How Does Social Class Impact The Relationship Between People In The Kite Runner

Seth Estes

Lehman

IB English 11

5/12/2023

How does the difference in social class impact the relationship between people in The Kite Runner?

In the novel The Kite Runner, Hoesseini uses a specific word choice and examples of how society uses differences between people to discriminate between each other.

The way that Hosseini writes about the differences between people in the novel The Kite Runner can be expressed through using examples throughout the novel. He uses traumatic events to show the ways people are discriminated against. An example is when Hassani is found in Baba’s house while he is in The United States of America. Hassan is found by the government and taken from the home; even though Baba asked him to watch over the house for

Hosseini shows the reader how Baba thinks about The United States of America. Hosseini clearly states that “Baba loved the idea of America”(123). Hosseini using italics on the word “idea” foreshadows the fact that he will be disappointed by how the United States will actually be like. The way that Hosseini writes about Baba shows that he views society as a class based society instead of everyone being treated with equal rights. This is shown when he is in the convenience store and he is arguing with the store owners Mr. and Mrs. Nguyen. When they asked for his ID Baba got offended and did not like them asking him that because he thought he was a higher class individual and would not need to show his ID to them. Hosseini writes “ ‘Does he think I’m a thief?’”(128). This is Hosseini showing the reader that Baba does not understand how society works outside of Afghanistan. This relates to the real world where people are being taught to base how they treat people and also how they should be treated based on their rank in social classes. People will base their actions off of others religion, race, and even wealth. These thoughts are throughout the generations as well. This is shown when Amir wants to marry

Hosseini also shows how people will treat each other by using examples in his novel and also using a specific word choice to show the reader how characters in the novel feel. He uses words like “pain” and “rape” to show the reader that some characters are tired of the discrimination and mistreatment they are receiving from “higher-class” people. He also shows that the higher class people are still trying to live in a society where they have superiority over the lower class individuals. Hosseini uses examples like Baba moving to The United States of America and how he expects to be treated there as if he were better than everyone else. Hosseni also shows how families teach these same beliefs throughout generations. He uses the example of Amir and Soraya getting married to show that they wanted them to be married to higher-class families so that they would look better to other people in society. Hosseini is spreading a message that living in a society where people choose how they treat each other based on their social class will ruin a society and impact peoples lives in many detrimental ways. If a society expects change to happen then they need everyone to be a part of that change and not just the people that are being mistreated to stand up for themselves. Hosseini shows that people need others to help them stand up for themselves.