Characters, themes, and quotes the kite runner moving. Assef replies that money is irrelevant and not why he joined the taliban. Assef rapes hassan in an alley the day of the kite fighting tournament and is seen by amir, though he does not know. The reader first meets assef as a violent, racist child who draws his social power from his economic and ethnic identity, and wants to rid his country of all hazaras. Hassan is a successful kite runner for amir, knowing where the kite will land without even watching it. Whats odd is that amir often identifies himself with assef, or with a talib executioner. You ask whether assef is pashtun or taliban, and the answer is both. The kite runner assef who is the antagonist of the novel has been deliberately depicted as vile and villain. Character analysis assef is assef dynamic or static. The kite runner by khaled hosseini is a novel about amir, an afghan refugee in the west, who is forced to return to afghanistan to face the. He is the worst individual antagonist in the kite runner by khaled hosseini, and he is a coward, a sociopath, and a bully assef is a rich, imposing, blond. Although the story of amir is fiction, the narrative is based on fact, and the information about life in afghanistan makes the kite runner a notable historical novel.
Amirs confrontation with assef, who is now part of the taliban. He views the event as a sign that god is looking after him. Hundreds of thousands of people left afghanistan in fear of the taliban. The character of sohrab in the kite runner from litcharts. How the taliban relate to kite runner the taliban group was first welcomed into kabul with open arms. What part does assef play in amirs life in the kite runner. It narrates the story of amir and his father, baba, in the town of kabul, afghanistan. Assef s rape of hassan is a dramatic and explicit example of those with social privilege violating those without. Other objectionable words include fart, p and balls. Give three examples of the talibans cruelty in kabul. Assef resembles many people in turmoil across the world. Amir and his dad are members of a major ethnic group in the country, the pashtuns.
There was no way the movie made the viewer hate assef as much the book did so assefs inhumanity wasnt clearly shown. The book, the kite runner, demonstrates the theme of how political events affect private lives. The afghanistan khaled hosseini describes at the beginning of the novel is a stable and prosperous country. Hosseini also critiques the sexism and racism of afghan society throughout the book.
The kite runner is the first novel by afghanamerican author khaled hosseini. The kite runner is obsessed with the practice of ones principles. Chapter 16 makes perfectly clear that one of the most important reasons for writing this book is to share historical information in a compelling manner. This is the first line of the book and it sets the tone for the entire story. As a servant to baba and amir, hassan grows up with a very particular role in life. Assef becomes a member of the taliban who idolizes adolf hitler and abuses his position of power in order to demonstrate the political muscle of the men in charge. The book hints at the corruption of the taliban by having a taliban official taking girls and boys from the orphanage. His fathers servant, hassan, is a hazara, one of the north afghan tribes the pashtuns inhabit the south. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. He knows where such a kite will land without even seeing it. The resemblance of the young assef to the older assef in the taliban wasnt clear either and honestly, the old assef looked nothing like the younger one. In the kite runner, by khaled hosseini, is assef a taliban or a pashtun.
This, however, is just the tip of the iceberg for other atrocities that were committed. Many people that are part of the taliban are confused on their motives but still bring anarchy because they can. Sexual deviance often starts to show itself at a younger age. The kite runner give three examples of the talibans cruelty in kabul. The main type of violence is rape along with murder and abuse. Once assef also realized it was amir, he said that they will fight in front of sohrab in that small room. Also set in afghanistan, the novel follows two women and deals with many of the same issues as the kite runner, such as afghanistans transition into soviet and then taliban rule.
The taliban embraced a desire to destroy all aspects of afghan culture that they believed were not compatible with a strict, perverted interpretation of islam. The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his fathers servant, the kite runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. What is the name of the taxi driver that helps amir. Assef you dont know the meaning of the word liberating until youve done that, stood in a roomful of targets, let the bullets fly, free of guilt and remorse, knowing you are virtuous, good, and decent. Hassan and his son, sohrab are two examples of people who were raped by assef as they are merely poor, uneducated, and unworthy hazaras. Amir is telling the story of his failure to protect the one person in his life worth protecting, his playmate and servant hassan. It is clear from the book that he has a sexual preference towards young boys and violence in general.
