Persuasive Essay On The Kite Runner

The Third World country of Afghanistan suffers a violent history dating back to the Soviet Invasion in 1978. The Russians’ bloody regime was ended by the “pure” Afghans, the Talibans who unleashed their wrath on Afghans, staining the Afghan soil with blood. As more blood spilled, the US intervened to diminish the Taliban’s power. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini illustrates the twenty years of pain in Afghan history through Hassan’s rape, Sohrab’s suicide attempt, and Sohrab’s faint smile. The Kite Runner demonstrates Afghan history as the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan is portrayed through Assef’s rape of Hassan. The Soviet Invasion takes place in the winter of 1979, similar to the time of Hassan’s rape. Amir identifies how winters used

Sohrab attempts suicide, which stings Amir everytime his “eyes [are] drawn to [Sohrab’s] wrist wrapped tightly with white gauze bandages. “I want my old life back,” [Sohrab] breathed” (354). Sohrab’s motive behind the suicide attempt was to reunite with his parents. Similarly, the Taliban’s goal in Afghanistan is to make Afghanistan great again. With their power, they hoped to rebuild Afghanistan into what it was before the Soviet Invasion. The Taliban were heavily influenced by their belief that “Afghanistan is like a beautiful mansion littered with garbage” (284). To bring Afghanistan back, the Taliban believed that they need to remove the garbage, Hazaras. Their strong beliefs lead them to commit mass executions of Hazaras, such as Mazar-i-Sharif. The Taliban’s actions are extremely similar to Sohrab’s suicide attempt because with an unrealistic goal, both of them internally harm themselves. By committing mass executions and other sins, the Taliban kill the beauty of their own country while Sohrab harms himself with the unrealistic goal of reuniting with his family. The similarities between Sohrab’s suicide attempt and the Taliban’s reign prove that Hosseini reflects Afghan history through his novel, The Kite