The Kite Runner: Historical, Political and Cultural Contexts

1. The Kite Runner: Historical, Political and Cultural Contexts

2. The Kite Runner: Introduction INTRODUCTION ►First Afghanistan novel to be written in English ►Title is derived from an old Afghan hobby Gudiparan Bazi or Kite Flying ►It is a unique Afghan pastime during windy spring season

3. About the Author: Khaled Hosseini ►Born in 1965 in Kabul, Afghanistan ►Moved to the United States in 1980 ►Attended Santa Clara University, Cal. ►Graduated from UC San Diego School of Medicine in 1996. ►His specialty is internal medicine.

4. SYNOPSIS ►The novel maps the journey of the Amir, the narrator ►The story takes place in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the United States from 1975 to 2003.

5. Main Character: AMIR Amir belongs to: ► a wealthy family whose father is a businessman ►the dominant Pashtun ethnic group ►the dominant Sunni religious group Amir tells the story of his friendship with Hassan.

6. HASSAN ►Hassan and his father, Ali, are Amir’s servants ►He is a low-caste ethnic Hazara ►He belongs to the minority Shi’it religious denomination ►He is the victim of discrimination due to his religious and ethnic identity ►Ironically, he is also Amir’s half brother

7. Diversity in Afghanistan A DIVERSE NATION ►Afghanistan is nation of groups with disparate ethnic, religious, and tribal traditions. ETHNIC DIVERSITY ►Over 30 different ethnic groups. They are not contained within Afghanistan.

8. Ethnicity ► Pashtuns are the dominant ethnic groups, who account for about 38 percent of the population and ruled Afghanistan for most of the history of Afghanistan. ►Tajiks are the second largest ethnic groups with about 25 percent of the population. ►Hazaras consists of about10 to 15 percent ►Uzbaks consists of about 9 percent ►Others (Turkmen, Aimaq, Baluch, Nuristani) 13 percent. Pashtun Uzbak Tajik Hazara

9. Religious Diversity ►Afghanistan has two dominant religious groups, the Sunni, or the so-called orthodox Islam, and Shi’ite or the so-called heterodox. ►Sunni constitutes 85 percent of the population and Shi’ite consists of 15 percent of Afghan population ►Shi’ites split from the Sunni’s in the seventh century over who the Prohet Mohammad’s legitimate successors were ►Shi’ites consider Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet, the legitimate successor ►Shi’ites developed their own conception of Islamic law and practices. ►In the past Shi’ites had been persecuted in Afghanistan.

10. The Taliban ►The world Taliban is the plural of and Arabic word, Talib or someone who seeks religious knowledge before he becomes a preacher in a mosque. ►They were the sons of Afghan refugees in Pakistan and attended Pakistani schools of theology ►Became active in October 1994 in Qandahar and continued there advances in the country with help of Pakistan ►By 1997 they held about 90 percent of the Afghan territory, including Kabul.

11. The Taliban’s Achievement ►They brought relative peace and security in the country. ►They banished the warlords and forced them to the northeastern corner the country and formed the Northern Alliance ►Restored law and order but through rigorous enforcement of Islamic punishment: public beating, flogging, amputation of hands, and stoning to death. ►The ministry issued strict religious decrees that denied people the right to freedom of expression, association, the right to work, and the right to education ►They prohibited games and interests, such as kite flying, chess, and music.

12. Conclusion ►The Kite Runnertells the sad story of Afghan people. They have suffered at the hands of foreign invaders and their own people