He is a bully and a bigot, prejudiced against the hazara, like hassan, which he scorns as flat. Chapter 5 of the kite runner the kite runner reloaded. The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his fathers servant, caught in the tragic sweep of history, the kite runner transports readers to afghanistan at a tense and crucial moment of change and destruction. If amirs character arc is about growth, hassans arc is about not changing at all. A kite runner is someone who flies kites for a race, and in order to win that race a kite runner must cut the strings off of all of the kites. The kite runner by khaled hosseini is a novel about amir, an afghan refugee in the west, who is forced to return to afghanistan to face the taliban to redeem himself for betraying a friend as. The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of afghanistans monarchy through the soviet military intervention, the exodus of refugees. The kite runner analysis assef by zachary white on prezi. The kite runner by khaled husseini psychoanalysis of. Assef and his henchmen back off, but assef says he will take revenge. From rahim khan, amir learns that ali was killed by a land mine and that hassan and his wife were killed after hassan refused to allow the taliban to confiscate baba and amirs house in kabul. Adult assef becomes a taliban leader and continues embracing afghanistans most vicious and bigoted beliefs, ultimately personifying racism and abuse. Hassan goes to run the last cut kite, a great trophy, for amir saying for you, a thousand times over.
Assef is the most unambiguously evil character in the novel, emphasized by the fact that. The other side of afghanistans frontline 2010 duration. One time was in the kidney, assef passed the stone, and he began to laugh. Not only is assef a villain, but he also symbolizes all villainy. While amir prepares for school in the morning, hassan readies amirs. He is a violent sociopath who is driven to assert dominance over others in ways that include violating, harming and killing other people. He makes fun of alis handicapping condition and rules the streets with his brass knuckles. When rahim khan had to leave babas house for a while, he told hassan and his wife to watch over while he was gone. The movie, based on khaled hosseinis bestselling novel, begins in 2000.
When the taliban take over, hazaras are massacred, children are raped, and women are sold. Oneeyed assef the kite runner during amir and hassans childhood, assef was considered the neighborhood bully. Ill let you keep it so it will always remind you of what im about to do. Much as hassan was powerless to do anything against assef, zaman is now powerless. The taliban ruled over afghanistan until december 2001. The kite runner assef encompasses all that is evil in afghanistan. The kite runner study guide contains a biography of khaled hosseini, 100 quiz questions, a list of major themes, characters, and a full summary and an. I found this to be much more realistic, because in reality, i seriously doubt that the taliban would let a man who just walked in, walk out. Assef is a kabul bully who ends up joining the taliban. Assef recounts to amir the abuse he endured while imprisoned by the taliban.
Politics major political events in afghanistan provide the backdrop for the kite runner. In this lesson, we will examine the sociopathic bully, assef, who grows up to be a taliban official in khaled hosseinis the kite runner by looking at some quotes from the novel. Spanning more than 30 years in the lives of amir and hassan, the story begins in afghanistan in the early 1970s, when the country still. Amir amir is the narrator and protagonist of the novel and is a pashtun and sunni. The novel spans the time from the early 1970s to about 2002. It is his first novel, the second being a thousand splendid suns and his third being and the mountains echoed the story begins in afghanistan in the 1960s, and follows amir, a pashtun and a member of the kabul upper class.
Assef and his gang demand hassan give him the blue kite he has retrieved for amir. Before reading the kite runner, many readers were probably unaware of the massacre. The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of. Ali, amir, and hassan huddle in the dinning room as then gunfire from the taliban goes off outside. In the kite runner, assef represents this corrupted view, going as far as publicly stoning adulterers in the name of allah and describing his killing of hazaras as virtuous, good, and decent to amir. Genocidal terrorist assef is an antagonist from khaled hosseinis 2003 novel the kite runner, and its 2007 live action film adaptation of the same name. The world of the kite runner is harsh, and much profanity is spoken including the fword, btard, a, dn, h, s and ct. The fall of a country could lead people to a knew perspective, only to survive. He bonds with baba at last but deserts hassan when the latter is raped by assef.
Unfortunately, hassan runs into assef and his two henchmen. When we are first introduced to assef, he is very childish. Even if we thought really, really hard, were not sure we could come up with a single good quality in assef. Assef is one of the more horrifying characters in the kite runner.
