.  Assef feels self-empowered and feels dominant in bullying Amir, especially with Hassan and his Hazara background attracting attention.  

                As things escalate, Baba and Amir realize it’s safer to migrate to California, America.  The Taliban garners all authority, and Hassan is killed in the process.  Assef’s connections to the republic and his father’s connections to the Taliban granted Assef a powerful position with the Taliban letting him indulge in his sick and disgusting sadomasochism habits. A scene in the book depicts a disguised General and his Talban soldiers throwing rocks to stone a woman who was raped. This is later revealed as Assef.  We see traces of the scapegoat figure present, as women are now viewed as inherently inferior and not worthy to live like Men.  The times are certainly different pre-Taliban to post Taliban as women who never wore Hijaabs or Burkas would be killed if they were seen without one in the Taliban era.  Women who contribute to society (doctors, teachers, politicians) were instructed to resign or quit and stay home.  Borrowing from Hannah Arendt’s ideology again, a match can be identified in the way Assef conducts himself.  He truly believes his actions are normal when he upgrades to the level of general in the Taliban. The normalcy in his demeanor is terrifying.  Quoting Arendt “The doer of evil needs is ordinary, ‘neither a sadist or perverted’”.  The chain comes full circle when Amir is given the call by Rahim Kahn and is informed of the terrors of the Taliban.  He is forced to gather up every ounce of courage and face a Taliban leader in Assef.  Symbolically Amir represents Afghanistan revolting in search for the peace they once cherished so dearly.

            Amir finally symbolizes a father: the sun, the spirit or the masculine principle, when he decides to adopt Sohrab. When he visits the different lawyers and adoption agencies and is told the same disappointing news, Amir feels the same rejection all over again, like when he was trying to conceive a child with Soraya. However, God forgives through his judgment and mercy and the suffering ends because good will triumph over evil and Amir is rewarded in the end.

This picture depicts the ideal family that Amir and Soraya imagine to have in the future with Sohrab. Little do they know that this will take years to form a bond after Amir goes back on his promise with Sohrab and loses his trust. Sohrab choses not to speak for over a year, which puts much stress on Soraya and Amir. This brings in the theme of confusion and uncertainty that were discussed when watching "A Serious Man." Amir and Soraya are probably wondering can this problem every we solved and is this adoption really God's plan because things aren't going as planned. However, everything will eventually turn out fine after giving space and time to develop and rekindle the family relationship. 

Cancer As A Role of Cosmic Evil

In chapter twelve, Amir could tell that his father was getting weaker and it wasn't just the fact that it was because he was getting older. Dr. Amani finally tells Amir that based on the CAT scans Baba had "Oat Cell Carcinoma," and it was advanced and inoperable.
   When one hears the news that they are infected with a disease, that is taking over their body and will soon destroy them, there are many reactions. Relating to cancer specifically, there are many different types and severity forms of this disease, "It turned out that, like Satan, cancer had many names." The different types of cancer also play a role in the person's reaction. Due to the fact, if a person has lymphoma and is reassured that if they participate in chemotherapy they have a higher chance of survival, they will feel much more relieved than a patient like Baba. In the phrase above, cancer is being compared to Satan. Satan is depicted as evil, a power of darkness that is blamed for the atrocities in the world. Therefore, cancer can be related to cosmic evil due to the fact that it "belongs to the work of the devil- who personifies evil." It is inflicting suffering and frustration of life and death upon the victims. However there is also a time of "Grievability" with whom is dying. Grievability is when a life can be mourned. If no one can mourn for a life lost than it can't count as a lost life. In this case, Amir grieved with his father as he was dying before his eyes but this allowed Baba to know that his life counted, that he actually mattered in the world.

Within the glooms of cancer, there is also a benefit and that is knowing that your time on earth is limited and you still have time to complete what you believe you were born to do. With Hassan's death he was not aware of the limited of time he had on the earth when he was shot by the Taliban. Therefore, he did not have time to do those last few things he wanted to accomplish nor say his last words to his family members. In this sense, Baba was extremely lucky. The irony in this is that Baba knew he was going to die but not once did he tell his son of his own sin years before nor warn him not to make the same mistake. There was never that bonding moment where one was able to confront all of their fears, purify their soul completely nor tell all their remaining secrets. This is where the symbol of death comes into play. Death symbolizes that in initiation the darkness of death is experienced before the birth of the new man. It is the change from one mode of being to another. Therefore, as Baba departs from the world, he is a changed man, reborn in a sense that will allow him to move on and live in peace.

