The Kite Runner and Propaganda
Propaganda is a term used in society all the time. It is everywhere we look, it’s when we turn on the television, when we read a magazine, when we use the internet, and in some cases the term can be used when we read a book. In the case of the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseni many people believe that this book is a form of propaganda, even though the book can be interpreted in many ways I think that propaganda is the strongest way to describe it
In The novel Amir and Hassan are best friends but are soon torn apart by a war and a series of unfortunate events, and both are far apart living in different countries. In the book Amir goes on a trip to Afghanistan where he has to deal with his painful past and he is needed to save his now dead brother‘s son Sohrab from the Taliban. Amir feels immense guilt for being the one responsible for Hassan and him not having a friendship. As a way to become good again he rescues his nephew.
In terms of propaganda I think that this novel is very one-sided, because you are only hearing the point of view from the narrator. In the story the U.S makes the Taliban’s out to be these bad people. They use the character Assef to be the symbol of all Taliban’s trying to make the U.S think that they are all Child molesters and cruel people. The Taliban’s have done some horrible things, but the U.S has done some horrible things also. I believe that the U.S should admit that they are partly responsible for some of the things happening in the country of Afghanistan. Unfortunately they will never admit it because the U.S thinks that their way is the better way and are not easily compromised.
When the narrator starts to explain Hassan as a “Hazara” It gives generalization that all Hazara boys are illiterate and they were not considered real Muslims because of the way they practice their faith. They also make Amir out to be the model for all people who live in Afghanistan who are rich people who are selfish and cowardly.
Amir treats Hassan like a servant instead of a friend because he is ashamed of having a servant as a best friend because he is of higher class than Hassan, and the fact that Hassan fed from the same breast did not make a different to Amir. The propaganda in that is society has taught him that with higher class you are of more importance than the poor and you have more option and opportunities provided for you because of your wealth. Even though Hassan was a coward for not standing up for his brother/ best friend he was still confident because he had riches, and society taught him that this is what matters the most.
In The novel the narrator explains how there is destruction all around him, and that the Taliban’s is the cause of all of the chaos in Afghanistan. It is again that I recognize the propaganda. The U.S blames Taliban for destroying Afghanistan. Amir also blames the Russians communists for what happen to their country.
After the September 11, attacks The U.S made Afghanistan’s out to be the enemy. I admit that I was one of the ones who blamed the whole Afghanistan country for September 11. Now after having read the book I realize that this is not the case. This book overall is good propaganda, because of this book it has change my view in the way I look at Afghanistan and the Taliban. In fact I felt sorry for the people of Afghanistan for having to live in such violent and dangerous conditions. Now I see that they haved struggle for so many years to just get a portion of what we have in the U.S which is safety.
In the Novel America is known as the Afghanistan Saviors, The author makes America to be this great land of the free, not knowing that it is partially America’s fault that the Taliban destroys Afghanistan and their the cause of their people feeling pain. It Shows this in the book that the young Amir Tries to make a comparison and he found that he is more happy to be in the U.S Where things are peaceful not like his old home in Afghanistan.
I Think that this novel not only gives us idea of what’s going in Afghanistan it also gives children who are stuck their fearing for their lives wanting to die gives them hope that they might actually have chance of living at least a fraction of a normal life some day only if they make it to the U.S. This book has reached a whole generation of you people and causes us to think outside of United States for once and to think about the problems going on in other countries.
Propaganda can be described in many ways. I think that this book represents how the U.S views the Taliban; they view them as these horrible and cruel people. But in the end you can’t help but to wonder who the real enemies are and who is really left to blame. I think that this question can never be answered because people are going their own opinion, because everyone interprets propaganda differently. There are always going to be different points of views of this book. After reading this book I’ve definitely learned a lot more about the Middle East. After September 11 I did not really care about what was going on oversees, but when this novel The Kite runner was published it changed my view of The U.S and Afghanistan.