In the kite runner, by khaled hosseini, is assef a taliban. Someday youll wake up from your little fantasy and learn just how good of a friend he is. Returning to kabul at the height of taliban power, to rescue sohrab, hassans son, amir confronts his childhood nemesis, assef. As an adult assef joins the taliban, where he is given free reign to exercise his violent and pedophilic nature. The the kite runner quotes below are all either spoken by sohrab or refer to sohrab. Published in 2003 by riverhead books, it tells the story of amir, a young boy from the wazir akbar khan district of kabul, whose closest friend is hassan. His ethnicity is pashtun, which he believes to be the superior ethnicity, and he also becomes a member of the talibanwhich is. May 04, 2014 this is an analysis of the character of assef in the kite runner which uses many quotes from throughout the novel. All of the afghan people rejoiced because they thought the taliban were there to stop the constant fighting and the explosions. Assef the antagonist of the novel, a blueeyed, sadistic boy who idolizes hitler, torments children with his brass knuckles, and later rapes hassan. Although the work inevitably differs from the book on which its based in. Bodies laid out on a street, literally left to feed the dogs. Assef tells amir how he came to be a member of the taliban.
Now a taliban, with a german background and nazilike qualities, assef brutally bashes amir and with each assault, amir feels a sense of the abject suffering that hassan experienced. Jan 10, 20 chapter 5 explores a wider historical context by detailing the beginning of the overtaking of the country by the taliban, not only that, but it also details how certain people were treated, for example hassan being a hazara, he was not accepted like the others and ali was bullied by assef just for being friends with him. When the taliban arrived in afghanistan violence became more relevant to all of the society. Assef instigates the rift in amir and hassans relationship and the intense guilt that haunts amir throughout the kite runner.
The kite runner shows that even if baba could make his boy perfectly courageous and honest, outside forces inevitably affect even the most careful plans for the future. Assef is a pashtun bully who idolizes hitler and wishes to rid afghanistan of hazaras. Amir went to a meeting with a taliban leader in an attempt to rescue sohrab from them, however once he was in the room he recognized the taliban leader was assef. Kite runner khaled hosseini author on his new book duration. The taliban led at least fifteen massacres from 1996 to 2001. When i searched for images of the hazara massacre, incredibly graphic images came up. As a teacher of ells, i especially enjoyed this movie version of the great book, the kite runner. These prophetic words are uttered at the beginning of the book by assef, hassans attacker. Assef rapes hassan in an alley the day of the kitefighting tournament and is seen by amir, though he does not know. The kite runner is a 2007 american drama film directed by marc forster from a screenplay by david benioff and based on the 2003 novel of the same name by khaled hosseini. Amir and baba snuck out of afghanistan in 1981 because kabul was occupied by the. If a woman broke any of these laws she was either beaten or killed.
Its designed for those doing the as level english combined course by aqa but may. May 29, 2019 the kite runner is a book by khaled hosseini. But, as the kite runner insists, even if baba could make his boy perfectly courageous and honest, outside forces, whether good or bad, inevitably affect even the most careful plans for the future. Amir takes us back to his childhood, in the final decades of the monarchy. Even as an adult, assef uses a pair of brass knuckles to. A summary of chapters 2223 in khaled hosseinis the kite runner. Hosseini released and the mountains echoed in 20, a collection of short stories set in kabul. And the mountains echoed was chosen for the richard and judy summer book club in 2014, and readers voted it as their favourite of all the titles. Assef is an antagonist from khaled hosseinis 2003 novel the kite runner, and its 2007 live action film adaptation of the same name. Others however, use this to kill people and gain power, like assef. We think you can divide the book s principles into two categories. The kite runner by khaled hosseini is a novel about amir, an afghan refugee in the west, who is forced to return to afghanistan to face the taliban to redeem himself for betraying a friend as a. Adult assef becomes a taliban leader and continues embracing. He displayed no remorse for his rape of hassan, which occurs when assef, amir, and hassan are only boys.
He is racist and enjoys inflicting pain on people he believes are inferior. Assef was a teenager, probably about 16 or 17 when he raped hassan. In 2017, it was the fourth most challenged book according to the american library association. We do not know anything about this event except that it still haunts him and that it involves something he did to hassan, whom he calls the harelipped kite runner. It had grabbed hassan by the ankles, dragged him to the murky bottom.
