The Kite Runner and the Caste System Essay - 1844 Words

I chose to do my paper on the caste system. The caste system is an inherited social ranking of the classes and plays an important role throughout the Kite Runner. The book sates that there needs to be an order of the people to make sense of things worthwhile. The two boys try to defy that the caste system is nothing more than a state of mind. The Afghan people feel alienated from their own history because of the caste system. Kite fighting is a perfect example of the caste system. One has the fighter who attacks other kites, and the runner who chases he fallen kites. Hassan who is a Shia while Amir is Pashtun and has many more opportunities available to him because of his social class. Although they are friends, Amir is hesitant†¦show more content†¦The novel centers on the theme of social class, a key factor that separates the world of Amir from Hassan and tries to hinder their true friendship from blossoming. As what caste system suggests, those who are under the dominant and powerful party must adhere to rendering service to those in the upper class. True enough, in the novel, Hassan respects and admires upper-class Amir amid neighborhood bullies and intimidation which make them stick together through any hindrance. It is in their friendship that the concept of caste system is explicated. A Caste System is a distinctive kind of social structure which divides people in accordance with inherited social status. According to Pruthi, [A] caste system manifests itself as a vertical structure in which individual castes are hierarchically graded and kept permanently apart, and at the same time, are linked by well defined expectations and obligations† (Pruthi). In the stirring and humane novel, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, the caste system is viewed intricately within the friendship of Amir and Hassan. The novel depicts the story of these two characters who live within the boundaries of social status and who try to defy that the caste system is nothing more than a state of mind. The novel portrays the challenges seen through the bounds of the caste system and are felt by the main characters. In Hosseini’s moving elegy, Amir’s personal quest is a vivid picture of the entire Afghan cultureShow MoreRelatedEssay on The Kite Runner Relationship and Symbo lism1662 Words   |  7 Pagesin ‘The Kite Runner’ to present key relationships? You should consider different reader responses and the extent to which your critical approach assists your interpretation. In Khaled Hosseini’s novel, ‘The Kite Runner’, it is often thought that symbols and metaphors are used as visual representations to reinforce and put emphasis on important stages in the novel. In can be seen that symbols are used in the novel to highlight particular moments in key relationships. 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