How Does The American Culture Change In The Kite Runner

Khaled Hosseini’s Kite Runner describes the hardships the people of Afghanistan had to endure during the transition of Afghanistan from a vibrant country to a war filled country. Hosseini starts off with the story of two best friends, a rich boy and his servant. Amir and Hassan grew up together, spending every moment of the day playing. They ran the streets of vibrant Kabul flying kites and enjoying the happiness filled the streets. When the Afghan culture switches from a kind community to a war zone the friendship of Amir and Hassan struggles. Through the tragedies that Hassan and Amir are faced with in their war-filled streets, their friendships ultimately falls apart. The Kite Runner depicts what it was like living in Afghanistan during the 1970s when their country made the switch from …show more content…
My view of Afghanistan changed while reading The Kite Runner however some of my previous ideas were supported. Before reading Kite Runner I had misconceptions about the Afghan culture. Knowing about all the violence that occurs in Afghanistan I pictured the country to be a battlefield with bodies everywhere. I imagine myself in Kabul, the city where Hassan and Amir were raised, and I hear the sounds of gunshots and bombs going off. I hear the cries of babies and adults running to find safety. I never pictured Afghanistan to be a vibrant country, like it is described as in Kite Runner. When I learned about the Afghan culture in previous classes I would always associate the Afghan culture with battlefields and open combat. This is because we never learned about the happy times Afghanistan has because all we would focus on were the atrocities. I never believed that Afghanistan was a kind country at one point. Aside from picturing Afghanistan as a battlefield I pictured Afghanistan as a desert. I never really pictured buildings and open markets. I imagined it to be filled with sand and people riding camels.