Does This Novel Deserve Literary Merit?

            After completing The Kite Runner, I was able to reflect on the literary merit of the novel.  This novel is worthy of having literary merit and being studied in an AP class due to the stylistic techniques and consistencies throughout the book.  For example, the first part of the novel focused on Amir looking back on his childhood and seeing the mistakes he made.  In this portion, traditional Farsi language was dropped into the dialogue focused the reader’s attention on the culture differences.  The difference that stuck out the most to me when Amir is reflecting on his childhood is the idea of family trust, reliance, and helping the group.  The idea of servants was common at this time in Afghan culture, which is a sharp contrast from how life in America was.  Not only was life with servants different, this novel gave a different perspective on father-son relationships and how they stack up compared to American father-son relationships (which we have previously studied).  These distinct differences between Afghan culture and American culture showed how not only does the author’s unique stylistic approach prove to be worthy of literary merit, but should also be recognized for its cultural merit. 

            The Kite Runner will not only help me think about the world from a different cultural perspective, it will help me in my academics, especially on the AP exam.  This novel would help me on the AP exam because it has straightforward human connections and motifs that are easy to identify and analyze for a free response question.  Although this novel would be extremely helpful for the AP exam this May, I would not suggest this novel to be added to the curriculum.  I would not suggest the novel because compared to other books we have read as part of the curriculum, there wouldn’t be much controversy in discussions.  The author writes the novel at an elevated level, but finding motifs, symbols, and themes of the novel are easy to identify.  Instead of The Kite Runner, I would suggest novels that had more hidden symbolism so that the class could analyze the novel together.  This book is a great free-choice book where a student can analyze the entire book on their own. 

Family Extensions, Sacrifices, and Acceptance

This week I finished The Kite Runner, and it was an emotional rollercoaster.  This novel was able to incorporate social, family, and religious conflicts.  All three of these conflicts helped the novel become more complex when discussing how Afghanistan used to be versus how it is now.  Khaled Hosseini’s writing was beautifully executed, ensuring that when the reader finished the novel, they are able to have a better understanding of Afghan customs and how different Afghan and American cultures are. 

Not only did I feel that I was more educated about life in Afghanistan, I was able to see the bonds that are made when family matters above all else.  This was shown when Amir takes Sohrab under his wing and is able to keep him out of the orphanages and that Amir has “a way to be good again” just like his father (310 Hosseini).  By caring for Sohrab like his own son, he is able to be the father figure that Sohrab needs, even if he is a quiet child.  By refusing to give up and holding “him tightly, and rock[ing] him back and forth” Amir is able to show Sohrab that he is a trustworthy figure and would only do what is in the best interest of Sohrab (342 Hosseini).  The development of Amir becoming the caretaker shows the reader how much Amir has grown from his beliefs as a child when he only thought of himself and not others.  Now, Amir thinks about how his actions affect Sohrab as well as his wife.  

Hosseini’s focus on the family and religious values led the novel to develop the idea of how we see the world from a western standpoint, and if we are categorizing harshly, not understanding the situation before making a judgment.  This novel was written shortly after the tragedy of 9/11, which I think, drove a lot of discussion about Afghan culture.  This discussion showed the development of how we view Afghanistan from actual accounts versus the media.  When Amir traveled back to Afghanistan, he is shocked about how different the country is from how the media described in America.  The very apparent differences in media description versus how a conflict is lends to how accurately we “understand” different conflicts around the world.

This idea of media corruption as well as the focus on father-son relationships has both been addressed in other novels we have read throughout the class.  The idea of media corruption in Fahrenheit 451 and the focus on father-son relationships has been focused on in The Song of Solomon.  The most prominent line on the bond that he has created with Sohrab was on the last page when Amir goes to run the kite that Sohrab and him have cut, and says the line “For you, a thousand times over!”  (371 Hosseini).  This line brought the novel full circle form when Amir and Hassan were little boys to when Amir was a father figure to his nephew, Hassan’s son, Sohrab.