To Each His Own: The Middle East vs. The West

Zoning in onto a lesser discussed sector of the novel, a lot of embedded course themes shined through.  A major theme that serves as a canopy for other themes was the whole Middle East perception of the West and the Western perception of the East which can also be transcribed to an extent, to Christianity versus Islam.  Some Judeo-Christian projections of evil were evident in the form of “deceit” when it’s learned of the numerous life-altering lies that Baba led Hassan and Amir to believe as their reality.  Baba created an illusion for his (as eventually learned) children.  When Rahim Khan spills the truth and unravels the shocking news that Amir and Hassan are actually half brothers, the news is devastating.  Amir has an identity crisis right then and there.  However, looking at this issue microscopically and picking it apart, although Baba did deceive Hassan and Amir, does this warrant Baba being viewed as evil?  Was he merely just trying to protect his children from the harsh realities?  It is a debatable topic, though other than that Baba displays good character throughout the book.  This brings forth and reinforces ideas that evil acts, do not necessarily have evil written all over them.  Examining intentions are half of the process; the guilty mind and the guilty act.  For instance; in Judeo-Christian tradition, abortions are forbidden, however if a single mother-to-be was widowed when her husband tragically died in combat aborts and is mentally, physically and financially incapable of taking care of herself and her child, is she scorned as evil?

Keeping in stride with Judeo-Christianity and adding Islam and the archetype of The West vs. The Middle East to the mix, the scenario between Farid and Amir stands out.  Rahim sends Amir on this one last journey to try and rectify all his wrong-doings.  He meets Farid, who will be the one to sneak Amir from the sanctuary that is Pakistan, across the border into the warzone that is Afghanistan.  The Taliban pose a serious evil threat.  The book serves as a medium to convey the Middle Easterner’s perceptions of the West.  Farid is skeptical about Amir and his intentions.  He believes Amir is just like every other Capitalist Westerner, looking to capitalize off the rich lands of Afghanistan by selling his property and turning a quick profit (like many other Afghani migrants).  The capitalistic tone this part of the novel takes makes me recall the movie “The Gods Must Be Crazy”.  The film and theory at hand are certainly interrelated.  Both storylines have streaks of imperialism and capitalism within them, contrasting third world countries with a first world country.  This idea is comparable to the Ron Geaves reading where he excellently puts the two perspectives, well, into perspective.  As Geaves states “In general, very few Muslims understand the distinction between being Christian and being from the West.  A common criticism is the identification of Christianity with colonialism, imperialism, capitalism and exploitation.”  The general perception is proved wrong however as Farid and Amir spend more time bonding on their journey, Farid learns Amir is a well-meaning man.   Farid’s thoughts that Amir may be different from the rest of the capitalist Westerners are confirmed when they enter Wahid’s impoverished household and Amir leaves them his watch and some money.     

The Past Lingers On...

            Chronology plays a huge role in the dynamic of the Kite Runner as it is very much a story of life, detailing innocence to experience.  The past shapes and moulds the personality of the main characters of the story.  Amir says it better than any other character can “I became who I am today at the age of 12”.  The lesson here is akin to real life, everyone has dark secrets in their past, or at the very least surely things they aren’t proud of, but you have to learn to put your best foot forward and move on.  This can connect to our Week 4 lecture, when Desjardins raises some key issues and how some righteous people do suffer.  In this case true at heart righteous human beings suffer through torment of the past.  Amir and Sohrab however, have pasts not many of us cannot relate to.  Their pasts run undoubtedly unparalleled in comparison to their fellow story characters.  Amir’s is attached with him to the hip.  It is his identity, and he isn’t proud of it but wakes up everyday wearing it, through his behaviour.  It’s his chip on his shoulder.  Guilt is his gas that keeps him going striving for more.  He definitely has no shortage of motivation, channeling that incident when he was on top of the world at the age of 12 in Kabul before it came crashing down on him, it’s definitely something difficult to forget.  His paranoia plays tricks on his mind, leading him to believe he was even at fault for Hassan being gunned down by the Taliban, thinking he was the catalyst for events when they left Baba’s home and their lives turning into a downward spiral.       

