Racism and Discrimination in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner
The Kite Runner (2003) by Khaled Hosseini is a novel that tells the story of Amir, a
young boy growing up in Afghanistan. The novel explores themes of friendship, betrayal,
redemption, and the power of guilt. One of the major issues explored in the novel is the
conflict between Pashtuns and Hazaras, two different ethnic groups in Afghanistan. This
conflict is often characterized by racism and discrimination, which has a significant impact
on the lives of the characters in the novel.
One theory postmodernism that is related to the issue of racism and discrimination in
The Kite Runner is the theory of social identity. Social identity theory posits that people
define themselves in terms of their social groups, such as their ethnicity, religion, or
nationality. This can lead to in-group favouritism, where people Favor members of their own
group over members of other groups. In the case of The Kite Runner, this can lead to
Pashtuns discriminating against Hazaras. There some quotation I have choose to
"You're bothering me very much. In fact you bothering me more than this Hazara
here. How can you talk to him, play with him, let him touch you?" - Assef to Amir (Hosseini,
(2003), p. 36). Assef's words also reflect Amir's own internal conflict. Amir is a Pashtun boy,
but he has a close friendship with Hassan, a Hazara boy. This friendship challenges Amir's
own prejudices, and it forces him to confront his own sense of identity.
"Afghanistan is the land of 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
wantan. They dirty our blood." - Assef to Amir and Hassan, (Hosseini, (2003), p. 73). Assef's
words are a reflection of the social and political climate in Afghanistan at the time. The novel
is set in the 1970s, a time when the country was ruled by a Pashtun-dominated government.
This government promoted Pashtun nationalism and discriminated against other ethnic
groups, including Hazaras.
"A boy who won't stand up for himself becomes a man who can't stand up to
anything." - Baba to Amir, (Hosseini, (2003), p. 131). These quotations show how racism and
discrimination can manifest in harmful ways. Baba's words, on the other hand, offer a more
subtle but equally powerful message about the importance of standing up for what you
believe in, even if it means going against the grain.
Conclusion
The Kite Runner is a powerful novel that explores the complex issue of racism and
discrimination. The novel shows how racism can have a devastating impact on the lives of
individuals and communities. It also shows how the cycle of racism can be broken, through
acts of courage and compassion. for example, feels guilty for not doing anything to stop
Assef from raping Hassan. This guilt haunts him for many years, and it prevents him from
forming meaningful relationships with other people
References
Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead Books, 2003.
Tajfel, Henri. "Social Identity and Intergroup Behaviour." Social Psychology of
Intergroup Relations. Ed. Henri Tajfel and John C. Turner. New York: Psychology
Press, 1986. 1-39.
Wesselmann, Elizabeth. "The Kite Runner: A Novel of Identity and Redemption." The
Explicator 73.2 (2015): 102-106.
