How does the author reflect the changes in power in Afghanistan throughout the novel "The Kite Runner"?

Authors Avatar by cerylin (student)

How does the author reflect the changes in power in Afghanistan throughout the novel?

Khaled Hosseini reflects the changes in power in Afghanistan throughout the Kite runner by mirroring the narrator’s fate with that of the country. Amir’s life goes through several changes during the novel and these reflect the changes that happened in Afghanistan during the same period. The author interweaves the history of Afghanistan from the 1970’s to 2002 (where the novel ends) with the story as the changes in power are all shown to have an impact on Amir.

The first change in power in the novel is when the monarchy is overthrown and although the coup was described to be ‘bloodless’, the author uses it to foreshadow an era of struggle for the people of Afghanistan and the characters in the novel. The sound of gunfire in the streets is portrayed as an extremely frightening experience for Amir’s household, showing the great change that is about to happen in Afghanistan as it is the beginning of a change from a peaceful country to one marred by conflict. As the narration is in the first person retrospective, Khaled Hosseini constantly warns the reader of what is to come. ‘The generation of Afghan children whose ears would know nothing but the sounds of bombs and gunfire was not yet born’ foreshadows the changes in power that are going to occur throughout Amir’s story and the harrowing effect they will have on the storyline and Afghan society in general.

Join now!

Amir’s first encounter with Assef in the novel is described immediately after we find out that Afghanistan’s monarchy was overthrown and in its place a republic was formed. By introducing us to the ‘sociopath’ which is Assef, the author is reflecting the change in power in a negative light as he links the vile character to the new government. ‘I’ll tell Daoud Khan to remember that if they had let Hitler finish what he had started, the world would be a better place now’ is a truly frightening prospect. Not only do we find out the extent of Assef’s insanity ...

This is a preview of the whole essay