In Sohrab’s short lifetime, he’s had to endure more physical, emotional and mental trauma than most adults do in a lifetime.  His character is portrayed to us as an extremely lonely and vulnerable and these emotions are emphasized initially as Sohrab shutters as he is touched by Amir.  A real lasting memory that will remain with almost every person who read the Kite Runner would be Sohrab attempting to commit suicide when he learns he faces the possibility of going back to an Orphanage.  This of course, a reaction cause by having to live through constant abandonment (parents being murdered) and a lack of intimacy with loves ones.  The wise words of a more experienced Hassan on the first page remain true: “the past can never be buried”.

This picture represents the rich and the poor. At first when looking at it, it seems bizzare because the poor man is on the top of the teeter-totter, which to me represents power. The rich man is at the bottom, representing weakness. When looking at it closer I realized in order for the poor man to come down to the ground, the rich man must push off from the ground, freeing the poor man to safety. This is a great photo to potray the heiarchy in a social ladder. Hassan is the poor man, because he is a Hazara and Amir is the rich man because he is a Pashtun. Pashtuns overule Hazaras and hold the power when comparing lifestyles.

Assef

          The Kite Runner is based on the nature of human evil. During week 2 l, we learned about Adolf Eichmann who was a member of the SS. He organized the banishment of the Jews while the Holocaust was happening and was charged and convicted with crimes against humanity. He was described as being "shallow, remote, and thoughtlessness of his actions." These qualities immediately reminded me of Assef. He is part German (like Adolf), part Afghan and is one of the most crucial characters in this novel. I found that he seems to adore the concept of Hitler, and brings him up when feuding with Amir and Hassan. His character is very similar to those who were responsible for the Holocaust. Assef represents the complete opposite character of Hassan, who is kind, gentle and calm. On the other hand, Assef is easily angered and depressed. He is an older boy living in the city who constantly bullies Hassan. He is shallow and thoughtless, and this is proven when he rapes Hassan and captures his son. Assef is seen as an evil character because of his actions and corruptive attitude towards Amir and Hassan. When speaking to Hassan he says; "Too late for Hitler. But not for us" (Page 35). He looks down upon Hassan, like he is a child or an animal. Assef treats him like he should not exist, making him feel unwanted. I find that he has no remorse for his actions, or feel any kind of sympathy towards others. Assef's character represents the kind of human evil that exists within someone's soul.  

The Recurring Theme of Rape

                Rape is a prevalent theme in The Kite Runner.   Assef, being in the dominant position in both Hassan’s rape during the climax of the novel that onsets the flood of other events and Sohrab’s rape.  The method in which the two events tie in to the plot are very fitting.  The first rape in the story, Hassan in the alley, installs a seed of guilt into Amir.  Like all seeds, it keeps on growing and growing.  Rape surfaces again in the truck when Amir and Baba desperately try and flee Kabul, and Baba stands up for the woman.  There is also a hint at rape that Kamal’s father tells the story about.  Rape spurs multiple ideas throughout the book.  In the most typical and common sense as we know it, rape is logically viewed as the overpowering of a female by a male to attain his desires.  One thing that should be noted, is that rape is not solely attributed to physical violence and damage.  Rape in the Kite Runner symbolizes the complete and utter flexing of power and dominance by the one in the position of power to the one in lesser standing, the inferior.  Rape sends messages.  It has emotional value attached with dignity.  It’s an act by those with power on those without.  By stopping rape, it symbolically emancipates the potential victim and what he or she stands for.  This evidently relates to the class lectures and the notion of rape being a weapon of war.  The concepts seen in The Great Silence: Rape in the Congo were present in all the scenarios of rape.  I think the title of that video speaks volumes by the way, “The Great Silence..” as it is so true, that victims of rape lose all power and their voice.  As previously stated, Hassan’s rape installed perpetual guilt in Amir until, he is given the chance to “set things right” and redeem himself by stopping his son, Sohrab’s rape, which he prevails in doing. 

