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The Kite Runner Identity Research Paper

443 Words2 Pages

Identity in The Kite Runner We all grow up differently, in different homes and all have individuality. In The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini associates Amir’s homes with different strands of his identity. Different settings throughout the book help prove Hosseini’s point that your home affects your identity. Hosseini explains his first idea about identity through Amir’s home in Afghanistan. Amir’s home life in Afghanistan is very privileged with him not only being able to attend “school” but also being able to ride to school in a “black Ford Mustang”(27). While Amir is at school learning, Hassan must stay at home helping Ali with chores due to the social hierarchy of Afghanistan. Amir is privileged enough to get an education and he uses it to take advantage of Hassan’s ignorance, by teaching him the wrong definition of “imbecile” and then calling him one(29). His manipulation of Hassan enables him to believe he is superior to Harazas, especially Hassan, thus proving privilege leads to superiority. …show more content…

Amir’s home life in America is a relegation from his home in Afghanistan. In America, he is considered a lower class citizen who has been demoted from living in a mansion to living in an “apartment”(125). As a result of this relegation, Baba must work harder for the things he wants. When he gives Amir a new car, Amir knows how much it took for him to get this and appreciates it. He wants to thank Baba for everything but knows it will only “embarrass him”(133). He sees Baba’s perspective of a man that has relegated classes from a high society wealthy citizen of Afghanistan to a low class foreigner in America and does not want to relish or savor in his appreciation at the expense of Baba’s pride, thus proving that relegation leads to

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