“Beggars do not envy millionaires. Though, of course, they will envy other beggars who are more successful.” This quote by Bertrand Russell pulls on the strings of themes such as personal relation to others, economic and social class, and contempt for others as an abstract concept. These same strings are weaved through the novel And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini, in obscure way through character relationships and behavior, diction, and other literary elements. In a novel that’s predominantly about cultural interaction, Hosseini still touches on how economic superiority affects the way cultures and individuals interact with each other. Through dynamic character interactions, Hosseini portrays how difference in economic and social
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Wahdati’s servant, who brings an interesting dynamic forward in that he initially lived in Abdullah’s village and was poor but later transitioned into living as a wealthy servant. The initial reaction to the Wahdati’s household is incapusulated in his shock at how the kitchen “had been built big enough to feed all of [Nabi’s] home village” (78). His focus is, in the beginning, that of a poor individual as he focuses on the amenities he never had access to and how they could help his family and friends back home. However, the author also gives the reader an interesting perspective as the style of this section is a retrospective letter. Nabi narrates it from the position of an old man reflecting on his life, so when he describes “The marble floor partly covered by a dark red Turkoman carpet… intricately carved tiles, [bathroom counters] filled with lapis” (78), the readers see that in his old age he is no longer speaking from the initial perspective. Nabi no longer fixates on something that would be shocking to an impoverished farmer, but rather describes (for a considerable amount of time) the amenities of the house that a wealthy person would focus on. Hosseini uses the narration to convey a change in perspective to the audience, in that Nabi over the course of his life transitioned from a poor person’s perspective to a rich person’s. Another interesting facet of this story is Nabi’s feelings and behaviors during the course of his change. He accompanied Mrs. Wahdati to the village, and his opinion of his home town truly summarizes how wealth affects an individual’s perception. As Mrs. Wahdati “spoke to each of [the children and] stroked their grubby cheeks, tousled their unwashed hair” Nabi could only think of his own “embarrassment” (96). He “wish[es he] had had the chance to warn [Parwana and] give her time to clean up a bit. The cracked mud walls were black with soot, the ripped mattress layered with dust, the lone window
Wahdati’s servant, who brings an interesting dynamic forward in that he initially lived in Abdullah’s village and was poor but later transitioned into living as a wealthy servant. The initial reaction to the Wahdati’s household is incapusulated in his shock at how the kitchen “had been built big enough to feed all of [Nabi’s] home village” (78). His focus is, in the beginning, that of a poor individual as he focuses on the amenities he never had access to and how they could help his family and friends back home. However, the author also gives the reader an interesting perspective as the style of this section is a retrospective letter. Nabi narrates it from the position of an old man reflecting on his life, so when he describes “The marble floor partly covered by a dark red Turkoman carpet… intricately carved tiles, [bathroom counters] filled with lapis” (78), the readers see that in his old age he is no longer speaking from the initial perspective. Nabi no longer fixates on something that would be shocking to an impoverished farmer, but rather describes (for a considerable amount of time) the amenities of the house that a wealthy person would focus on. Hosseini uses the narration to convey a change in perspective to the audience, in that Nabi over the course of his life transitioned from a poor person’s perspective to a rich person’s. Another interesting facet of this story is Nabi’s feelings and behaviors during the course of his change. He accompanied Mrs. Wahdati to the village, and his opinion of his home town truly summarizes how wealth affects an individual’s perception. As Mrs. Wahdati “spoke to each of [the children and] stroked their grubby cheeks, tousled their unwashed hair” Nabi could only think of his own “embarrassment” (96). He “wish[es he] had had the chance to warn [Parwana and] give her time to clean up a bit. The cracked mud walls were black with soot, the ripped mattress layered with dust, the lone window