One triumphant day, amir wins the local tournament, and finally babas praise. A taliban wanted to take the house away from them because he didnt think that a. Is assef a courageous person in the kite runner by. Violence in the kite runner in the kite runner violence is one of the main themes. I actually aspired to cowardice, because the alternative, the real reason i was running, was that assef was right. The kite runner was a major film and was a book of the decade, chosen by the times, daily telegraph and guardian. The kite runner brings khaled hosseinis bestselling 2003 novel to the big screen. The day, in 1975, when 12yearold amir wins the annual kitefighting tournament is the best and worst of his young life. Khaled hosseinis the kite runner addresses many broad themes and issues, including life, death, redemption, revenge, and love by exploring the lifelong connection between amir, a wealthy pashtun boy, and hassan, a hazara servant in amirs home in afghanistan. Assef is one of the truly perverted and villainous characters in the kite runner, by khaled hosseini. Amir meets the taliban leader, who reveals himself as assef. The kite runner characters from litcharts the creators of. When one of the guards selected assef to be made an example of, he kicked assef many times.
This short film on kite fighting in afghanistan includes interviews with a kite maker and an adult kite fighter. His speaking out against assef and the taliban is reminiscent of hassan referring to assef as oneeyed assef. Assef in the kite runner said we left them out for the dogs, you know loc 3669, hosseini. As a child, he rapes hassan, a member of the hazara minority whom he looks down. The theme of politics and society in the kite runner from. In the kite runner, how has the taliban changed the society. The taliban loyalty and betrayal in the kite runner. Drachenlaufer ist ein roman des afghanischamerikanischen schriftstellers khaled hosseini. Jan 19, 2014 the orphanage scene was a big part of the book and the fact that no one attacked the director made it seem like they did not care too much that children were getting sold to assef, i believe that to be a mistake from the director.
Gods name is used in vain with forbid, dn and forsaken. Its a sweeping tale of friendship and loyalty, betrayal and redemption as a young man haunted by a horrible choice discovers, in the words of a wise friend, there is a way to be good again. Amir, who is thus far a nameless protagonist, tells us that an event in the winter of 1975 changed his life forever. Lets examine the taliban s role in this novel by discussing some quotes from it. Study 146 terms the kite runner test flashcards quizlet. It tells the story of amir, a welltodo boy from the wazir akbar khan district of kabul who is tormented by the guilt of abandoning his friend hassan. At the time, assef suffered from kidney stones, and at one point the blunt force of the guards kicks was so hard, it caused a kidney stone to pass. It is only when grownup amir physically confronts assef, who has become a violent taliban official, that the climax of the story is completed. Surprisingly, there was not a lot of public outrage for the atrocities that the taliban committed. He is the precursor of taliban and the writer is unconsciously telling us that taliban are not the pure race of land of afghanistan. Hassan is a kite runner for amir, socalled because he runs to fetch kites amir. It is the taliban that give assef an outlet for his sadistic tendencies, and it is this political state that facilitates amirs final meeting with assef and his redemptive beating.
The taliban also forced most women to quit work when they arrived in 1996 and also forbade them from being educated. The kite runner september 12, 2018 betsy gomez 1 comment khaled hosseinis acclaimed debut novel the kite runner has sold millions of copies and inspired a popular film, but the book has been met with several challenges since its 2003 release. He spouts hatred, instills fear, and carries out his aggression with great. You shouldnt betray your best friend and halfbrother is an ethical principle. Kite runner fanfiction archive with over 70 stories. At the beginning of the novel, assef terrorizes other children with his brass knuckles, idolizes hitler, and eventually rapes hassan. Were thinking about playing a little game of volleyball tomorrow at my house, assef said. When the taliban comes in, assef and his family are taken prisoner but assef soon becomes one of them and participates in the massacre of the hazaras, including hassan. This site expands on many of the taliban related events that appear in the kite runner. Speaking without thinking was another sign of amirs growth as a character. They discuss the history and cultural significance of kite fighting as well as some of the. The climax of the novel, in which amir is finally able to atone for his past, occurs in amirs fight.
Rahim khan further reveals that ali, being sterile, wa. The kite runner cliffsnotes study guides book summaries. Khaled hosseinis the kite runner illustrates how the abuse of power originates when people have felt insecurity and a lack of power in their own lives, and it can happen on many different scales, shown through amir, assef, and the taliban. In khaled hosseinis the kite runner, the way the people feel about taliban leadership changes over time. Analysis of the character of assef in the kite runner khaled. Baba betrays ali by sleeping with and impregnating his wife and assef betrays his people by joining the taliban. From the start and through his death, hassan remains the same.
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