The Kite Runner--Great Propaganda!

September 11th 2001 is, and will always be, a day that haunts America, its people, its hearts, and most importantly—its culture. On that sad horrific day the attitude, beliefs, and ideals held by the majority of the American people were forever changed—and most for the worse. Suddenly America wasn’t as isolated as everyone had thought, wasn’t as safe, and wasn’t as loved. The American people were shocked, left speechless, and taken aback. America had never faced such horrific terrorism on its own soil, never felt the un-wrenching pain of a terrorist attack, or experienced its aftermath. As most victims, America wanted someone to blame, someone to lash out at, someone to hurt as bad a we had on that godforsaken day of September 11th. And soon we had our target—the religious fanatic Osama Bin Laden and the country that was harboring him: Afghanistan. Sadly, a lot of the American population became so consumed by their pain and hatred that they lost sight of who was to blame, who was the real monster, and sadly by association the Afghan people and the Islamic religion were deemed evil and deserved to be blamed as well for the ghastly acts that forever changed our country. The Kite Runner, a novel by Khaled Hossenini, dares to change that false opinion harbored in the depths of American’s heart by illustrating the similarities common to all people regardless of region or religion, and by shedding light on the true situation in Afghanistan and who are the real monsters. Through this phenomenal attempt to change the opinion of the American peoples’ views on Afghan people and Islamic religion Hossenini by definition is using The Kite Runner as a vessel for positive propaganda; propaganda being defined by the Webster’s Dictionary as "the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person".

Khaled Hosseinie implores the readers to forget their prejudices about the Afghan people and the Islamic religion by narrating the story about the life of a privileged Pashtun, Amir, and his Hazara servant, Hasaan to show the parallels between the American and Afghan people. For example, in the beginning of the novel Amir, the narrator, refers to Hassan and states that “…we were the kids that learned to crawl together, and no history, ethnicity, society, or religion was going to change that…”(p.25). This passage and the relationship that Hosseinie goes on to illustrate is a relationship that the American culture in particular can strongly identify with. One of the main beliefs in the American culture is that “all men were created equal” and that everyone should have the right to be friends with and/or marry who they wish. Therefore, by portraying the main characters in this light Hosseinie captures the reader’s heart by having them mirror aspects of our culture, by having them mirror a relationship that a lot of American’s can identify with. This in turn, draws the parallel that the Afghan people and the American people are not all that different.

Hosseinie also tries to make the connection between the two different cultures by portraying the similar struggles that Afghan people and American people face. For example, the author uses the power of the rape scene to draw parallels between the two cultures. Amir, the narrator, states:

Assef knelt behind Hassan, put his hands on Hassan’s hips and lifted his bare buttocks. He kept one hand on Hassan’s back and undid his own belt buckle with his free hand. He unzipped his jeans. Dropped his underwear. He positioned himself behind Hassan. Hassan didn’t struggle. Didn’t even whimper. He moved his head slightly and I caught a glimpse of his face. Saw the resignation in it. It was a look I had seen before. It was the look of the lamb (pg. 76)

This scene plays on the reader’s emotional appeal to recognize that the Afghan people are just like American people; they also feel pain, suffer, have regrets, and regretfully, also have to endure tragedies. Through this scene, a scene that maps the rest of the narrative, the author uses propaganda to show how similar both cultures are, therefore, changing the way that a lot of American people feel towards Afghan people, because it is extremely hard to hate or hold prejudices against a culture or a group of people that the reader can easily identify with. How can you hate someone just like you?

Hosseinie also uses propaganda by drawing attention to the fact that the Taliban are the real monsters; that they are the ones who have perverted the Islamic religion for their own sadistic reasons, and that it is not the Afghan people who should be blamed or hated as a result of their actions. For example, when Amir, the narrator, returns to his homeland to find Hassan’s son, Sohrah, he is in complete shock about the poverty and devastation that he witnesses. For instance, he narrates, “we had crossed the border and the signs of poverty were everywhere. I saw children dressed in rags chasing a soccer ball outside the huts” (p.231). In addition to the severe poverty that Amir witnesses, he also witnesses the extreme oppression that the country is facing as a result of the Taliban. For example, when he returns to his home neighborhood, he is shocked that it is still in decent shape and states that the reason for this is because “most of the important people live [there] now, [the] Taliban” (p.260). This horrible description of the situation in Afghanistan, and the mortifying poverty that the Afghan people must endure illustrates a world of severe oppression, injustice, and devastating indecencies. A world that attempts to change the way the average American person sees and/or feels about Afghanistan, its people, and the Islamic religion by showing that what happened on September 11th was not as a result of an entire nation or religion, but rather the result of small group of unscrupulous powerful people who twisted the Koran and the Afghan culture o fit their own sick needs.

The Kite Runner, whether for the better or worse, is propaganda because it attempts to change people’s point of view on Afghanistan, its people, and the Islamic religion. The book attempt to accomplish this through multiple channels, fronts, and contexts and supplies each with an arsenal of fully loaded examples and emotional appeals. I believe that this book, although not openly communicated as propaganda, is one of the most successful pieces of propaganda that I have ever had the experience to be persuaded by. Although I was not prejudice against Afghan people, or the Islamic religion before reading this novel, it has given me new insights and lessons that I will never forget and will continue to be touched and influenced by long into the future.