Cultural differences in Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner”

Literature has the capacity to provide insight into cultures from around the world. In the books one reads and the stories one hears, glimpses of different worlds become apparent and one is able to see how the different aspects of a culture work together to create a national identity. The music, cuisine, language and art depict much of what a culture consists of but some of the most important cultural cues come in the types of relationships formed between people. Whether the stress is on friendships or in intimate relationships can say much about a cultural identity. In the novel “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini, American and Afghanistan cultures are compared and contrasted through the types of relationships that are formed by the main character and protagonist, Amir. The novel begins in Afghanistan, the childhood home of Amir. In this part of the novel, there is a complete absence of women and the stress of relationships lies on the ties that are formed between males. Amir nor Hassan have a mother and there is absolutely no mention of women or the part they play in daily life in Afghanistan. Instead, there is much focus on the ties that exist between father and son and in the friendships made between males. There is the relationship between Hassan and his father, between Amir father and his best friend as well as the central relationship between Amir and his father and the friendship between Amir and Hassan. The relationship between Amir and his father, Baba, is a very strained one. Amir is continually vying for his father’s attention and feels as though he constantly falls short. In contrast, the father and son relationship between Hassan and his father is full of love, understanding and comradeship. The friendship between Amir and Hassan is a central relationship throughout the entirety of the novel and showcases the brother-like understanding between the two boys during their childhood. In their friendship one understands the strong bonds that can exist between two boys who grow up together. Their childhood together creates between them a bond that will last through the subsequent war and through another generation. Likewise, the friendship between Amir’s father, Baba and Rahim Khan shows the loyalty and trust that can form between two men in a culture that emphasizes the relationships and friendships among men. In Afghanistan there is a strong focus on male to male relationships. This reflects a cultural difference to the Western world in which the focus on relationships lies in male to female relationships, which one sees in the second half of the novel.