The Kite Runner - How Does the Environment Shape the Characters? Essay

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The Kite Runner is a film based on the first novel of Khaled Hosseini, which was published in 2003 and became a bestseller, thus was translated to many different languages and spread around the world, becoming a discussion topic for quite a while. One of the reasons why this book is so rich and attractive is the variety of characters, which are all born in Afghanistan and spent at least most of their childhood there, but at the same time have different views, virtues and experience. And those characters, depending on the generation they belong to, are shaped by particular circumstances, political and historical events.
To begin with, there could be 3 different generations outlined in the film and the two representatives of the “oldest”

Due to the fact that his father was a known anticommunist, Baba decided to leave Afghanistan just before the occupation by the Soviet Union. So as a child Amir found himself in the United States of America - far away from his motherland. Because he emigrated as a child, it was much easier for him to adapt in the new place, which became not only a place, where to hide from repressions, but also a new environment, which contributed to the shaping of Amir’s character. The boy had quite a strong relation with his motherland, but for him it associated with his mistakes and sins, that had caused him his best friend and half-brother. This is way United States is a place, where Amir can run away from his memories. The country creates much better opportunities for Amir’s self realization and enables him to strive for his dream of becoming a writer. However, the childhood years can not be deleted from Amir’s mind and that’s why he decides to come back to Afghanistan after many years to try and find that “way to be good again”.
Despite the fact that Sohrab is the only character representing the youngest generation, he is of no less importance in the story. Just like Amir, he left his motherland in early childhood, but in a completely different condition. The years that Sohrab spent in the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan brought him nothing but pain. The environment he lived in took away from