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Assef's Racist Ideas In The Kite Runner

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Consequently, racism are beliefs/ideas that one’s identity is superior to the other. Assef symbolizes the negative impacts of ethnic inequality by being a cruel bully who enjoys the failure of others. When Amir meets the Taliban official, he describes how he observed himself during the massacre of Hazaras in Mazar-i-Sharif as “Afghanistan [being] a beautiful mansion littered with garbage, and someone has to take out the garbage...they call it ethnic cleansing” (Hosseini 298). Growing up, Assef’s role model is Hitler and the rise of the Taliban gives him the perfect opportunity to express his racist ideas in all aspects. Members of the Taliban believe that killing all the unqualified will be the best solution for the greater good of Afghanistan. …show more content…

The ones that fail to do so will meet a violent end. His ideology is violent and ridiculous because people can not be killed for simply not allowing violent criminals to govern them and tell them what to do. Assef and the Taliban soldiers can not kill innocent Hazara’s and think that they have excused themselves from their sins. Assef is reducing the chances of creating a friendly welcoming economy. Moreover, the Taliban was fashioned to be destructive and unfriendly due to the delay of solving ethnic differences. After the Taliban took control of Afghanistan the amount people who felt, “ It’s all about how we look. Is it our fault that we have lighter skin...part of the reason we’re persecuted is that we’re not as invested” increased (Far-away conflict hits home). The Hazara population is frightened whether another genocide will occur, eliminating their existence. The actions that the Taliban commit on a daily basis such as treating Hazara’s as unintelligent animals and performing public killings highlight psychotic behavior and build fear within most …show more content…

Social hierarchy does exist in many countries today that aid the stronger and powerful than the weaker and vice versa. The social class differences have created an indicator that one’s class will determine their position and importance in a society. After the Russian invasion, Afghanistan was left in horrible state. Many citizen’s survival was at stake after being left homeless and restricted to tea and biscuits. After Ali and Farzan were slaughtered, Sohrab was left helpless. When Amir rescues Sohrab, Sohrab is still traumatized by the series of events that happened. After being secured, Sohrab states, “ I don’t want them to see me… I’m so dirty…and full of sin” (Hosseini 335). Being born in a setting where racism has destroyed their homeland, losing parents and being left alone in a orphanage that resulted in him being sexually assaulted is a lot to deal with for a child his age. Sohrab did not have the opportunity to show others that he is worthy. Assef treated him differently. Assef made him wear women’s jewelry and eye liner to represent a loyal slave who will follow his every command. Similarly, all Hazara’s have been undermined by the society because they are placed last in the hierarchy of social class. The Hazara’s have to “bake the bread…clean the houses…occupy the least fertile of Afghanistan soils. They cling to the bottom rung of the country’s rickety economic

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He resists for Amir whom he loves with his whole heart. Amir witnesses this struggle, but he does nothing; he runs away since “he was just a Hazara, wasn’t he?” (Hosseini 77). Amir has always believed, deep down, that his father favored Hassan, a Hazara, the dirt of Afghan society, over him, his own son. Seeing Hassan reduced to that level of baseness is perversely satisfying for him.

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Western norms and values are far more equal than non-western. The class-society Amir lives in clearly represents these differences in equality. He grows up in a time and a place where he, privileged by being born as the son of a Pashtun, has more rights than his best and only friend Hassan, a Hazara. Hazaras are an ethnic minority in Afghanistan and are seen as inferior to Pashtuns. Besides the country Amir lives in and his ethnicity, there are some other factors which have influenced his youth and adolescence, which have contributed to the man Amir grows up to be.

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