Symbolism of the Kites

                The kites is a central symbol in the novel as Amir and Hassan share this common interest in kite fighting and  participating in kite tournaments.  There are two main symbols of the kite. First it symbolises the difference between classes. Amir is naturally above Hassan in society because of his family’s name and wealth. Whereas, Hassan is Amir’s slave boy and works for his family.  In kite fighting there is the one person who controls and flies the actual kite and then there is the person that feeds the first person the string in order for them to fly the kite. Amir is the one who controls the kite and makes the decisions when flying the kite and Hassan assists him by feeding him more string. That alone demonstrates each of their standings in society because just like in kite fighting Hassan assists and serves Amir at home. He makes his food, does his laundry and cleans after Amir, while Amir is technically his master.  Hassan might love kite fighting just as much as Amir and he might help a great deal when it comes to taking down other kites but he will never claim the victory with Amir. Even when he runs to catch the rival kite after it has been cut and returns back with it, the kite initially belongs to Amir and its Amir who gets all the praise for it.

                The second symbol of the kite in this novel is violence. Kite fighting is a violent game where kites and the children battle each other to win. The strings cut into the fliers’ hands as they try to cut down other kites around them. Once they finally have cut down a rivals kite the runners run after it with the same furious determination to retrieve the kite. This creates a violent imagery of predators hunting for their prey. This violent game can represent the violence in Afghanistan or foreshadow it as it demonstrates the tension between groups of people and the determination to come out as the best.

Look of the Lamb

          This novel feeds off of the past events in all the characters lives. Without certain happy and tragic events mentioned, some details wouldn’t connect or make sense to the plot of the story. One symbol that I was able to link to each the beginning, middle and end of the story was the lamb or sheep. At the beginning of the book, there is talk about the cultures tradition of sacrificing a lamb or a sheep in celebration of a Muslim festival. In our course text this resembles the sin or the world or the sacrifice without blemish. In the middle of the book during the time of Hassan’s rape, Amir refers to the look on his face similar to a sheep/lamb. Also, at the end of the book Amir finds that same look on Sorab’s face. In these cases, the lamb represents gentleness, young innocence, and purity. The sheep represents blind, helplessness and unintelligent. I feel like the time when Amir saw Hassan’s face would more so resemble a sheep because of the helplessness state that he was in at the time. Sorab appeared to look for like a lamb because he was so young and innocent.
          Both Hassan and Sohrab are innocents who are figuratively sacrificed by being raped, but these sacrifices have very different meanings. In Hassan’s case, Amir sacrifices him for the blue kite. But in Sohrab’s case, Amir is the one who stops his sexual abuse. In this context, sacrifice is portrayed as the exploitation of an innocent.



           These innocent and helpless looks made Amir feel a huge amount of guilt because he took all the blame upon himself. With this symbol you could link it to torture as mentioned in the lectures in class. Torture and torment must be consistent. One part of the book in particular stands out to me and that is when Amir goes back to Kabul and is at the stadium and watches two people get stoned to death. The fact that they make it such a public event is scary and disturbing. The picture to the left is very similar and has the same aspects of torture and torment that people experienced in this country at the time. The only difference is the victim is getting beheaded From the start of the book, Assef tormented and tortured from start to finish and not only to Amir and Hassan but also to Sorab and other members of the community. I wonder if these evil actions from Assef is his way of seeking out suffering as a path to God? Maybe he views all pain positively.

          The only way Amir could escape these constant looks of helplessness from people close to him was to find redemption from evil and to overcome the guilt he felt his whole life. Also relating to this is the video we watched in class called The Ghosts of Abu Ghraib at the beginning when the government does an experiment to test how many volts a human can endure before death. It is just unecessary torture and evil.

