Now that the semester is coming to an end and approximately 2448 pages of postcolonial literature are pumping through our veins (give or take Midnight’s Children), I am glad that we conclude the semester with this enticing, disturbing and educational novel, The Kite Runner. Although Hosseini engages the heroes and villains in a guaranteed page-turner Dickensian style, I would disagree that he cheapens the global issues he brings to light.
In The Kite Runner, Hosseini informs the audience of issues like the ethnicity and religious conflicts in Afghanistan, the violence of Taliban occupation, the degree of the oppression of Afghani people, even mental health, all with or without intention. I would argue that each reader learns something about an issue that he/she did not know before. The novel educates the audience about the tensions between Shi'a Muslims and Sunni Muslims, and the consequential hostility. In the first pages of the novel, Hosseini delivers the first history lesson to the reader by noting that Hassan's history "book said part of the reason Pashtuns had oppressed the Hazaras was that Pashtuns were Sunni Muslims, while Hazaras were Shi'a" (9). Although intensified for fictional purposes, the reader cannot ignore the evil and sickening presence of Assef in the novel and the Taliban in Afghanistan. While the audience must always be aware that they are reading a piece of fiction and not a nonfiction account, they cannot dismiss the reality of the violence the Taliban afflicts on Afghanistan in reality. It is likely that the Taliban murder(ed) defenseless Afghani families in front of their homes like this piece of fiction suggests it happens to Hassan and his wife (218). In these instances, the reader learns about issues specific to Afghanistan, but relevant internationally.
Although the issue of mental health is less central to The Kite Runner, it also appears within the novel’s “riveting” plot. Leaving the suspense high like a Dickensian novelist would, Hosseini follows the happy news of Sohrab admittance into America with Sohrab’s tragic suicide attempt in the same paragraph (343). After all the hardship Sohrab has experienced in young life, Sohrab’s mental situation is apparent, severely distressed with the possibility of having to return to an orphanage. In detail Hosseini describes the unfortunate but realistic way Sohrab deals with his bleak circumstances, “the bloody bathwater; the left arm dangling over the side of the tub, the blood-soaked razor sitting on the toilet tank… and his eyes, still half open but lightless” (348). This chilling description notes the desperate reality of a troubled mind. Often modern society pawns depression and suicidal thoughts off as weaknesses, but Hosseini shows that people suffering from these mental conditions are legitimately sad and are in need of help and understanding.
Whether this novel leaves you with good or bad feelings, Hosseini should not be criticized for sharing important issue that are personal to him with his accessible populace. Spreading awareness in a way parallel to your talents is an honorable, not cheapening, action. I, personally, do not see it as problematic that Hosseini was successful in writing a best-selling piece of fiction. He enabled, at the least, an American audience to learn about global injustices in a meaningful and effective way. Being aware of global happenings is critical, and Hosseini merely accommodates people that prefer the form of the novel to other sources like media and newspapers. Being the optimist I am, I found the ending of The Kite Runner to be a happy one. Although the ending might have been somewhat cheesy and slightly unrealistic, it generates hope that wrongs can be righted.
To conclude my post about educating audiences about personal and burning issues, I encourage each responder to take this opportunity, at the end of your comment, to post a link to information about a charity, cause, or issue dear to you. Seize this chance to "tell the rest of the world," well, at least class, about your cause.
# posted by Betsy @ 11:47 AM