Helplessness

                                Throughout this novel there are moments where the characters feel as if they do not have control over their own actions, or what happens to them throughout their lives.  The feeling of not being able to make decisions for yourself and be treated differently can be damaging to one's self-esteem. Hassan is the one character in this book who suffers the most. He is a Hazara boy, and when one is Hazarian they are considered the lower class in Afghanistan.  Hassan cannot do anything about the fact that he is Hazarian, therefore he is extremely helpless when being bullied by Assef and his friends, who represents evil and all that is bad. I believe Assef should be represented as evil because of the cruel act he did to Hassan. When Hassan is raped, this will destroy any hope for Baba's affection. He is upset because he know he cannot change his past, and he feels like if he says something it will dishonour Baba and his family. I believe the act of rape as being a form of evil. In our very first lecture, we discussed the different ways we deal with evil. Number 4 was "Sometimes we don't respond at all or respond inadequately." I found this as a great connection with the sexual abuse Hassan endured. This represents a big part of Hassan's life and affected him very much on the inside, yet he did not show how he was feeling on the outside. He chose to ignore what had happened to him and continue life as nothing happened. This being very hard on Hassan, he was silenced of this moment forever. Amir compares the rape of Hassan to a sheep being sacrificed for its life. The sheep dies, and a part of Hassan that day died as well. Watching Hassan's eyes when he is being raped reminds Amir of the feared look in the sheep's eyes when he was being sacrificed. Hassan was being sacrificed that day for Amir, his good friend. In our text, An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Traditional Symbols, I found many meanings behind the various symbols found in The Kite Runner. I found that sheep meant "Blind and unintelligent following; helplessness." (p.151)  I believe this is a perfect underlying meaning to this work because proven in this novel, Hassan is indeed helpless when being raped.

The Complexity of Evil

     In the last section of the novel, Amir travels back to his homeland to search for Hassan’s son. While searching at the orphanage, Amir talks with the orphanage operator and experiences yet again another immoral effect of war. 
     The orphanage worker has spent his life savings on the orphanage to provide for the children and support them in all possible ways. A member of the Taliban often comes to the orphanage with money for the orphanage leader in exchange for a girl. The leader accepts this money and lets the man take this girl, and only sometimes she comes back. Amir does not agree with this because he is selling children for money. This is an example of human trafficking. But the leader of the orphanage said, “ If I deny him one child, he takes ten. So I let him take one and leave the judging to Allah. I swallow my pride and take his goddamn filthy, dirty money. Then I go to the bazaar and buy food for the children” (page 270). This is perhaps one of the greatest examples of evil I have seen in this entire book. It is cruel to sell a child for money. But in this case, this form of evil is used for good. This is the only way the leader of the orphanage can provide for the children by using one person as a scapegoat. This man does whatever he can to do for the children’s well-being and he still has faith in Allah. This displays the complexity of evil. But, all in all, this goes to show that wherever there is evil, love will shine through and wherever there is love, evil and hate will shine also. Although at times, one may shine brighter it is up to God, Allah, or whomever your god is to decipher evil occurrences in the world.   

The Moon and Irony

     On his wedding day at the alter, he remembers escaping Afghanistan only a few years previous. What triggered his memory was a traditional Afghan wedding song. The song is as follows: Make morning into a key and throw in into the well, go slowly, my lovely moon, go slowly. Let the morning sun forget to rise in the east, Go slowly, my lovely moon, go slowly. According to Cooper’s book, the moon has many meanings. Firstly, the moon is represented as the feminine power. Indirectly, the author is referring to not only his newly wed wife, but also his mother. When it comes to feminine power one thinks of the gift of childbirth. Therefore it is ironic that his new wife will never bear children suggesting that she does not have this feminine power. Another female power is the gift of nourishment for example breast feeding. Amir is aware that himself and Hassan were fed from the same breast as newborns, which gave them a close companionship. Little does he know Hassan is his half brother, representing more irony.

     The moon can also represent the dark side of nature. This displays that every good thing has a dark side. And also, as discussed in class, everyone is capable of committing evil deeds. This dark side is the guilt that Amir has that he never helped his friend when he was being raped.  

     And further, Amir says that the last time he heard this song was when he heard a Russian soldier at the Mahipar checkpoint the night him and Baba left Kabul. Leaving Kabul means leaving his past and deepest secret, to the bright side of the moon in America.